How not to tow your boat

[jasoraso]

This happened last week in a small town at Bear Lake in Utah.

Boat got rear ended, and ended up on top of the tow vehicle. The truck that did the rear ending ended up on the trailer.

Bad start to the boating season, I feel for the boat owner.

However, at least they didn't capsize like a Wakesetter at the same lake last week. After 3 hours in the 55* water during the storm, 4 people ended up dead.


Modified by admin to make image full

 

[Glassman]

Yikes!

If that boat was properly secured it would have had to rip through both rear straps, the bow strap and the emergency cable/chain (if equipped).

That is scary to think about if you are driving something other than a pick-up, huh?

 

[SCSTWG]

You don't see that everyday. Would love to know if the boat was properly secured and if so, how fast he had to hit him to make that happen. Wow.

 

[Julian]

Looks like the bow eye is hanging down....yikes....must have been a hell of a crunch.....

 

[bronze_10]

But think of the money he will save not needing a trailer to haul his boat now... just use the boat sized dent in the roof of the truck..

 

[rkluck]

The other guy must not have even tried to stop! It is shame about the other 4 people too!

 

[jasoraso]

Yeah, the real tragedy is the group that got caught in a storm that blew in super-fast. 70mph winds and waves capsized the boat. Everybody had life jackets on. 2 teenage girls decided to swim for shore (3 miles away or so), their shouts were heard after about 3 hours in the water by a S&R team on the lake. Out of the 4 that stayed at the capsized boat, 3 didn't survive the cold water/storm. Mom survived; Dad and 2 children didn't.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2584071-155/surviving-girls-recount-horror-that-claimed

 

[GTBRMC]

Yeah, the real tragedy is the group that got caught in a storm that blew in super-fast. 70mph winds and waves capsized the boat. Everybody had life jackets on. 2 teenage girls decided to swim for shore (3 miles away or so), their shouts were heard after about 3 hours in the water by a S&R team on the lake. Out of the 4 that stayed at the capsized boat, 3 didn't survive the cold water/storm. Mom survived; Dad and 2 children didn't.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2584071-155/surviving-girls-recount-horror-that-claimed

Saw that. Very sad, indeed.

 

[GTBRMC]

Too bad the boat in OP's photo didn't have a Keel Guard

 

[BoaterGuy]

Saw that. Very sad, indeed.

So it looks like their boat was a wake/ski boat with a low freeboard. WTF were they doing on the lake in 70 mph winds? Was this a failure to check the weather before going out? Why were they the only boat out there?

Geez I have so many questions. It just seems like a poor use of judgment.

 

[jasoraso]

This is a mountain lake; surrounded by tall mountains. From my own experience, I know how fast the thunderstorms can blow over the top of the mountain, and in a 5 minute period, go from blue skies to 70mph microburst winds. The lake is 20 miles long, and 5 miles wide. The mountains literally start right at the edge of the lake and go up 2,500 feet above lake level, and run parallel to the 20+ mi length of the lake, so unless you are checking a radar map on your phone (difficult with the poor cell signal on this mountain lake), you may not know a thunderstorm is coming until it is right on top of you.

That being said, I don't know what boating experience level this family had, or their familiarity with the conditions. I do know another family personally that was at the lake this day, and they got off the lake about 20 minutes before the storm broke - but I don't know if they left because they saw the storm coming; or if they were merely done for the day.

It does seem like poor judgment. But I've been caught in a storm or two on Utah Lake, racing back to the marina, in 5-8ft waves, and 50mph winds. So I'm not going to judge the dad - especially given the situation of the lake.

 

[Zarrella]

I would still try to launch it. Drive at the ramp doing 50+ and nail the brakes! Why lose a day on the water???

 

[jasoraso]

I would still try to launch it. Drive at the ramp doing 50+ and nail the brakes! Why lose a day on the water???

Just make sure the outdrive is up!