If it walks like a duck

[rgranger]

Just saw this video of the CG raising of the duck boat that went down in Missouri.

Sad and unnecessary tragedy.

http://abc7chicago.com/coast-guard-raises-duck-boat-that-sank-in-missouri-killing-17/3809730/

 

[JamesG161]

Looks like the went under enough to collapse the top by pressure and possible windshield busted on a wave over bow.
Jim...

PS: Possible bilge pump failure by the a similar boat inspection warning.

 

[capta]

Overall, it seems these are pretty prone to problems, as a class. I can't think of any other single vessel type that has had so many sinkings and fatalities in the tourist industry.

 

[uncledom]

They aren't using them they the way they were intended to be used. Ron Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens fame had a hand in their design. There's no way they should have tops and windows or carry civilians IMHO.

 

[Jessica]

The driver said he released the canopy. That’s why the top is like that.

 

[agprice22]

I would guess they have poor power, low freeboard when loaded, poor seahandling character. I would guess they are fine for a river crossing or a beach landing running with the waves. I would guess they would take water over the bow heading into rollers. They are open, so they fill with water and sink.
We all know squalls can blow up suddenly. The driver probably tried to point upwind, took waves over the bow til it sunk. I am not sure whether he could run with the wind. Maybe too slow or heavy. Get pooped. What happens when he gets to the lee shore? In the best case, he drives up on it. Or he takes waves over the stern and sinks? It is a vehicle that does it all and none of it well.
A complex of events ending in tragedy.

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

I would guess they have poor power, low freeboard when loaded, poor seahandling character. I would guess they are fine for a river crossing or a beach landing running with the waves. I would guess they would take water over the bow heading into rollers. They are open, so they fill with water and sink.
We all know squalls can blow up suddenly. The driver probably tried to point upwind, took waves over the bow til it sunk. I am not sure whether he could run with the wind. Maybe too slow or heavy. Get pooped. What happens when he gets to the lee shore? In the best case, he drives up on it. Or he takes waves over the stern and sinks? It is a vehicle that does it all and none of it well.
A complex of events ending in tragedy.

Good points, but according to news reports this one capsized. Then again news reports frequently get nautical events and terminology wrong.
Here's a timeline of deadly DUKW accidents. http://abc7news.com/a-timeline-of-deadly-duck-boat-related-accidents/3793587/ Interestingly most were collisions on land or pedestrians struck. One had a leak due to a faulty seal (poorly maintained according to NTSB) and one was struck by a barge - the tug boat pilot was blamed for that one.
I thought I recalled other incidents of tourist duck-boats capsizing or being swamped and sinking?
The NTSB cited lack of reserve buoyancy and the canopy structures impeding escape as contributing factors in the 1999 sinking.

 

[rgranger]

That last shot made my stomach clench. You see the bow go down, swamp and then not regain buoyancy. You can imagine the captain at that moment knowing how screwed he was. Uhg! Why!

 

[rgranger]

Here are a few more stories about it... warning.... these are hard to watch.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/.../video/playlists/missouri-duck-boat-capsizes/


If you keep watching, this first video and wait a few moments, the next few videos that pop up are related to the same story.

This last one is a bit longer and you can see the captains trying to keep the boats nose into the wind. There is also a brief moment of video shot from within the boat near the end of the video.

https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article215387100.html

 

[odaydokay]

In the video I saw, it looked like the boat was really pouring on the power when it seems to me best practice was to head up about 30 degrees off the waves, throttle back just above steerage and maintain direction and control until the storm passes. Blasting along risks putting the bow under and essentially pitch-poling, doesn't it?

 

[Gunni]

Don’t ever get on a DUKW or any other amphib without your PFD on and a plan on how you are going to abandon. This one got picked up off the bottom with the float jackets still lashed to the canopy. Poor show. Those things don’t pitch pole, they just swamp and sink.

 

[agprice22]

Yeah... driver just got fixated on one thing: bow into the wind and waves, no matter what. No flexibility. He would have been better off running before the wind.

 

[shemandr]

Well that video is about as heart wrenching as you can get. Terrible tragedy. I'll refrain from any advice to the doomed vessel. I've seen conditions deteriorate from very little wind to 60+ knots almost instantly. You see the wind coming as a boil over the water. In the case of our event there was no NWS warning or anything else. At least one multi hull sailor died in that tempest. So for those who judge the action of the operators I would caution that unless you've seen a sudden severe weather event, you may not know how bad they can be.

 

[Brian S]

From what I have read elsewhere from someone experienced with the DUKW design, there's supposed to be an electric pump, and a chain driven pump off the drive shaft. These are frequently poorly or not maintained at all by these tourist companies. The chain pump should have been able to handle the amount of water coming in. The DUKW has been shown to be very seaworthy and was used back when introduced to rescue some USCG sailors stuck on a sandbar when the USCG boat sank due to gale conditions. That rescue is what swayed the military to approve them.

 

[agprice22]

From what I have read elsewhere from someone experienced with the DUKW design, there's supposed to be an electric pump, and a chain driven pump off the drive shaft. These are frequently poorly or not maintained at all by these tourist companies. The chain pump should have been able to handle the amount of water coming in. The DUKW has been shown to be very seaworthy and was used back when introduced to rescue some USCG sailors stuck on a sandbar when the USCG boat sank due to gale conditions. That rescue is what swayed the military to approve them.

Interesting. From what I saw, it did take a beating and fought hard.

 

[Gunni]

In the case of our event there was no NWS warning or anything else.

This situation? I heard about severe storms sweeping southeast from Iowa earlier that day. Not much gets by the NWS, plenty get's by inattentive boaters. My expectation would be the operator had his weather comms active 24/7.

 

[agprice22]

This situation? I heard about severe storms sweeping southeast from Iowa earlier that day. Not much gets by the NWS, plenty get's by inattentive boaters. My expectation would be the operator had his weather comms active 24/7.

Yeah, the WSJ indicated several NWS small craft warnings covering several days, including the day.