Kook, No booze, life jackets ON, you did all you could to make yourself safe in something that was inherently a high risk machine. Take solice in knowing you took steps WAY beyond what probably 99% of us on the board take. I know of only you and Cig1 on the board that wear life jackets while under way. I again hope that your situation turns out ok.

Jon

Kook - I can't tell you anything you haven't heard.... I too am very sorry about your accident & your friend.... I have blown boats over & been hurt badly .... broken ribs, knees dislocated, cuts, bruises etc. .... the one thing I learned from it is it was an accident... it was no different then many other "close calls" that I had laughed off... but it was over in a millisecond.... it wasn't intentional... it was accidental.... I could only speculate why the boat took off the way it did that time.... but it was over so fast I really never knew..... remember it was an accident.... not intentional.... God Speed your friends recovery.... & yours..... Gary.

Best wishes to you and your friend.

Good luck and I wish your friend a speedy recovery. Even though this looks horrible, it has taught us all a lesson.

Dude, that sucks!!

The more time you spend attending to your buddy, the better you will feel about it later on. Making trips to the hospital is hard at first...but then it gets easier.

What others have said here about talking to him is very true. (IMO) If he is in a coma, talking to him would be a very good idea. The more visitors, the more speech going on in the room, the more stimulation for his mind.

Give us an update on his condition when you can.

Kook,
I was away for the weekend and just read this thread and had hoped it was some kind of sick joke. I am SO sorry to hear about the trouble on the water. It makes me sick to know that you did everything right and still ended up on the "short end of the stick"! I sincerely hope that you and your buddy make a speedy recovery.

That just plain sucks that you waited so long to get your boat back to have such an unfortunate incident happen. Give me a call when/if you want to talk about things. If there's anything I can help you do to get you back on the water, please let me know.

Again, sorry to hear about the misfortune!

Dave

Accidents Happen!! We've all been there.....being in total control, and something freak happens. Stay Positive!! Best of luck to your buddy.

If good wishes and prayers help, you and your buddy will be boating together real soon. Add mine to the list. sj

Kook~ Sounds like you did everything you should have to be safe, including being "sober" while you were out. BWI is always something we think about, but more often then not people think it can't happen to them, it's always the "other person". Accidents do happen, that's why they call them accidents... I wish the best for your friend and his recovery. Fast boats are what we enjoy and accidents (operative word here) like this should be one more reminder that we need to respect the equipment that we own and enjoy, and do all we can to be safe. If we keep all that in mind when we go out, it won't prevent things like this from possibly happening, but it will make the situation safer if they do. There is a risk involved in operating boats a high speed, but that is what brings us back to the water every weekend.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and your friend for a speedy recovery!

Mark & Jenn

Kook,
It looks and sounds like a PURE ACCIDENT to me. Don't beat yourself up too badly over your buddy. We wish the both of you a full and speedy recovery.
MD

Out thouught are with you and your friend, Keep us posted and be safe !

kook, you can tell how much you are cared about. So far; 93 replies and over 3100 views in less than 24 hours. Obviously, a lot of people are here to help you thru this. I hope that helps.

94...Hope everything turns out for the best.

Jeff

kook,
wow.. after reading these posts i am humbled, after work i am going to buy 2 lifejackets.. ive been stupid.
hold your friends hand and tell him how much he means to you, the power of prayer is powerful, keep your head up my internet friend, alot of people are praying for you and your friend GOD bless you both.
this accident will benefit us boaters who gain from your safety measures and intelligence about being as safe as possible. i will!

knotherz (although it really is)

Kook, It goes without saying, but please keep us updated on your friends condition. Keep your head up and I pray that everything works out good.

Kook, glad you are ok and I hope your friend has a speedy recovery.

I know it's been sad a lot but accidents happen. You were boating safer than a lot of us do by the sounds of it. Don't beat yourself up.

