Duck boat tragedy "storm came out of nowhere" BS

[/pine]

...One thing I've always noticed on the duck rides is how low in the water these things ride, and I've always thought that a large wave could wash over them very easily....

I've never seen a duck boat up close but usually boats with low freeboards have self bailing decks...

As long as all the upper deck hatches are secured many self bailing deck vessels can be full awash and still remain afloat...

 

[bcp]

Photo of a Branson duck, from: Quack Your Way Around Branson with Ride the Ducks – Branson Shows Blog

Bruce

 

[mobilus]

Heard an interview where a survivor said the captain told them to stay seated and not put life jackets on.
Also note that there were side curtains or windows all around so escape was near impossible.
Video also shows that there was a roof overhead.
All in all about same as being trapped under deck.

Canvas proved deadly, and we are so conditioned to not think outside the box, be situationally aware, or prepared to deal with emergencies. If only life jackets and a sharp pocket knife had been employed, there may have been needless deaths, but there likely would have been more survivors.

 

[MossRoad]

I've never seen a duck boat up close but usually boats with low freeboards have self bailing decks...

As long as all the upper deck hatches are secured many self bailing deck vessels can be full awash and still remain afloat...

Think of driving an old, topless school bus down a boat ramp into a lake.... that's exactly what if feels like. Exactly.

Also, most boats have enough foam in their sidewall, under the seats, pretty much in every dead location, so that even if you fill it with water, it'll still float at or above the water surface. The original ones don't have that. Don't know about the modern ones. You fill it with water, and it sinks to the bottom very, very fast. Add a canopy on top of that, and it's a death trap if it gets swamped. As soon as it gets enough water in it that weighs more than it's displacement, down it goes. You'd have about 1 or 2 seconds from the time your body started floating off your seat to the time the canopy pressed down on you and took you to the bottom. Even if you had a life jacket on, the canopy is going to grab you and take you down.

 

[MossRoad]

Some duck boat trivia...
- During the Normandy invasion, many ducks sank due to high waves and overloading.
- When Churchill visited Normandy, he rode a duck to shore.
12 June 1944: Churchill makes a day trip to Normandy

 

[/pine]

Think of driving an old, topless school bus down a boat ramp into a lake.... that's exactly what if feels like. Exactly.

Also, most boats have enough foam in their sidewall, under the seats, pretty much in every dead location, so that even if you fill it with water, it'll still float at or above the water surface. The original ones don't have that. Don't know about the modern ones. You fill it with water, and it sinks to the bottom very, very fast. Add a canopy on top of that, and it's a death trap if it gets swamped. As soon as it gets enough water in it that weighs more than it's displacement, down it goes. You'd have about 1 or 2 seconds from the time your body started floating off your seat to the time the canopy pressed down on you and took you to the bottom. Even if you had a life jacket on, the canopy is going to grab you and take you down.

I've read that the actual act of drowning is not a bad way to go (no idea how anyone still alive would know)...but what you describe would be nothing short of sheer terror and a horrible last few seconds...

If individuals are found culpable they should spend the rest of their sorry lives busting rocks and get nothing but bread and water...

 

[MossRoad]

I've read that the actual act of drowning is not a bad way to go (no idea how anyone still alive would know)...but what you describe would be nothing short of sheer terror and a horrible last few seconds...

If individuals are found culpable they should spend the rest of their sorry lives busting rocks and get nothing but bread and water...

Having almost drowned as a little kid, having a HUGE fear of water after that to the point I wouldn't get in the bath tub for a couple years, having to take beginners swimming lessons 8 times (10 sessions each lesson) before I passed it ( first 20 lessons I wouldn't put my feet in the water), then finally becoming comfortable in the water, becoming a life guard, whitewater rescue, and water safety instructor, I can tell you, drowning is not a pleasant experience, it's quite terrifying, agonizing, and in slow motion. Sure, it probably beats death by traumatic physical trauma. But it still sucks! Honest. It sucks.

 

[MossRoad]

I think what would be even worse, is watching your loved ones panic right next to you, becoming completely disoriented, then popping up and having them gone. Just agonizing. I feel for that woman that lost 9 members of her family. I can't imagine the initial terror, then the hurt in your heart afterwards.

 

[ruffdog]

.....and being told where the life preservers are, but stay seated. I know the FIRST thing I would have thrown out the boat....

 

[4570Man]

.....and being told where the life preservers are, but stay seated. I know the FIRST thing I would have thrown out the boat....

The first good idea yet. Wearing them like most suggested would be really helpful when you’re trapped under a roof.