Mastercraft looses major lawsuit

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David Paul

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Dec 19, 2008
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Did anyone else see this article? http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/home/514357-jury-rules-against-mastercraft-in-design-lawsuit

"A jury in Butte County, Calif., found Tuesday that MasterCraft was 80 percent to blame for injuries a woman suffered in a wakeboarding accident five years ago on Lake Oroville and awarded her $30 million"

The injuries suffered by the ladies that were wakeboarding are pretty bad but you do have to wonder about the boat design. The driver is responsible for 20 percent of the judgement. I wonder how a company like Mastercraft can even absorb that much of a payout and stay in business?
 
I'm guessing there will be more to this - appeal, etc.

But, how does one get 12 people to sit in the bow?!?! Looking at a picture of the boat, it appears to have a "normal" sized bow area. There is no way that you could safely have more than about 4 or 5 people in that bow. Some of the people HAD to have been sitting up on the gunwale or out on the bow with their legs dangling over. Now, I only know about this through reading the article, but I absolutely don't understand how MC can be at fault when it (apparently) seems to be due to both operator and passenger error... in other words, lack of (very basic) common sense. I'm sure somewhere, somehow, someone will be pressing for a new "law" to put in effect because of this...
 
Lazy Daze said:
I'm guessing there will be more to this - appeal, etc.

But, how does one get 12 people to sit in the bow?!?! Looking at a picture of the boat, it appears to have a "normal" sized bow area. There is no way that you could safely have more than about 4 or 5 people in that bow. Some of the people HAD to have been sitting up on the gunwale or out on the bow with their legs dangling over. Now, I only know about this through reading the article, but I absolutely don't understand how MC can be at fault when it (apparently) seems to be due to both operator and passenger error... in other words, lack of (very basic) common sense. I'm sure somewhere, somehow, someone will be pressing for a new "law" to put in effect because of this...
Click to expand...

How the heck do you fit 19 people in that boat -- and 12 in the bow? Something doesn't add up. $30 million for the award????? Does Mastercraft even have that kind of money?
 
The answer will be in the appeals. But based on history I am willing to bet the company will not pay anywhere near that if anything. This will end up in court for a long time so the lawyers are the only ones that will make out.
 
They advertise the boat can accomodate 18 people:

[video=youtube;aDcvo62mROA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDcvo62mROA[/video]
 
Something is wrong with either the boat or the reporting. Yes there were in my opinion too many people in the bow. However the manufacturer evidentally made accommodations for them. Nevertheless how does a boat on an inland lake turning at 3 to 5 mph dip and wash people off of it? I've never heard of such a thing! If I had a boat like that I would never allow my children to sit in the bow while the boat was in motion...ever! If he was hot dogging or wot or if the people were hanging off the sides that would perhaps changes things but that's not what the article stated.
I usually feel in most cases the manufacturer is not at fault and the operator did something stupid but this time I'm not so sure.
 
dicor said:
Something is wrong with either the boat or the reporting. Nevertheless how does a boat on an inland lake turning at 3 to 5 mph dip and wash people off of it? I've never heard of such a thing! If I had a boat like that I would never allow my children to sit in the bow while the boat was in motion...ever!
Click to expand...
Unfortunately we have also taken significant water over the bow of our Malibu many times (not hot-dogging and NO people the he bow – and not pickle fork design like Mastercraft). The bow of many ski boats sit very low (unlike traditional SR bowrider) - and when you turn back to recover a tuber/ski/wakeboarder and pull the throttle back at the wrong time crossing back over the wake, you can easily burry the bow every time. Unfortunately I know a family that had a tragic accident and lost their son in the same manner (details too graphic for here) – no drinking involved and only 3 people in the bow. We have a new rule on our Malibu that when towing anyone behind the Malibu – no one is allowed to ride in the bow. “Boat design”? or “Common sense, good captain, and general boating safety”? Sad situation no matter how you look at it ... this case seems extreme with 12 people in the bow ... but also most ski boats can experience this situation even without the extreme bow overloading ...
 
zboaterctf said:
The bow of many ski boats sit very low (unlike traditional SR bowrider) - and when you turn back to recover a tuber/ski/wakeboarder and pull the throttle back at the wrong time crossing back over the wake, you can easily burry the bow every time.
Click to expand...


The proper way to recover a skier once they fall is to bring the boat back to idle speed while *maintaining* the current heading. Once at idle speed, turn around and pick up the skier. You won't run over your own wake if done in this manner. And you'll also keep all of the wake lined up so your next pass with skier in tow won't be over rough water.

In any case, I still can't see how a 3-5mph turn that could dump people overboard would then cause you to run them over with a turning prop. If they did fall overboard at that low speed, it seems an operator would immediately go to neutral...
 
