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| Representative Bay Boat - not the one in the story. |
My wife sent me this from San Antonio News 4. The linked story includes video of the Coast Guard testing.
SAN ANTONIO — The Coast Guard
is sounding a warning about a very popular kind of boat. Chances are you, or a
family member, has been on board one. As News 4 Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila
reports, a number of people were killed or seriously injured by something the
boat has a tendency to do.
They're called Texas flats
boats or bay boats. They have a thinner hull for getting around in shallow
water along the Texas gulf coast. That has made them a favorite of fishermen in
the San Antonio area.
But the coast guard says this
style of boat can suddenly go out of control, injuring or killing passengers.
In July of 2012, 16-year-old
Kali Gorzell was thrown off of a friends bay boat during a fishing trip in Port
Aransas.
"They were having a
really fantastic day. They were sharing photos with us," said Kali's
father, James Gorzell.
While making a turn at a
relatively slow speed, the boat spun around 180 degrees.
"Suddenly the boat
completely swapped ends. Kali was not in the boat. They heard a big thump on
the engine," James Gorzell said.
Kali had been struck in the
head and neck by the boat's propeller.
"The doctor came in and
said that they worked on her for two hours but they couldn't bring her back and
you know, of course, that was like the end of the world."
Kali's parents learned of
other tragic accidents involving the same style of boat.
Last year, sixth grader
Michael Dominguez of San Antonio was thrown from his father's boat. His leg was
so badly mangled by the propeller he needed skin grafts.
"I was thrown off the
boat and the boat propeller caught my leg," Michael Dominguez said after
the accident.
And just last October,
57-year-old Janis Lindeman of Blanco was killed when she fell off of a flats
boat and was hit by the propeller.
James and Donna Gorzell
reached out to Cody Jones, an Assistant Commander with the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department. It turns out one of his game wardens had been thrown from
a flats boat.
"It swapped ends on him
and he was thrown from the vessel and injured," Jones said.
With Jones's help the
Gorzell's convinced the U. S. Coast Guard to take the boat that killed Kali,
and another flats boat to a testing facility in Maryland. Video of the test was
obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. A private research team
hired by the Coast Guard outfitted the two flats boats so they could be driven
by remote control. Researchers attempted hard turns with the boats at 25 miles
per hour, a routine maneuver for other boats.
Cody Jones went to Maryland
and witnessed the tests.
"The vessel would
uncontrollably do a 180 degree turn with the motor coming out of the water
exposing the propeller," Jones said.
The study by the Coast Guard
contractor, CED Technologies, concluded: "It would be difficult to
envision how either of the two hull forms could be safely used for recreational
boating. In its present form, the two hull forms tested by CED were
unsafe."
However, when the News 4
Trouble Shooters contacted the Coast Guard's Chief of Boating Safety he told
me: "That is the contractor's position it is not the coast guard's
official position. The coast guard identifies unsafe conditions but we do not
declare boats unsafe."
The agency says it doesn't
have the authority to issue recalls or safety changes. For now, it is
"highly recommending manufacturers place a warning label in these types of
tested boats to advise the operator of this handling characteristic and
consider engineering modifications."
Kali's parents say that
doesn't go far enough.
"They shouldn't
manufacture them anymore," James Gorzell told us.
The Gorzells are working with
State Representative Lyle Larson on a bill that would require operators of all
boats wear a lanyard connected to a kill switch. So if the driver is knocked
off their feet or out of the boat, the engine will stop. The measure would be called Kali's law.
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