U.S. Coast Guard National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) 87th meeting in Arlington Virginia March 23-25, 2017. Part 3 of our coverage.
Thursday Late Afternoon 25 March 2017.
Boats & Associated Equipment Subcommittee continued
Recent Propeller Injuries & Discussion of Potential Mitigation Strategies
Brian Goodwin of ABYC at NBSAC97
by Phil Cappel Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety and Brian Goodwin of ABYC (John Adey of ABYC was previously listed in error)
Brian Goodwin gave the presentation.
PropellerSafety.com note – this presentation was a followup presentation on the discussion at NBSAC96 about pontoon boat bow riding propeller injuries. Prior to NBSAC96 we sent the Coast Guard a link to our post about a cluster 6 pontoon boat bow riding accidents in 8 days in the summer of 2016. As a result of those accidents they began to look into the issue. In NBSAC96 they announced a study of pontoon boat accident data would be undertaken.
When we were here in the Fall we heard about a rash of accidents that were happening on pontoon boats and what was looked at was bow riding. As a result a Resolution 2016-96-04 was passed.
As a result, USCG reached out to ABYC and that project is what he will be talking about.
U.S. Coast Guard National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) 87th meeting in Arlington Virginia March 23-25, 2017. Part 4 of our coverage.
Friday 25 March 2017.
Prevention Through People Subcommittee
Rich Jepsen at NBSAC97
Rich Jepson opened the Prevention Though People segment.
He expressed his thanks to Jeff Ludwig, Jeff Hoedt, and Captain Boross.
Streamlining On-Water Instructor Licensing
by Rich Jepson
He presented and there was an engaging conversation about on water boater safety training, sometimes called skills training. Several groups are beginning to or would like to offer on the water boating safety training for boat operators. Existing regulations consider that act carriage for hire, resulting in the person providing the training needing to have higher level commercial vessel operator licenses, a significant number of hours on the sea, a medical physical (somewhat like a pilot), and pass a drug test. These requirements can cost a few thousand dollars and take a lot of time.
Another possible route has been found. A Limited Operator (LOUPV) category might be used by those providing training.
LOUPV = Limited Operator Uninspected Passenger Vessel license.
The Limited Operator licenses must be established and worked out locally. Various local restrictions can be placed upon them such as daylight only, stay out of the sea lanes, stay close to shore, Spring and Summer only, or whatever the local officers deem appropriate.
Mr. Jepson proposes NBSAC work with USCG headquarters to create a guide to help those wishing to provide these services be able to navigate the challenges of obtaining a license to do so.
Captain Gifford asked about age requirements for LOUPV, you must be 18 of older. Several offering on water safety training are though to be under 18.
There was considerable discussion of current regulatory challenges resulting in the inability to create some new category or add a subset within an existing regulation to make what they wanted possible. Read More →
U.S. Coast Guard National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) 87th meeting in Arlington Virginia March 23-25, 2017. Part 5 of our coverage.
Saturday 26 March 2017.
The last day is typically reserved for the three subcommittees (Boats and Boat Equipment, Prevention Through People, and Strategic Planning) presenting resolutions, the discussion and formalization of those resolutions, and voting on them.
With no resolutions this year, beyond those recognizing those retiring, it was mostly comments on the three topics, planning for the future, and some informational presentations.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Accident Statistics
by Pam Doty of USACE
Pam Doty of USACE presenting at NBSAC97
ACE owns a number of lakes and record accidents at those facilities, not all of which occur on the water.
USACE might be able to move the needle in ways USCG has not been able to on life jacket wear.
Several years ago they required life jacket wear on a part of Mississippi. They previously counted lake traffic there and on surrounding lakes. Traffic did not decrease on mandatory wear lakes, it actually increased. Wear rate is still higher there years later. She hopes to do some counting there this year.
Wear rate went up to about 80 percent.
Officers just enforced the law (mandatory wear) when they encountered people. They gave out warnings and tickets. The word got out and coffee shop chat spread the word. Read More →
This report is of a near miss propeller propeller accident that could have been avoided if the operator had been wearing a kill switch per Canadian authorities.
It also points out the dangers of hypothermia while boating in cold waters that were stressed in the recent NBSAC meeting.
Thursday night, 23 March 2017, a family of four were boating on Cowichan Bay off Vancouver Island, Canada.
While trying to pull up a crab pot, the two male adults and a 2 year old boy were ejected from the boat when one man inadvertently bumped the throttle, leaving a 5 year old girl and a dog on board.
Only the children were wearing life jackets.
The 5 meter boat spun in the Circle of Death at full speed in the cold water. Read More →
We commend Fell Marine for exhibiting their new wireless kill switch at the Classic. The Bassmaster Classic is a tremendous family friendly free event. Catch as much of it as you can and drop by Fell Marine’s booth at the Expo. If you can’t make it there, you can watch some of it online at Bassmaster.com.
Earlier we created and posted maps of the Bassmaster Classic sites in Houston and Lake Conroe attendees will find useful.
Below is a portion of Fell Marine’s press release:
Fell Marine logo
The most exciting bass fishing event and the most innovative boat safety product come together next week at the 47th annual Bassmaster Classic. FELL Marine will be showcasing their wireless engine kill switch, the MOB+ at the Classic EXPO. Attendees are encouraged to visit FELL Marine at Booth 417 to see the future of marine kill switches. The FELL Marine Team will be on hand to talk about boat safety, explain how the MOB+ works and show how easy the MOB+ can be installed into your boat with all engine configurations. The MOB+ will be available for purchase, and attendees can register at FELL’s booth to win one of several MOB+ Basepacks they will be giving away during the event.