Kook, I think a lot of us are reading this and thinking it could have been me. I just bought 94 Aggressor with a 502 motor. There is no doubt the boat is hairy over 70mph, I have only ventured over that twice. I hope other 25 Sunsation owners are taking a good look at what happened here and think twice about adding heavy power to these boats. Let this be a lesson to all of us just how vunerable we are out there and to realize how fun can turn into tragedy. By what you have written and the external steering on the boat, it looks as if you were taking all the safety precautions, but sometimes these just aren't enough. Our hopes and prayers are with you and your friend for a good recovery. Thank God that we aren't repeating the HTM crash.

Sorry to hear about your accident after all the time and work you put into the boat.
Glad you're pretty much ok and hope your friend has a speedy recovery.
Our thoughts are with you.

Kook, as bad as your accident was, it could have been worse. Your friend is still not out of the woods yet, but with everyones prayers and/or wishes, hopefully he will ride with you again.

Accidents happen ... my lesson was not a severe as yours, I hurt my brother-in-law due to a hardware failure. We weren't wearing vest and I wasn't hooked up. I was lucky.

As Jon said, I wear my vest 99% of the time. Mostly I do it for my family and I do it for my friends by making them feel guilty for not wearing theirs.

I was the one riding a Harley with a helmet before they had a helmet law in California ... for the family.

We play in a wild frontier and it has its inherent dangers .... play hard but play safe.

G

Kook,
Sorry to hear about all of this. It sounds as if you certainly took the necessary precautions, too bad that can't be enough to get us through it all. My thoughts and prayers are w/ you and your buddy!




Aqua

Our prayers are with you !

Wow - thanks for thinking of us.

My buddy is pretty much the same, but he's made it past the worst (when the brain swells to its max). To the layman, he looks better. I saw his legs move when the nurse had to mess with the tube(s) that are down his throat. That is the level of activity that is "significant" at this time. Nothing more substantial is expected this week. He's breathing with the help of a ventilator.

Insurance "investigator" spent a few hours with me today. Looks like this will be a drawn-out deal, not that I'm anxious to get out on the water - I've known that my season is done.

Not that they visit the board, but I would like to send a special thanks to my mother and g/f for spending time with me recently.



On another note, WTF's up with the for sale section? I went to place my 572 for sale, only to find out that it's now a pay site.... Even for the average guy? I thought this was just aimed at commercial sales? :confused:

Geez-
What else is there to say that hasn't already been said......give your friend the support he needs, but don't beat up on yourself. You were both there by choice and understood the risk.

Please keep us informed of your friend's condition.

If anyone thinks we are not a "family" on this Board, check out how many views this thread has. As of my post it is at 3992. That has to be a record. To me that shows a lot lf care and concern. Nice to see.

My thoughts and prayers are certainly with both you and your friend.

Keep us posted.

My thoughts and prayers.

Keep your head up.

Brian

Kook, Stay strong, time heels, and things will get better !!!! Mark

I had followed the threads for awhile waiting to see how and when your boat would be done, and its outcome. Putting that motor in that boat was something that I could truly appreciate. I actually passed by this thread several times assuming it was one of your friends joking with you. I am very sorry to here what has happened. We will pray for the speedy recovery of your friend. It was an accident, 75mph isn't anything that would be considered dangerous in todays speed driven boating market. You were about ten steps ahead of most boaters, wearing vests and not drinking at all. We must remind ourselves daily of the Lord and give thanks for his involvements and creation of our lives. During times of trouble and difficulty the Lord is an even stronger pillar for us to lean on. One verse I always think of when my life is tuff, I think it is Proverbs, correct me if I'm wrong, " With the Lords help, ALL things become possible". Through prayer and positive thinking, all of us can do our part to help make your friend better. Midnight:cool:

PS- I'm sure you must feel like things didn't workout as you had planned, but running right out and selling off the motor? You and your friend can get it back together later when things setttle and he is better, and this will all be a bench racing story to tell over a couple of cold ones.

