What's missing from this sad story is one person that has the courage to go in the water. Maybe one or two others will follow. Now the boat is lighter! Most will stay one the boat unfortunately, including the captain. But you have just improved the chances for everyone, because we can't all get off at once. Funny, it's the opposite in an aircraft disaster. We figure the first one out the door is the coward.

I'm shocked by this.....

"Family Of Duck Boat Drowning Victims Files $100 Million Lawsuit"


https://www.yahoo.com/news/family-duck-boat-drowning-victims-213941379.html

How many lawyers drowned trying to get the family's relatives?

Paul I believe a 2nd lawsuit was filed today from another family . Not surprised it will be interesting to see how this plays out . Being a registered road vehicle I believe ( could be way wrong ) that all governing rules/regulations are via NHTSA vs. USCG . As an example because no coast guard rules are in affect no life preservers are mandated to be worn . Nothing will help those that have been lost but if these duck boats continue to be in operation I would like to see the roof and side windows/curtains be removed . Easy exit might have saved all on this vessel .

If I lost most of my family because a tour operator neglected to pay attention to weather forecasts, you bet I would sue their asses off.

Has it been shown that this was forecasted?


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I had never heard of a duck boat until this thread, and did not know they were amphibious until I just looked it up.
But I'm sure I'll never pay to take a ride in one.

Is the driver required to be licensed USCG captain if it's considered a car/truck/bus?

^this^ is the rest of the story; well all of the story, but you say the pre-semicolon part like Paul Harvey in your head...

I always thought a DUK boat would be a cool thing to have, but I would prefer the convertible version.

Really, any amphibious landing craft would be handy. Thing about them is they are no good in heavy swells. It is not by mistake that big amphibious landings are not done on stormy days.

Yes I'm sure you would.
:rolleyes:

Paul that's a good question on the captains certifications and I don't know the answer . In regards to " ignoring " the weather forecast do we know that to be true ? All accounts I have seen on TV and the internet ( are either legit ? ) state that when they went out it was a calm beautiful day . Witnesses that live near/on the lake have made statements like " the storm came out of no where " and " there was no warning " . If those statements are accurate........... again IF those statements are accurate then this could just be a tragic accident . I feel bad for all that lost their lives AND their remaining living relatives and loved ones but sometimes ............ sometimes an accident is just an accident with no one to blame . I do not have enough factual information to make a decision on what this was other than tragic . :(

I think the real negligence here would be the safety policies of the operating company. Why no life jackets, and why didn't they put on the life jackets when the water started getting rough? What was the exit path(s), were they blocked, could anything have been done to make it possible to escape? If they negligently ignored the pending weather, i.e. could have turned back but didn't, that's another story.

For those who don't have much time in the midwest, storms can build rapidly and without warning. If one pops up over the top of you, the weather can go straight from beautiful to full on thunderstorm in the span of a few minutes. We frequent Lake of the Ozarks in MO, and have been caught in pop up thundershowers on several occasions while on the water. Nearly every day has at least a small chance of storms, so you really can't plan based on the forecast. I can easily see how a slow boat, caught quite a distance from shore, could get into trouble considering the circumstances.

I would like to hear what the captain has to say but apparently he has not been interviewed yet ? Per this report it looks like he checked weather forecast at 7:29 and weather/storm warning was issued at 7:32 talk about bad timing ! But there apparently was also a general weather warning issued earlier in the day . Per this report the captain went over where life preservers were , where the exits where etc. etc. so he went over all the required boiler plate instructions . Is that enough ? Not for me to say .

I have been a pleasure boater off and on for 40 years but am no way an expert . But common sense tells you when the weather goes south quickly at the very least you throw on the life preservers or at least have them in hand . I think however that question is answered will determine the outcome of law suits .

https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2018/07/27/branson-duck-boat-accident-captain-weather-ntsb-recording/852494002/

I don't know about MO, but in MA there has to be a captain onboard. In June we took the duck tour of Boston which included a short trip in the Charles river. They had a driver and a narrator, and the narrator said the driver was fairly new and working on his captain's license, and he (the narrator) was the captain. The Boston tour used to have the driver narrate the tour, until one of them ran over a woman on a scooter, now they have to have a separate narrator. The ducks they use are new replicas and we had great weather so the side curtains were down, I don't know what it would take to drop them if you had to get out. The life preservers were stored in bins attached to the ceiling, at least I think they were in there. Another thing I noticed but didn't ask about was that all the Boston ducks have boat registrations in Mississippi, I'm sure to get around some regulation somewhere, but there's a "MS" boat number on every one of them.

"MS" stand for "May Sink"

Anyone who isn't a half-wit should understand the inherent risks with being on any vessel, on any body of water, at any time.

Of course, we in the USA have nearly reached the tipping point for idiocracy.

Apparently they had to exit via the side windows. The captain told them not to put on life jackets or they would get stuck...or so one survivor claimed.

No.... he died.

I don't think that is correct the pilot/driver died not the captain . I see on Yahoo an article stating the USCG has determined/released a statement saying the craft should not be operated in winds above 35 mph and/or waves of 2 ' . The article stated the wind gusts were 70 + and waves were 3 ' ................... the lawsuits will bury this duck boat company .

This would be good advice for an open top boat similar to the whaler you restored. But not good advice on the duck boats or any time you are in an enclosed/restricted area. My aft deck top/enclosure is very similar to the duck boats. My aft deck has a full length and width top, hip high sides/railing and an Eisenglass (clear plastic windows) enclosure that can be unsnapped and unzipped then rolled up out of the way. I do not permit my guests to wear life jackets when on the aft deck. If they are on the foredeck where it is open that is fine but not when on the aft deck. I have two means of egress from my aft deck Starboard (right), Port (left) not including through the enclosure.

On a good day my enclosure is not easy to open and I know how it works, where the zipper pulls are and the snaps. It takes several minutes to open each panel and that is assuming the zipper doesn't hang up and the snaps decide they will pop off. Unless the enclosure was already open you could not rely on getting out through it in an emergency.

Life jackets are bulky which restricts movement, Lifejackets have straps, loops that can get caught on things. Lastly, if you have the life jacket on and the boat is going down you can easily get pinned to the top. Escape may require you to descend before you can get out and ascend to safety.

It is not hard to see how all these people perished on this vessel. There was only one means of egress. Out the back door. It would only take one person to block the egress and the rest are doomed.

Trust me when I tell you there are more half-wits that don't understand the risks when on the water and more than half of those half-wits have half of half of a wit.