hear hear.....

Will you settle for the ones of us that have not flipped our boat.... yet. :drink:

Tank,

Of course I will be in KW as just about every other event down this way as well as LOTO.

Biz card-- they had it. The idea is to get them before this happens.

With my better judgment telling me to keep the details off a public forum I truly believe there is a valuable take away here for everyone.

When this boat was most recently purchased the new owner at the urging of the dealer contacted me about boat school. Additionally there was the insurance problem, throughout the discussion of where, when, and how much- insurance was obtained.

I continued to strongly suggest to the new owner the value of the boat school. While they purchased a wonderful boat it could be very unforgiving if the wrong action was employed, at the wrong time, with the wrong settings and typically the human behavioral control will do the exact opposite of what should be done when the boat gets upset.

In the end the new owner said no. They did not feel as though they needed training and would be fine on their own.

Now, please understand I am in no way intimating an “I told you so” attitude. I bring this out only to illustrate my belief this could have been preventable or at a minimum the probability dramatically reduced.

I will also use this opportunity to stand up and again applaud the boat manufactures, dealers, and other industry supporters of our boat school. Not because it directly benefits us but for the leadership they have demonstrated in the industry by taking action before government does

I really do hope everyone will, as I did, learn we can all benefit from being life long learners, as we will never know it all. As soon as you think you have become the expert, you WILL loose.

Be Safe,

Thanks,

I agree Brad. One of my customers just put in an order for a OL 42GTX with big power and they (Outerlimits) gave him classes with you guys for 2 people. Now.... how do I get him to take me :D:D

Jon

I can tell you that the news report makes no sense. Based on where the boat ended up (according to the report) and the fact that the interview was done at Shuckers he must have been in the fast part of the bay where you do the hard right turn in to the restaurant.

Or if he really was South of the causeway that is no wake.

Or if he was headed North there is another hard right turn or you run aground.

I looked at that boat over at Phil's back in April & noticed recently that it was marked REDUCED & SOLD on his site.

That's 2 Glads in like a month. Yikes!

This spin out kinda reminds me of the old Porsche 911s.
Can get out of hand if you don't know how to drive them... especially in the turns.
Lots of guys w/ $ wound up in the guardrails.

Too bad. Nice ride. Glad everyone is OK.

I kept trying to talk Cigarette out of building that 16 footer years ago, but they wouldn't listen. You can't tell Craig Barrie or Scott Smith anything.

Yep. a$$ end first. Those cars were famous for that- enough torque to break the rubber loose in a heartbeat...

They were nicknamed Dr Killers since they were the only ones that could afford them. I think the technical term is trailing throttle oversteer! :D

A kid I went to high school with was out crusing his old man's 930 turbo at age 15 and found out how quick they can get away from you, through a fence into a parked car. Needless to say he was driving a sh!tbox the whole time he was in high school after that.

Not to take away from the thread, but man those old 4 speed 930s were awesome cars... Ball busters for people who didn't know how to drive, but the right kind of fun for people who knew what they were getting into!

Piper came out with a plane called a Malibu, it was called a Dr Killer because of the same reason. It was pilot error when there was a crash.

Little seat time & big $ = Dead Dr.

LS

Same type of situation, different vehicles.

sad sad day for offshore......

I just finished the first half of the Tres Martin Performance School today. This particular accident was discussed many times. The course covers in detail the type of trouble you can get into with a stepped hull and cats. I had to take th course for insurance, but would recommend to anyone, especially people new to the stepped hull, to take the course. Worth every penny.

got any pointers for step hull owners?

Just one........TAKE THE COURSE.......:eureka:

I would if I had the time.. I do look forward to taking it tho.

so how bout them tips? its not like sign ups are tomorrow... we are a community lets not be stingy. Im sure theres other rookies on here that would like some tips. You could be preventing an accident by sharing some knowledge.

Guy with the Gladiator didn't have the time either.

