PropellerSafety.com

Regulations – Page 3

Coast Guard contractor finds flats boats unsafe : Kali Gorzell

Texas flats boats also called bay boats have been found unsafe by a United States Coast Guard Contractor. Bay boats / flats boats are relatively flat bottomed for shallow water operation. In July 2012, Kali Gorzel, a 16 year old girl loved by hundreds, fell from a bay boat off Port Aransas Texas when the […]

We submitted 2 Public Comments to NBSAC95

The U.S. Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) will be meeting April 21-23, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia for its 95th meeting (NBSAC95). The Coast Guard recently published a request for public comments in the Federal Register to be submitted by April 14th for distribution to NBSAC Council members. We responded today with two […]

Hawaii prop guard bill amended to be effective in 2088

We previously covered Hawaii House Bill 2024 requiring mandatory use of propeller guards on all recreational boats within 500 meters of shore. The bill was introduced and passed its first reading on 25 January 2016. On 27 January 2016 the bill was referred to the House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs (OMH) […]

Hawaii bill calls for mandatory propeller guards near shore

The recent death of Sri Shim by a boat propeller has energized calls for safer waters off Hawaii. Luke Evslin, injured in a high profile propeller accident 5 years ago, is also speaking out for the need for propeller guards. House Bill 2024 now calls for propeller guards / prop guards to be installed on […]

Pontoon rental boat safety training bill signed in New Jersey

“Christopher’s Law”, named for Christopher D’Amico from Mount Arlington, New Jersey was signed into New Jersey law on Tuesday 19 January 2016. Ten year old Christopher was fatally struck by a 20 foot rental pontoon boat on Lake Hopatcong 24 June 2015. While details are a little sketchy, it looks like young Christopher probably fell […]

New South Wales (NSW) proposes mandatory wearing of kill switch lanyards

New South Wales (NSW), an Australian state that includes Sydney, recently proposed an update to their Marine Safety Regulations. The update addresses many issues, including mandatory wear of kill switch lanyards on vessels of less than 4.8 meters (about 15.75 feet) equipped with a kill switch. The new proposed safety regulations are introduced by their […]

USCG NBSAC 92: Our Public Comments

The U.S. Coast Guard National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) will be holding its 92nd meeting on November 6th-8th, 2014 in Arlington, Virgina. Nonprofit Grant Comments For the first time ever, they invited public comments about non-profit grant interest areas before the meeting. Each year the Coast Guard awards nonprofits a tidy some of money […]

Boat kill-switch article in Miami New Times by Trevor Bach

Following up on the Dinner Key July 4th, 2014 accident in South Florida (four fatalities and several critically injured), Trevor Bach of Miami New Times published a Riptide blog post on 31 July 2014 titled, “Dinner Key Tragedy: Advocates Say Florida Could Save Lives With One Simple Safety Law” In the article Trevor Bach notes […]

Review of MAIB report on Milligan family propeller accident in UK

United Kingdom (UK) Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released their report on the Milligan accident on 30 January 2014. Nicholas Milligan’s family’s May 5, 2013 accident captivated the UK. An affluent family out for a day on the Camel Estuary at Padstow Harbor in their RIB ended in tragedy with the death of the father […]

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 […]