What is the MOB+? A wireless engine kill switch that installs with ease into your boat and can replace or work in tandem with a boat’s current manual kill switch. In order to get people to wear safety devices without compromising their style, look, and comfort, great design is imperative. But behind great design lies great technology. The MOB+ uses the proprietary WiMEA Protocol developed by FELL Marine. With its lightning-fast reaction time, 4D Antenna Diversity and AutoMOB features, it is like no other wireless protocol out there. By using state-of-the-art electronics and UniqueID technology, the MOB+ does not interfere with existing systems in the boat and will not be affected by other adjacent wireless systems. AutoMOB stops the engine automatically if the pilot falls over board and allows remaining passengers to restart the engine after 6 seconds to pick up the person in the water. The system can be universally installed in all boats with all engine configurations with simple plug-and-play connections.
The Bassmaster Classic is an event like no other in the industry, which features 52 of the world’s best bass anglers competing for more than $1 million on Lake Conroe, about an hour outside of Houston, Texas. The on the water event is complimented by the EXPO at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Arguably the largest event of its kind in the country, which exhibits the latest in bass fishing equipment and outdoor gear.
The FELL Marine Team looks forward to meeting as many attendees as possible and introducing the MOB+ to the bass fishing community.
Bassmaster Classic EXPO Hours
FRI, March 24, 2017 12 PM – 8 PM CT
SAT, March 25, 2017 10 AM – 7 PM CT
SUN, March 26, 2017 10 AM – 4 PM CT
About FELL Marine Inc.
FELL Marine Inc. (www.fellmarine.com) is a subsidiary of FELL Group AS. FELL Group AS is incorporated in Norway, and its principal subsidiary is located in the US. FELL, FELL Marine, WiMEA, AutoMOB and UniqueID are trademarks of FELL AS and/or its subsidiaries.
Representatives from marinas, boat manufacturers and marine stores are invited to stop by and talk to the FELL Marine team to be added to their growing dealer network.
Matthew Meinert and son Oliver just before they took off Star-Telegram image
On Monday, 6 March 2017, Matthew Meinert, 38 of Trophy Club Texas, and his two year old son, Oliver, went fishing in Denton Creek near Lake Grapevine in the Fort Worth – Dallas Texas area. Matthew Meinert was last seen Monday near Lake Grapevine.
Matthew and Oliver launched their boat about 5 pm Monday from Tropy Club boat ramp.
Between 5 and 6 pm Monday a boater found his boat on shore abandoned on Denton Creek just west of Highway 377 in what was referred to an an unusual location. The boater used the cell phone to call the family, then called 911.
Meinert’s boat as found on shore clipped from a Fox 4 image
His cell phone and life jackets were found with the boat.
A search and rescue effort was mounted Monday night. The search was called off at 2am for safety, and restarted at 9am Tuesday. As a Flower Mound police officer and a game warden were headed to the boat on Tuesday morning about 8:45am, they saw two year old boy, Oliver, walking though heavy brush. He had survived being alone and cold in the woods overnight in a t-shirt and shorts with all kinds of wildlife nearby. Oliver was scratched up and cold but safe, and asked the officers for juice. He was taken to the Cooks Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth to be check out, and found to be fine. Read More →
The U.S. Coast Guard National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) will be holding its 97th meeting on March 23-25, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia.
Their March 2, 2018 notice in the Federal Register invited public comments, due by March 6th if they were to be distributed in advance to NBSAC members.
We submitted a pubic comment, our recent Propeller Safety dot com post on our updated design chart for preventing outboard motors from breaking off and flipping into boats when striking floating or submerged objects.
We used a cover letter to point out NBSACs own discovery of this problem as retold in the NBSAC95 minutes and attached a copy of our design chart post. Read More →
Aiden Mckitrick and his mom clipped from WFAA video
Back on May 5, 2016, three year old Aiden McKitrick fell from the front of a pontoon boat and was entrapped on the propeller.
We posted coverage of his accident at that time.
Now (early March 2017) about ten months after Aiden’s accident on Lake Ray Hubbard in Texas, his mother is speaking out with a warning to parents.
WFAA (ABC channel 8 of Dallas, Texas), carried her story in a 2 March 2017 newscast. The news story is accompanied by an emotional video in which she tries to alert others of how her son was nearly killed by pontoon boat propeller.
Aiden’s mother, Kelly Mckitrick, is a nurse and his father is a firefighter. His father helped extract him from the propeller, and his mother has played the role that only a mother can in his recovery.
His mom says, “When they raised the propeller up that’s when my husband saw his intestines hanging out and his leg was mangled.” Read More →
The U.S. Coast Guard National Boating Safety Advisory Council met for its regularly scheduled NBSAC 95 meeting April 21-23, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia.
Minutes of that meeting were posted in October 2016.
We have spent considerable effort in recent years encouraging NBSAC to:
Recognize outboard motors are breaking off and entering boats with their propellers still running after striking floating or submerged objects, and that this accident scenario is often associated with bass boats.
Increase awareness level of this accident scenario
As we recently closely read the April 2016 NBSAC meeting minutes we noticed they did mention this accident scenario, but they described it in a manner we have never seen or heard before.
We find that quite odd, since several members of the committee and other industry representatives present were well associated with the problem.
NBSAC 95 minutes composite
The image above is a composite of pages 1,7, and 8 of the minutes. Read More →
Today we are posting an updated / enhanced version of that chart. The new chart specifically identifies three more potential design / testing paths to achieve the objective.