Gunn said:
The proper way to recover a skier once they fall is to bring the boat back to idle speed while *maintaining* the current heading. Once at idle speed, turn around and pick up the skier. You won't run over your own wake if done in this manner. And you'll also keep all of the wake lined up so your next pass with skier in tow won't be over rough water. In any case, I still can't see how a 3-5mph turn that could dump people overboard would then cause you to run them over with a turning prop. If they did fall overboard at that low speed, it seems an operator would immediately go to neutral...
Click to expand...
Agree ... however even on rough lake where a lot of people are tubing, you can easily still bury the bow at idle and take on water (but at idle will most lilkely not throw people out of the boat)... unfortunately the case I heard was where people were going a little faster on the turn back (or towards a big wave), pulled back power right before the waves, the water came over the bow, started to stand boat up on end, people came out, driver overreacted in panic by throwig boat in reverse (vs. simply killing engine and stopping everything to asses the situation and take care of those that fell overboard).
 
Most dedicated hull wake board boats sink easy.
Break the skegs off the bottom and most major brands will fill with water and go under.
I know the Tige's and most Malibus will for sure.
We've seen it.

First thing ya do when taking on water is beach it and damn the prop.
 
zboaterctf said:
Unfortunately we have also taken significant water over the bow of our Malibu many times (not hot-dogging and NO people the he bow – and not pickle fork design like Mastercraft). The bow of many ski boats sit very low (unlike traditional SR bowrider) - and when you turn back to recover a tuber/ski/wakeboarder and pull the throttle back at the wrong time crossing back over the wake, you can easily burry the bow every time. Unfortunately I know a family that had a tragic accident and lost their son in the same manner (details too graphic for here) – no drinking involved and only 3 people in the bow. We have a new rule on our Malibu that when towing anyone behind the Malibu – no one is allowed to ride in the bow. “Boat design”? or “Common sense, good captain, and general boating safety”? Sad situation no matter how you look at it ... this case seems extreme with 12 people in the bow ... but also most ski boats can experience this situation even without the extreme bow overloading ...
Click to expand...
Hi zboaterctf I am a Consumer Investigative Reporter for NBC 4 in DC. We recently did a story involving two tragic agents involving open bow ski/tow boats. Would you mind sharing a little more information regarding the horrible death of that little boy you mentioned? I'm happy to give you my NBC email if needed. Thank you.
 
I'd bet Mastercraft (and every other boat manufacturer that's been around for a while) has been named in hundreds of lawsuits over the years. Imagine the litigation that follows every boat accident, fire, sinking, etc. The manufacturer is probably at the top of the list of defendants 99% of the time...
 
SusanNBC4 said:
Hi zboaterctf I am a Consumer Investigative Reporter for NBC 4 in DC. We recently did a story involving two tragic agents involving open bow ski/tow boats. Would you mind sharing a little more information regarding the horrible death of that little boy you mentioned? I'm happy to give you my NBC email if needed. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Tacky...super tacky.
 
SusanNBC4 said:
Hi zboaterctf I am a Consumer Investigative Reporter for NBC 4 in DC. We recently did a story involving two tragic agents involving open bow ski/tow boats. Would you mind sharing a little more information regarding the horrible death of that little boy you mentioned? I'm happy to give you my NBC email if needed. Thank you.
Click to expand...

That's our mainstream media working hard!
 
Really! how would the reporter possibly have time in the schedule to do a story like that when job number one is still making up contoversy in order to ensure our POTUS fails? Im sure there is still an angle about the rampant 'HATE' that hasnt been flogged to death yet.
 
Nailed it. I wouldn't help a reporter find the bathroom these days. They are the enemy within.
 
I tend not to reply to political posts, but I felt compelled to do so here. This is from me, Dennis the boater, not from someone who happens to work at a marina.

Susan, I think you'll find that most people on here are in favor of less government regulation. Pursuing a story like this can only result in increased, unsubstantiated, lawsuits. Which, in the end, can only lead to higher boat prices and more regulations for both the manufacturers and the boat owners/users.

This is a link to one of your "I'm working for the people" stories where it appears you are going after the boat manufacturers (in your words: "Who's really watching over the boating industry": http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Small-Craft-Advisory_Washington-DC-440775753.html

Below is a screenshot from approximately 42 seconds into that story. Please don't misunderstand me - my heart goes out to those, and their families, that have been injured, or worse. But at what point do we stop condemning boat manufacturers and, instead, ask the users of the boat to take responsibility for their own actions. There AT LEAST 8 people in the bow of this boat, and some appear to be sitting on the top of the gunwale. Looking at the splash coming off the bow of the boat, it seems pretty clear that the bow is plowing due to too many people trying to fit in an area not designed to hold that many. I don't think anyone can look at that picture and think that it looks safe. How can it be the boat manufacturer's fault for people using the boat in a way it wasn't designed to be? If someone sat on top of a car's roof, then fell off and was hurt...is it the auto manufacturer's fault?

Capture.PNG


A more responsible story would be to promote safe boating and education. But I suppose that wouldn't much of a "story", would it?
 
Very nice response Lazy Days. Now if we could just get the reporters to do a factual report, hard to be PC when you report the facts.

Might hurt someone's feelings. Besides you must remember, it's always someone else's fault. It must be the builders fault
 
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