DUKW BOATS

[Z15CAM]

WTF is about playing around an 80 year old 7 ton troop carrier that was designed to dash a beach head before it sank.

A log raft would be better for civilians.

I would sooner be in a canoe then an anchor when water gets rough.

 

[compuwiz1]

Absolutely. Those fuckin' things should not be in any kind of civilian use, much less used like a tour bus. If the operators want to give water tours, get a damn boat! Most military equipment should not be in civilian use, save for some Jeeps, that spend their time on the roads.

 

[rommelrommel]

I gotta say, first time I saw one I was like wtf why would I ever get in one of those.

 

[cytg111]

Absolutely. Those fuckin' things should not be in any kind of civilian use, much less used like a tour bus. If the operators want to give water tours, get a damn boat! Most military equipment should not be in civilian use, save for some Jeeps, that spend their time on the roads.

*cough*guns*cough*
guess its a 2nd freedom kinda boat!

 

[compuwiz1]

*cough*guns*cough*
guess its a 2nd freedom kinda boat!

What a retarded response. Yes, bring guns into it. You are a moron. The boat should have never been allowed to launch in that weather, period.

 

[Thump553]

Extremely popular with the tourists in Boston for years/decades, I guess the popularity has spread from there.

Then again, they don't take them out in Boston Harbor in 65mph winds though. The problem here wasn't the equipment, it was operator/owner gross stupidity and greed.

Ever ride in a private single engine plane? Odds are it is at least fifty years old. Planes, even private planes, go through rigorous federally mandated inspections (at least as far as the pre-Trump era goes).

 

[cytg111]

What a retarded response. Yes, bring guns into it. You are a moron. The boat should have never been allowed to launch in that weather, period.

Military equipment, your words not mine, champ .

 

[IronWing]

Having ridden in one, I have to say that they are fun. Probably not so much when the Japanese were raining hot lead down on you but the Wisconsin Dells tour was good.

https://www.dellsducks.com/history-of-the-ducks/

Apparently they've been using the ducks since 1946.

Edit: Given that these vehicles have been used for this type of tour everyday for over seventy years, it seems a bit overkill to take them out of service because one operator chose to take one out in a storm.

 

[brycejones]

Making these safer actually isn't that hard but the NTSB's recommendations have been ignored. The vehicles themselves are capable of being operated in a safe manner. Once again the answer isn't to freak out and drive these companies out of business but to put in place reasonable regulations that help ensure the safety of those aboard.

Some of the commentators in this thread would have banned airplanes after the first few crashes.

And yes the decision to go out on the water with storms moving in was stupid.

 

[BUTCH1]

One of the survivors said the Captain told them not too put on life preservers "they won't be needed", most were found floating empty where it went down. Even worse was the severe weather was known to be coming in and they booked the boats full and went out anyway, seems they didn't want to lose the $$ of a days revenue and took a huge chance with passengers lives.

 

[brycejones]

One of the survivors said the Captain told them not too put on life preservers "they won't be needed", most were found floating empty where it went down. Even worse was the severe weather was known to be coming in and they booked the boats full and went out anyway, seems they didn't want to lose the $$ of a days revenue and took a huge chance with passengers lives.

Even absent the tragedy the decision to start sight seeing trips when they knew the weather was going to be bad was just wrong. One report said they did the water portion first because they knew the weather was coming. So the land portion in the best case was going to be driving around staring out at heavy rain.

 

[Jaskalas]

And yes the decision to go out on the water with storms moving in was stupid.

Given the conditions on the water, think the NWS issued a wind advisory that day?

 

[Zorba]

Obviously there was a lot of operational issues that lead up to this, and hopefully the company gets theirs for that. The captain telling people to not don life jackets should be criminal and I'm going to guess he was trained that way.

But the equipment has issues too. It took on a few good waves and sank, something hauling around 30+ people shouldn't sink from that or that fast.

Also there is very poor egress, especially since they had the rain windows down. The back stairs were locked up and probably too heavy to open once it had capsized and the windows being down, and the roof, would've made egress from the sides or top much harder.

The captain not preparing for abandonment sealed the fate of the dead. Not to mention he cruised right by the Branson Bell, her dock, and most likely to have been able to help, her manned tug boat.

They should've never been in the water, but poor equipment design usually shows itself after bad decisions are made.

 

[Zorba]

Given the conditions on the water, think the NWS issued a wind advisory that day?

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued before they entered the water. I think Branson uses the same standard as Oklahoma for severe thunderstorm storms. To be a severe thunderstorm it must have 60+ mph winds and/or hail at least quarter size.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Using them in rough waters is bad.
Also, using them with a "death trap" style canopy is bad.
Exhaust can be tweaked to make it less likely to take in water.

Amphibious vehicles are awesome.