I think it would be hard for a student to go to a 2 day class and come out with a one paragraph summary of the course to give as a tip.

a few do's and dont's aint gonna hurt nobody

Do: Not trim your drives in/under on a turn.

DoNOT: Over tab your boat.

Now comes the problem that you can not learn by reading on the board. How do you know if you are over trimmed or over tabbed. Well if you take the course from my understanding they actually show you so that you know what to feel for. Just not something that you can read about.....

There is always time to save lives, especially when it is your own and family !! I cant really give you tips cause it is much more involved than just a few pointers, but here is a few questions you can ask yourself.

How many footprints does your boat have?

Why cant I just hold the wheel steady through a turn?

Why do I care that there is low pressure and high pressure water under the boat?

Make the time. Fly to Florida if you have to. Your boat is down, take that opportunity to prepare yourself before its ready and too late. I was told at the class that this Cig owner was told by Markel that she would have to take the course because she had no prior experience but she found someone else to write the policy that didn't make the requirement. She told Tres that they took the boat out a couple times and it was easy enough to drive and that she wasn't going to take the course. Well, driver error, you know. It's a *****.

Couple tips, most boating accidents only involve ONE boat. Stepped Hulls account for more ACCIDENTS than CATS, but CAT accidents are by far more deadly and catastrophic.

So, with this one, and http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...xoma+cigarette
Within one month of each other, don't you think two days is reasonable?

Here's a tip... get a non stepped boat.

I agree with everyone on here that everyone should take a boaters safety course from an experienced racer. But I do believe what Jon said above is one of the most common problems with stepped boats.

People are used to the "trim in, tabs down" for turning straight bottom boats and that is the 'deadly' combo on stepped boats.

If someone hasn't had the opportunity to take Martin & Brads class at least know not to do this fatal move and until you are extremely familiar with your stepped boat and how to run/turn it, stay away from extreme/sharp turns.

my .02

Brad, we'll see you in Key West....Unless of course you plan on making it to the SCOPE Poker Run in Sept....Get out here man!!

:eek: :eek: :drink:

I love it!!

What exactly happens when you trim in while turning in a step bottom??

The local news shows up !!

tends to lift the stern moving the point of turn to the first step and basically over airates the running surface

...
...

:D :D :D

and don't forget Dr Quincy :(

I know the consensus points to driver error......

but 2 Gladiators in less than a month?.... Is there something more radical about the glads' steps than other manufacturers?

Is there less lateral stability with staggered motors over non-staggered which would increase the likelyhood to roll due to the center of gravity being tighter in from side to side??

"DO" take the class, or

"DON'T" get into something as unforgiving as a boat (any boat) w/ out first having the knowledge of understanding it's limits and the many possibilities as to how it could bite you!

How's that -- for a synopsis!!! :D

(all in fun),

Joe

Brad, we'll see you in Key West....Unless of course you plan on making it to the SCOPE Poker Run in Sept....Get out here man!![/QUOTE]


The SCOPE run is on my calender.. But I can not yet commit. We are also working on a winter trip to Havasu.

Tres is in San Diego right now and I'm pissed. I wish I still had my house in Redondo. I do miss the pacific...

See you soon.

bow steer

[QUOTE=socalstone;2203896]
but 2 Gladiators in less than a month?.... Is there something more radical about the glads' steps than other manufacturers?


...full-blown race boat (with very little extra weight), makes for a boat w/ more teeth than one might expect -- esp. considering how stable it feels while running in a straight-line!

Oh, and then there's the "A" Type aggressive personalities that we all share --- not that it helps! :D


Joe

Don't assume if you have a straight bottom boat you dont need to take the school... they can get you in trouble also.

YUP. And wealthy family members of politicians. Wasn't there a young, inexperienced Kennedy who bought himself a twin and got himself in a jam??? Can you say IFR?

Actually it was a Piper Saratoga II which is a single engine. But you're right, he was flying in IFR conditions but was only rated for VFR. He was doing something with out the proper training and experience needed and paid the ultimate price for his mistakes.