Do you drive a car?
Take a look at this picture,* and tell me how open the windows are.
When a boat like this sinks by swamping, or due to inadequate bilge, there is a rush of water over the boat’s edge, which would be pushing people back towards the interior. This would make escape, especially in a storm, quite difficult.
- In all fairness to the truth, although that pic is ONE of the Branson boats, I don’t know if it is THE one that went down. And it doesn’t tell us if the windows were down at the time, although one of the purposes of the windows was to shield the passengers from wind and spray, so it’s likely that they were down on that last trip.
I’ve never seen them operate with the windows closed - the operator urges the passengers to “quack”, and they are noisy as hell when they go by.
Yes, I agree, the one that sank probably did have closed windows. It also operated in a large lake in a storm. Riding in a duck boat seems like it would be more fun, as well as safer, in nice weather. You can make almost any activity dangerous, but I don’t think riding in a duck boat in the usual way (sunny, open windows) is particularly dangerous. I’ve always been more worried they might hit someone else on the street, due to poor visibility. (which, indeed, seems to have happened.)
Yes, I drive. It’s a necessary evil. I don’t like it but I must do it. The deer in these parts are actively trying to kill me. Believe me when I say I would stay home and never leave. I don’t need to ride a duck boat.
I have just read the MAIB report on two DUKW incidents in the UK (one sinking, one fire) and the thing that strikes me is that it seems to be practically impossible to make those things buoyant enough for modern safety standards. And when they tried, it caused other problems - moving parts rubbing on buoyancy foam and causing a fire. So no, based on reading that report I wouldn’t ride on one.
Are you sure you want to keep claiming your personal approach to risk assessment is “rational”?
Are you sure you want to continue taking things she wrote out of context and then trying to slam her for it?
Is this thread about Beckdawrecmk or is it about these patently unsafe duck boats?
Says one survivor:
Interesting…the passengers couldn’t open the “windows”, only the boat operator can? Who thought that would be a good idea?
Again, I know what I would or wouldn’t do. The question is: would you ride one?
ETA (thanks Bo)
I would like to see the riders take some responsibility for their own safety. By that I mean that even if I paid good money for tickets I would check the weather forecast before I got on the ride. Most likely the riders trusted the company to cancel for bad weather, which did not happen in this case.
Already said I have and will again. So that is not the question.
It’s my question. Read the OP.
Would I ride one? Sure. Not only can I swim, I’m immortal.
Otherwise, not so much.
Let me rephrase then. In the context of the side discussion about whether or not Duck Boats are so dangerous it’s rational avoid them completely, and by extension, in light of your choice of words, irrational to ride one at any time, flipping back to the OP question, which I’ve already answered, is not relevant.
Assuming your intent was simply to drop the tangent and still get the last word, I’m happy to oblige.
That’s a strawman argument, isn’t it? If you checked the weather, then what? Do you know the operational capabilities of a DUKW? I know they were originally designed for the military & militaries don’t typically postpone their battles because of some inclement weather. I’d assume they were at least as good if not better than a typical boat. Aren’t there frequently waves near the shore; isn’t that were they were designed to operate? I also know that aircraft cxl their operations when the weather is outside of their allowable parameters, why would you expect these guys to not do the same?
Even if you asked the captain if it’s safe, what do you think he’ll say? “Gosh, golly, Mr. Beaver, I sure hope so.” No, of course he’s going to say they can handle it.
Hindsight indicates that’s wrong.
Nit Pick: There were two incidents in Philadelphia. One where the captain intentionally stopped the engine after it began smokingm thinking it was an engine fire. Unfortunately, it was then overrun by a barge being pushed by a tugboat, whose captain was involved with a true family emergency (complications during son’s surgery). I feel sorry for him, but he shouldn’t have remained at the helm while dealing with the emergency. He ultimately served time for “the maritime equivalent of involuntary manslaughter.”
The second one was a Darwin Award contender (except for the fact that she was 68); she was looking at her tablet & crossed against a red light right into the path of the Duck.
I’ve gone on duck tours in both Portland, Me. and Boston, and had a good time both times. I’d do it again, if the weather was good.
It rides too low in the water for my taste. It looks like a bus that accidentally drove into the water and is well on its way to sinking. The roof seals you in and effectively prevents an easy escape. In short, it’s a freaking death trap.
So, how was that boat allowed to enter the water full of people with the weather forecast predicting high winds and rough water?
Take a ride in a WWII-era vehicle that has known design flaws, may be poorly-maintained, and has a canopy that traps passengers if the damn thing sinks? No, thank you.
I rode a Duck boat in Branson. Might even have been the same boat that sank. I’d do it again; however, I might have the life jacket close by and not check the weather first.
He was just on the news, he repeated that and he added that the shape of the canopy (which evidently is a later addition) caused so many deaths - the shape prevents people from easily escaping…he actually called it, “A people catcher…”
Meanwhile, they were showing the video of the boat right before it went down, and it absolutely gave me chills…horrific…
So, I’m sticking with my ‘No’ answer…