kook,
I agree with MR. We all know, including you, that the motor did not cause this. I would delete all instances of you even mentioning it; before the insurance company catches wind of you even thinking/suggesting the power was at fault. That boat can be safe with that motor. I have friends with that power in the same boat. You may just need to pull a couple spark plug wires off for a while to control laying it on the dash. (My Dad disconnected the 2 main barrels on the Holley on my 327 Monte Carlo years ago when I needed a reality check). Do not make such a rash decision under such duress. Take your time. It is only property; give your time to your friend and family right now.

ok....i've been reading this thread and have kept my thoughts to myself.....but!..."75mph isn't anything that would be considered dangerous in todays speed driven boating market" WTF!!! that was the most ass-nine thing i've heard yet!!!....have i done dumb things??....holly **** yes! we all have!....someone is to blame...who???...from what i know of kook he seems like a very stand up guy. i LIKE that!....i'm not going to put one candy coated word here....are there any leasons learned here???not sure...

Kook

My family’s best wishes and prayers go out to you and your friend. Get well soon.

Trevor

I must respectfully disagree...75mph is fast. Things happen very quick at that speed. We all get caught up in this speed thing and try to eek every last mph out of our rigs, but I think most of us spend our time at cruising speeds and when we hang it out on the ragged edge, we don't have the experience that racers do and can get in trouble if we're not careful. I'm sure some of you will take exception to that, but I'm speaking about the general HP boating population, not those with tons of high speed seat time. I know that the whopper HP boats (Cigs, Outerlimits, skater, etc.) go much faster, but it is still fast on the WATER. My boat doesn't do 75, but when I'm running WOT, you need to be paying careful attention or you can get hurt. I think Kook's experience shows that.

Kook,
Sorry to hear about your accident man. When it rains it poors.
I've been reading about your boating problems lately,but this is something I didn't expect to read about.
I will pray for the speedy recovery of your friend and hope you start to feel better also. Good luck!

Audacity- For a racing guy, 75 must seem like neutral. I know on my old Baja at 75 we were eatin' donuts and drinkin coffee wondering why we paid for marina service when we should have bought a blower. But we better just leave the real judgments and discussions to experts like yourself. Kook- I, though I'm no expert, think it's all good man, your buddy will bounce back. Midnight:cool:

my perspective is very much the same as a video game when it come to speed for me....the same as it is when i ice,rock, and mountain climb...but i do RESPECT speed, the water, the pavement, the mountains, the 1000' frozen water falls i climb....and i know what they can do....some say i just manage choas....75 is 75!...respect it...

my perspective is very much the same as a video game when it come to speed for me....the same as it is when i ice,rock, and mountain climb...but i do RESPECT speed, the water, the pavement, the mountains, the 1000' frozen water falls i climb....and i know what they can do....some say i just manage choas....75 is 75!...respect it...

my perspective is very much the same as a video game when it come to speed for me....the same as it is when i ice,rock, and mountain climb...but i do RESPECT speed, the water, the pavement, the mountains, the 1000' frozen water falls i climb....and i know what they can do....some say i just manage choas....75 is 75!...respect it...

I think its getting time to start popping the pop corn.:D

But seriously, 75 in any boat should not be taken lightly, regardless of size, HP, conditions, or experience. It's obvious that Kook did take the speed seriously or he and his partner would not have been wearing jackets. In the time it took to read this sentence... you just traveled a football field. Its easy to get used to running at a speed, but that doesn't speed up your reaction time or how fast something can happen.

Be careful and know your limits. Its not just about the boats limits.

Jr- Great statement, "Know your limits". Midnight:cool: (that may have me back on a js300 jet-ski though:D )

Ditto on the your friends recovery...

Not knowing the area and where exactly you were running, but is there any possibility you may have hooked a stump or log vice a rogue wave? I'd say for learning sake if the "rogue" was small enough not to be really seen or anticipated that the trim had to be way up to lift the bow like that. I reading all this and figuring, ok, what could've prevented this from happening?...

Otherwise a sad ending to a long boat story this year. I hope you don't give up and quit...