Whats The Worst Boating Fail You Have Ever Seen?

[ozski]

I've been around water skiing since the 70's and I've seen more than one nasty boat fail. I've clear memories of at least 2 center mounts burning and sinking. I've seen 2 boats connect at speed t-bone style without serious injury to crew I might add. Despite numerous water incidents I'm still thinking the innocuous boat ramp presents a much higher risk of injury or death, find a busy public boat ramp, pull up a chair and some beer and you can be entertained for hours at a time.. No no don't unhitch the trailer, not there..

[Porkfight]

The guy that crashed into my fully restored 1979 Sterling semi-v while we we floating on the river, sending me, my wife and father in law diving off at the last second. His Tige with 8 people aboard was on top of my boat, completely out of the water, until mine sank. Not one person was looking forward. This happened in June. I really miss that boat. My dad bought it brand new in '79.

[nam1975]

I don't get to the public ramp much, thankfully, but being close to Lake Erie I see all sorts of trailer mishaps along the road.

 

Boat on the road and a couple of tires completely off this year.

 

The big pond is a good reminder to not get lazy about checking your stuff, even if you don't use a public ramp.

 

 

 

[webbdawg99]

My grandfather. 1985. He was teaching a cousin to ski as I was riding in one of the rear facing seats in his I/O. After the skier got up, my grandfather kept looking back over his shoulder at the skier yelling, "arms straight, knees bent!" I couldn't help but think that he wasn't watching where we were going. We crashed through an elevated walkway to a dock, jumped the sea wall, and perfectly t-boned a tree about 50 feet on shore. I was catapulted out into the mud unharmed. My grandfather suffered a broken leg. Judging by the shrapnel of the dock, we are lucky nobody was killed. Needless to say, I wouldn't ride in the boat with him for a long time after that. I know there's a pic of the carnage in an old family photo album somewhere. I'll have to upload it if I can find it.

[Edbrazil]

This would have been early 1960's. Going for a free-ski on my jumpers. Behind a Century

inboard. With driver & observer. Got pulled up on a deepwater start, and was riding along for

just 200 yards or so. With the observer, seated facing rearward, doing the observing. But, the

driver was also observing, head turned around, and not looking ahead at all. As Murphy's Law

would dictate, another boat towing a skier pulled out from behind a point of land. We were on

a collision course to T-bone the other boat.

I frantically started pointing forward. My boat crew just grinned at me. I finally dropped the

towline, as did the other skier, who saw what was about to happen. No collision, but a close

call. May have run over the other boat's towline.

My boat driver was not some inexperienced novice; he was a top-rated official, and had driven

for big tournaments, certainly Regionals, maybe Nationals. Inattention and stupidity can happen

with about anybody.

[Edbrazil]

And then there is this one, which happened on big Lake Winnipesaukee. Think it was dark/foggy:

at the time http://www.telegram.com/article/20100422/news/4220600 likely going too fast

for the conditions.

Somewhat fortunate is that a doctor had a camp on the island, heard the crash, and rushed to

the site to treat the injured. No, didn't see this, but it was a major story in the newspapers and

on TV for weeks. The driver was an experienced boater.

[Edbrazil]

Seems like I have a few to tell, but when you have 60+ years on the water, stuff happens.

Next door, the family ran the Opeechee Junior Water Ski School for a while in the mid to late

1950's. Towing us with their now-classic Garwood inboard. In the Summer, they would get

an exchange student from Europe to help them. The guy had driven boats, but not for

tournament skiing practice. So, one day, he's going to pull a set of jumping for the first time,

with the boy next door, who was Regional Champ. level. At that time, there was nothing for

a jump course. Not even a 45 foot buoy. Whatever he got for instructions, I don't know. But,

he drive extremely close to the ramp. So close that the boat struck the ramp, actually a 2x10

timber that protruded out the side a bit. Puncturing the side of the boat, and knocking the ramp

from the 5 foot setting down to 4 feet. No side curtains on the 8 foot wide ramp, as was typical then.

 

No injuries, just boat damage. Understandably, the skier passed on that jump.

 

[6balls]

I know a guy who didn't have his boat on his lift right and put it up anyway...tracking fins pushed right through the bottom of the boat.

 

Also wally we used to vacation with had this piece of crap aluminum boat with a topper and a 115 Johnson that sounded awful and spit more. For the most part it didn't get used to ski cuz my dad pulled anyone who even hinted they may want to ski and had the better boat.

 

The wally is pulling that day with a rope clipped to the two rear tow eyes and he would swing skiers in and we always talked about how he was way to close. He swung in an inexperienced skier close on the whip, his daughter was waiting in waist deep water with her ski to go next. Ski got her in the abdomen and fileted her right open. Off to emergency surgery turned out ok but was an accident waiting to happen...though wouldn't have expected just that type of accident.

[allycat]

had the marintine boat come up to us while we where stoped having a swim and they turned 90 degree s to my boat opened the throttle and rammed it only thing that saved it was the wake tower otherwise they were going over the top .than they booked us for having an underage observer.have no respect for those wallys now

[Edbrazil]

Then, there is the fail that probably a lot of people on this Forum have seen/heard.

Consisting of putting your boat on the lift, turning it on, and getting distracted with other

things, like putting gear away.

Until you hear the BANG when the windshield explodes as the boat hits the top. I haven't

done that one, but know at least one person who has. A good design modification would be

that you have to hold the lever or it will return to STOP.

[webbdawg99]

I found the pics....including one of my grandfather and his broken leg.

 

[texas_slalom_trick]

@webbdawg99 I think he was trying to be James bond. Definitely a truck trying to back up a boat into the water, and the water was probably up to the window of the truck,and on the back window of the truck was a huge texas a&m sticker.

[ForrestGump]

July 4th night on Lake McQueeney in Texas about 14-15 years ago. Was sitting on friends dock and saw boat with lights idling along 100 yards off shore. We could hear another boat coming, but couldn't see it as it didn't have lights on. Boat without lights hits boat with lights at speed right in front of us. We dove in and were pulling people out. Unfortunately, we had no idea how many people to even look for.