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Archive for Propeller Guards – Page 3

Unprotected Propellers Can Maim and Kill: AFLOAT December 2014

AFLOAT, an Australian boating magazine published an article on the dangers of boat propellers in their December 2014 issue. The article includes news clips from two recent high profile propeller accidents involving children down under. 1. A 12 year-old New Zealand school was seriously stuck on the arm when the rowing team skiff was struck […]

Propeller Safety Year in Review 2014

A review of the major propeller safety events in 2014 including safety meetings, accidents, legal cases, deaths of those involved in the movement, statistics, patents, articles published, public service announcements, anniversaries, regulations, and other related events.

UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) backs off prop guard statement

Cian Williams, then 13, was struck by a boat propeller in August 2012 in Wales. Since the strike, Cian and his mother have been among the leading propeller safety advocates in the UK. Cian has been gathering names on a petition to change Welsh law to require propeller guards on boat propellers. In the wake […]

Michael Meyer v. Carnival Cruise Lines, et al.

On March 10, 2011 Michael Meyer, about age 65 at time of the accident, and his wife (Luz Hilda Meyer) were on a cruise at St. Lucia, a Caribbean island. They were cruising on the Carnival cruise ship, the M/V Carnival Victory. On this day, they went on a St. Lucia shore excursion trip Michael […]

David Schulman representative of the Estate of Casey Schulman v. Semester at Sea, et al.

We previously covered the Casey Schulman propeller accident. The 20 year-old young woman from Falls Church, Virginia was struck and killed by the propeller of a snorkel tour boat while visiting the Caribbean island of Dominica as part of a University of Virginia Semester at Sea program. Her father, David Schulman, filed a lawsuit in […]

Rating Propeller Guards per USCG’s New Propeller Test Procedure: the Numbers

We examine the propeller guard Rating system and the numbers and data behind those Ratings as defined by the new U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) / American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) Propeller Guard Test Procedure. The new propeller guard test procedure (originally called the Propeller Guard Test Protocol) assigns ratings (typically 0,1,2,3) to prop guards […]

Blunt Trauma & Biomechanics of Boat Propeller & Propeller Guard Strikes: Part 1

Introduction The boating industry often cites the dangers of being struck by a propeller guard as a reason for not using them. They claim boat propeller guards exhibit a much larger cross sectional area than an unguarded propeller and as a result those in the water are much more likely to be struck by the […]

Blunt Trauma & Biomechanics of Boat Propeller & Propeller Guard Strikes: Part 2

This post is Part 2. Please view Part 1 first. Biomechanics Per Biomechanics of Chest and Abdomen Impact. Chapter 53. David Viano and Albert King. Biomedical Engineering Fundamentals: “The biomechanical response of the body has three components: (1) inertial resistance by acceleration of body masses, (2) elastic resistance by compression of stiff structures and tissues, […]

USCG Propeller Guard Test Procedure – an initial review

USCG released the new Propeller Guard Test Procedure / Propeller Guard Test Protocol earlier this week on September 11, 2013. We have since had time to quickly read through it and have a few comments: 1. The entire document appears to have been re-written since the October 2012 version. A quick comparison of page 3 […]

Propeller Guard Test Procedure Released by U.S. Coast Guard

Many years in the making, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) released the final version of the Propeller Guard Test Procedure / Protocol today, September 11, 2013. The US Coast Guard news release quotes USCG’s Phil Cappel as saying, “The report provides the means to evaluate the boat performance characteristics and the level of protection […]