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Boating Industry Needs Legal Defense Against Emerging Propeller Safety Devices / Technologies

The boating industry has been pretty successful in defending propeller injury cases when the plaintiff presents a traditional propeller guard (ring or cage type guard) as the exemplar, example of how the defendant could have prevented the accident. This post reviews those defenses, reviews how some modern day products are challenging those defenses, and how […]

Contrapel Water Jet

Two New Zealand inventors (Barry Davies and Paul Paterson) have spent nearly twenty years developing a contra-rotating water jet. Like contra-rotating propellers, the Contrapel waterjet uses two impellers turning in opposite directions. The original efforts were by a firm called ContraJet Ltd. After that effort stalled, it became PropellerJet Ltd. The water jet research and […]

Kali Gorzell : Texas Girl Killed in Aransas Pass Boat Propeller Accident

Live Like Kali <3 Sixteen year old Kali Gorzell of greater San Antonio Texas was boating near Aransas Pass about 10:30am Friday July 20, 2012. The teenage girl was onboard a boat as a friend of two sisters and their father. They were boating on Redfish Bay, near Dagger Island. The boat turned, she fell […]

Charlie Hutton, Boy Killed by Boat Propeller Near Isle of Wight Needles

Charlie Hutton, age 14 of Croydon in Surrey, was boating with Simon Hutton (his father) and two of his teenage friends on Friday July 20, 2012. Their inflatable boat was between Mudeford in Dorset and the Needles off the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom (UK). Simon Hutton was operating the boat when his […]

Boating Industry Continues to Claim Propeller Guards Were Never Offered by Boat Builders: We Show Otherwise

A common defense used by the boating industry in propeller injury cases and in propeller guard discussions is their claim that no boat builder ever sold boats with guards on them, offered propeller guards as an option, or sold propeller guards OR at least not guards that were intended to protect people. We just encountered […]

Boat Builders Offering Propeller Guards Part 1 (A-M)

Numerous boat builders have offered or do offer propeller guards as an option, have sold propeller guards, or have provided their boats for use in major events (such as the Olympics) at which they knew guards would be required on their boats. This post is part one of a two part post identifying some of […]

Modeling the Risk of a Propeller Striking a Person or a Submerged Object: a Senior Design Project

Recreational boat propellers often strike swimmers, divers, snorkelers, tubers, people ejected from the boat, logs, driftwood, dredge pipes, debris, marine life, or other floating or submerged objects. A model of those risks would be useful in crafting: Boating safety tips Regulations Propeller safety products Design and marking of swimming, snorkeling, and diving areas Boat and […]

Boat or Boat Motor Struck Submerged Dredge Pipe: Exemplar Boat Accidents

The Storm Lake Iowa Laass v. Brunswick case has focused attention on boats and marine drives striking submerged or floating dredge pipes / dredge lines. In the Storm Lake accident, a ten year old boy, David Paul McFarlin was killed on May 31, 2010. A 175 HP Mercury outboard struck a submerged dredge pipe, flipped […]

Propeller Warning Labels Seen at the 2012 Tulsa Boat Show

We attended the 2012 Tulsa Boat Show on Saturday morning February 4, 2012. While still getting used to my new digital camera, Lora and I walked around and shot photos of propeller warning decals. I am well aware there is quite a bit of variety in propeller warning decals, but found an even broader selection […]

Outboard Motor Struck Submerged Object And Flipped Into Boat: Exemplar Outboard Boat Accidents

The Storm Lake Iowa Laass v. Brunswick case has focused attention on outboard marine drives striking submerged objects and flying back up into the boat. In the Storm Lake accident, a ten year old boy, David Paul McFarlin was killed on May 31, 2010. A 175 HP Mercury outboard struck a submerged dredge pipe, flipped […]