Interesting Weekend
 

We had a day planned out for a beach party at Bantam lake in Litchfield Ct. we were going to eat lobster after a paddle wheel boat ride on this boat.

about 15 minutes into the ride ,we are all drinking having a good time, and she rolled over,then as we were all in the water, a storm kicks up and we get wind and lightning, but the good people of bantam lake came out in droves and took all of the injured people off of the overturned hull, and the police and rescue people gave everyone a ride back to the beach. so I would personally like to thank all of the boaters who came to our rescue, they threw all of their life jackets in the water, I still don't know how the people who were riding below got out, as she rolled over in about two seconds, we were about 150-200 yards from shore, I had to scream at people who were trying to swim to shore to stay with the boat,and one person tried to use me as a flotation device , I had to hurt him a little, then got him onto the hull. some mistakes were made, we did not take a head count, so we did not know if everyone made it out, and I could not force myself to go back under the boat and look. bur everyone made it.

DAYUM!! Glad you and everyone were ok. Very scary.

DAYUM!! Glad you and everyone were ok. Very scary.

:eek::eek::eek:Glad everyone is ok, very scary!

Holy cow! So do I even ask about the boat?:angry-smiley-038:

It righted itself on the bottom and they were dragging it out yesterday, I am unfamiliar with the local papers , but they took alot of photos, will try to find some.

Thats crazy. Glad you made it out OK. We lost a local girl from grand prairie after a booze crooze trip in cancun struck a reef and fliped over.

WOW that is crazy glad everyone made it out alive!

I was a bit of a control freak before this, now i am not going boating UNLESS I AM DRIVING!!! some humor came out of the ordeal, my boss, came up with a beer in his hand, (priorities) and everyone said "5 years ago you would have had your thumb over the opening"

Wow didn't a boat in Lake George flip also like that!?lucky no one injured.

That is scary. Large capsized boats are a nightmare! I guess I still have images of the Poseidon Adventure. Glad you all made it out OK.

Michael

WTF? Glad every 1 is OK. Was the boat overloaded or what????

No , the boat could hold 25, but they had added the upper deck since last year, I think the 6-7 of us up there probably (and before any fat jokes it rolled opposite of my side) caused it to be top heavy, along with a gust of wind then over correction, the papers here say the captain was arrested for bui but we know they let him go.

The press has the story wrong as usual, we were rescued by about ten ski boats, who took us to shore then called the police & rescue, we are still being told by one of the troopers that they did not charge him with B.U.I.

Yes- full of senior citizens- many of them didn't make it.

IIRC, the boat was improperly modified causing it to be top-heavy.

:D

Glad you are OK BOB!

WOW, glad to hear you and everyone are OK.
Dean

Thanks, (It is 47 degrees up here in litchfield ct. in june!!!!!!!) can't wait to go home.

I know! wtf is up with this weather ?

new picture of the boat

wow, pretty scary stuff. Glad everyone got out ok.




I take it the lobsters got away

What a wild story and a happy ending. I am pleased to hear that all are well.

Just curious, did the boat feel unstable at all?

It doesn't seem logical that these boats can be so top heavy with very little ballast underwater adn not capsize. Look at that shallow draft flat bottom.

I did not feel it was, but I had a pretty good buzz on, the driver should have felt it in the steering, but it was also the only turn we took while at speed.

I noticed that, too. Seems like a fairly narrow beam, and with the added wind resistance of the upper deck structure... the result seems a bit inevitable.

Glad everyone is ok.

Bobcat, you have reached your lifetime allotment of capsized vessels. :drink:

Glad you're OK. I remember hearing about that boat that flipped on Lake George - this made me think of that. Good thing those other boaters were out there to help. Hats off to them....:eek::D

Glad your ok could on been bad,The bottom looks clean,

Wow Bob- glad you all made it out of the boat ok. The boat does look "top heavy".

Are you Fing kidding, WTF.!!!!! Glad everyone is OK. My girl friend makes fun of me sometimes because, anytime we go on another boat (big ones), theater, Night clubs, Concerts, or any enclosed structure I point out the quickest way out, and have told her first priority is to get her and family out safe, if something was to go wrong.

I have only had to save two people from drowning both with in minutes of each other while tubing (rapids turned bad, damn let out), first was my girlfriend in college and then I went back for a friend on the New river tubing. While I knew I could save her, he was questionable at best. My friend was pissed after the incident, and asked why I didn't come for him first (he was in more trouble) I flat told him, I went for who I knew I could save and worked back, two bodies are worse than one.

WILL:eek:

They finally exonerated the boat capt., it took 5 weeks of the papers saying he was drunk before the truth came out,the local judge is pizzed. sorry I took a photo of the paper(my scanner is home in key west) thanks..... Bobcat

A lot of those people were from Michigan on a senior citizens tour. Report follows from investigation into that capsizing. I wonder how boats can be modified and not recertified for commercial tour use? Seems like it should be illegal. I sure as heck wouldn't put a flybridge on an 8' beam boat. I remember when Bayliner did it and they flipped over all the time in the straits off Port Angeles WA.

NTSB report
On July 25, 2006, the final report for the Ethan Allen boating accident was released by The National Transportation Safety Board. It established that Ethan Allen had capsized as a result of insufficient stability. The US Coast Guard was responsible for the original certification of the vessel, then called the Double Dolphin. It was thought that the original certification of 48 was allowed due different test standards applied in 1966; passenger weight difference was not responsible for those differences.

When the owner of the Double Dolphin fitted the boat with an elaborate pipe structure and canvas top, the center of gravity was raised and more importantly the projected side area vastly increased. The boat continued to be inspected and certified by the USCG for 48 persons. They should have performed another test. According to the NTSB Naval Architect, Rob Henry, if that test had been performed, the boat would not have been certified to carry any passengers due to insufficient stability to the load of the wind heel. So from a rating of 48 passengers it would have been 0.

Many years later in the mid 1970s the boat along with two other sister vessels were sold after a company insolvency to Shoreline Cruises, Lake George NY. The US Coast Guard certificates were at that point still current and valid. New York State vessel regulators were given those certificates and based on the US Coast officially stating (incorrectly) that the boat had sufficient reserve stability to safely carry 48 passengers and 2 crew. NY regulators then give the boat the same rating. In 1989, when the owner had a hard (wood and fiberglass) top installed to replace the pipe structure canopy, it was determined that its lower height more than compensated for its slightly greater weight and vessel stability was increased to the point that passenger loading would have gone from 0 with the former top to 14 passengers. Because of the increase of stability, state regulators did not require a new stability test of the vessel, and the rating continued at 50.

The capsizing occurred due to a series of events according to the NTSB. The total load was over three times greater than it should been, the pilot made a hard turn to the right at speed, the seating arrangement put three people on the left versus two on the right (giving a permanent two degree list to port), and the bench seats had no way of stopping involuntary sliding, so the centrifugal force of the hard turn caused involuntary movement of the passengers to the port. That movement increased the list to port and the increased list caused more sliding. Within seconds the center of gravity was no longer over the hull and the boat rolled over.

It was also confirmed that the number of passengers (47) was too many and that the boat was only capable of carrying 14 passengers.

recovery photos

more

Looks like a two story canoe. :eek:

Ok so since it was a happy ending with everyone saved,
I have to ask........ Did the lobsters make it?

Yes, we had a cookout the next day.

guess they didn't make it then