My wife & I were cruising last weekend and passed a brand new SeaRay 28, nice boat....BUT she was bumping up against the seawall of a private home in about 3 ft of water, motor running.....and 3 children in the water....playing on and around the swim platform...did i mention the engine was running?....no anchor out....busy waterway about 30 ft from a loading ramp..lots of traffic...STUPID!
Our boat dealer is old school. He don't care how many boats you have owned, you buy, you get instruction on the new boat, BEFORE you take it home !!!!!!!!!!!!!
The "engine running while people swimming near it" thing has caused a few deaths. Apparently CO doesn't rise, it stays down at the water level and spreads outward instead.
That's usually the parent you see on the news crying 'I don't know how this happened'. Then they blame the boat manufacturer claiming it had to be the boat's fault. That's a whole lot easier than being a responsible parent instead of an idiot that should have been banned from reproducing. If a person wants to endanger themselves, that's called thinning the gene pool. Putting a child in danger is inexcusable.... sorry, pet peeve.
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17' 1988 Fabuglas Cayman
15' 1975 Galaxy Tri-Hull
14' 1959 Larson All American
I'm sure they are not putting the kids lives in danger on purpose, they just don't know any better. It's up to the boating world in the know to help get the message across about the very real dangers of boating.
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1996 Crestliner 2160 Phantom, 1996 Evinrude 130 HP
I'm sure they are not putting the kids lives in danger on purpose, they just don't know any better. It's up to the boating world in the know to help get the message across about the very real dangers of boating.
Oh come on, let darwinism play itself out. It's not like anything mentioned was rocket science. If anyone isn't smart enough to figure out that playing in the water around a running engine in a busy waterway isn't a good idea, maybe it's best if their genetic offspring don't survive.
I am, of course, kidding. I hope that marine4003 set them straight.
The running engine is one thing. The more immediate danger is being crushed between the boat and the seawall or getting knocked unconscious by an uncontrolled, rocking boat. Just approaching your boat while swimming in heavy waves is dangerous even for an adult. Children playing around it is just plain stupid.
Last year out by our local boaters gathering spot (Bird Island) idiot got stuck on a sandbar...asked his girlfriend to jump out and push while he applied some throttle....78 stitches,tore the skin off her leg...Props=blood. When i explained all the reasons to the man in the shiny/new searay how he was jeopardizing his family's life..He replied " Oh,Its Ok..we do this all the time"....Wow.
He replied " Oh,Its Ok..we do this all the time"....Wow.
At least he was somewhat nice. Nine out of ten times you tell someone they are putting people at risk they usually give you the finger and tell you where to put your ideas!
My father, who is now 83, would have done something quite different when he was a bit younger. Had the guy said that he did that all the time, I have no doubt whatsoever that my dad would have gone to the boat, turned the engine off and tossed the keys into the drink.
He is never one to suffer fools gladly. I'm not kidding. He'd have done just that, while explaining in no uncertain terms what could have happened to the kids.
Well at least his wife looked questionably at her hubby prior to my pulling away,problem is theres not alot of law enforcement on the water around here,so unless its a dire emergency..local PD wont launch a RIB.
The "engine running while in water" thing has caused a few deaths. Apparently CO doesn't rise, it stays down at the water level and spreads outward instead.
-E
That is exactly why the floor of an attached garage is lower than the floor of the house. That CO is some nasty stuff.
Oh come on, let darwinism play itself out. It's not like anything mentioned was rocket science. If anyone isn't smart enough to figure out that playing in the water around a running engine in a busy waterway isn't a good idea, maybe it's best if their genetic offspring don't survive.
I am, of course, kidding. I hope that marine4003 set them straight.
Unfortunately, this is sometimes the best answer, like they say, you can't fix stupid.
I bought our first boat last summer and have never taken a boating class. I have, however, done a lot of reading on boating rules, laws, safety, navigation... etc.
It's amazing how much of it is common sense... something a lot of people seem to lack.
__________________ 1997 Regal 1700 LSR
There are no stupid questions... but there sure are a lot of stupid answers.
New Boat & No Brains
Re: New Boat & No Brains
1997 Regal 1700 LSR
Linear Mode