 

[dyna]

I was on that trip(Ride the Ducks) a couple of weeks ago. While we were on the water(conditions were no to little wind), the boat was leaning about 30 degrees to one side. I asked the driver if something was wrong and he said it was the weight distribution of where people were sitting but the boat was full, so it seems there should have been a net zero effect on the weight. Even if it was weight distribution, the boat didn't have much tolerance to cause it to lean to one side, I can't imagine it during a storm. I don't plan to ever ride one again.

 

[Jaskalas]

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued before they entered the water...

Yeah, severe weather is a great time to take a boat load of people out into water in a small craft.... if one were actively trying to kill them.

This reeks of ignorance and malpractice.

 

[hal2kilo]

Another Duck ride takes it's victims.

This happened in Seattle on a bridge.

https://www.seattletimes.com/category/ride-the-ducks/

Extremely popular with the tourists in Boston for years/decades, I guess the popularity has spread from there.

Then again, they don't take them out in Boston Harbor in 65mph winds though. The problem here wasn't the equipment, it was operator/owner gross stupidity and greed.

Ever ride in a private single engine plane? Odds are it is at least fifty years old. Planes, even private planes, go through rigorous federally mandated inspections (at least as far as the pre-Trump era goes).

 

[brycejones]

Yeah, severe weather is a great time to take a boat load of people out into water in a small craft.... if one were actively trying to kill them.

This reeks of ignorance and malpractice.

Yep, I have no doubt that will be the biggest finding in the final analysis that the crew's ability to identify and manage the weather related risk was lacking.

But there are other steps already identified by the NTSB from an earlier accident that would help minimize the loss of life even when stupid happens.

And and update:

https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article215351040.html

You can see unused life jackets tangled in the canopy.

 

[dyna]

Yep, I have no doubt that will be the biggest finding in the final analysis that the crew's ability to identify and manage the weather related risk was lacking.

But there are other steps already identified by the NTSB from an earlier accident that would help minimize the loss of life even when stupid happens.

And and update:

https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article215351040.html

You can see unused life jackets tangled in the canopy.

The plastic splash guards were also down, leaving only a few ways to exit when it submerged. I'm guessing the survivors managed to wiggle their way out the top? I wonder if there was ample room to get out with a life jacket on.

 

[brycejones]

The plastic splash guards were also down, leaving only a few ways to exit when it submerged. I'm guessing the survivors managed to wiggle their way out the top? I wonder if there was ample room to get out with a life jacket on.

One earlier story indicated the survivor couldn't even pull out the life jacket from where it was stored. There does seem to be a lot of structure in the middle of that canopy for someone to get caught on if they were trying to get out that way. So far the details on how people actually got out have been pretty slim at least in the stories I've read.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Extremely popular with the tourists in Boston for years/decades, I guess the popularity has spread from there.

If we are doing a "dick measuring contest", I think Wisconsin wins this one. The land of cheeses and beers has been doing drunken ducking tours since 1946.
Boston started doing them 50 years later in the 1990s.
http://www.wisconsinducktours.com/


Also, the wisconsin ones are not death traps. you can swim around the roof if they get overturned. Much more survivable in a capsize event.

 

[BUTCH1]

If we are doing a "dick measuring contest", I think Wisconsin wins this one. The land of cheeses and beers has been doing drunken ducking tours since 1946.
Boston started doing them 50 years later in the 1990s.
http://www.wisconsinducktours.com/


Also, the wisconsin ones are not death traps. you can swim around the roof if they get overturned. Much more survivable in a capsize event.

Providing one can actually swim that is. This type of vehicle, (due to it's heavy truck frame) just has very little positive buoyancy to spare, it's original design was to haul cargo from close to shore in fair weather, not as a fun adventure service. I'd like to see it's bilge-pumping capability, I'd bet it's scant to none, these all also date back to the 1940's, how much spare parts are actually available for proper maintenance?.

 

[brycejones]

Providing one can actually swim that is. This type of vehicle, (due to it's heavy truck frame) just has very little positive buoyancy to spare, it's original design was to haul cargo from close to shore in fair weather, not as a fun adventure service. I'd like to see it's bilge-pumping capability, I'd bet it's scant to none, these all also date back to the 1940's, how much spare parts are actually available for proper maintenance?.

The pumps in these were originally designed to keep up with a 2 inch hole in the hull.

Given the number in commercial service parts availability is probably better then you would think.

 

[BUTCH1]

The pumps in these were originally designed to keep up with a 2 inch hole in the hull.

Given the number in commercial service parts availability is probably better then you would think.

So they were expected to keep it afloat if struck by small arms fire, that makes sense considering it's intended design. About 21,000 were made, possibly enough to make part tooling profitable, in any event custom CNC machining can fill in the gaps although it's extremely expensive. Still a risky deal though, they seem to swamp easily, then again when they were used they probably forbid their deployment in rough conditions.