Sad story on Lake Stevens...

The original thread was archived here.
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/715772.html?1247520792

Here's a link to a follow-up investigation that sheds some light on why the boat may have gone down so fast.
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_080409INV-boat-fatal-KS.a9c19da7.html

“The open cell foam in the boat absorbs water and after a period of time will soak up the water like a sponge,"

... and this guy is still building boats? Unbelievable.

Hmmm... That's like saying if you filled your boat with sponges, it would sink. There's more to the story IMO.

Sad story indeed. My thoughts and prayers to her family.

Wow, I wonder how many other instances with Tiger Trax have happened like this, or is this just biased reporting.

10 peeps on a 20' boat would be a NO-NO in my book. Sucks but if there wasnt a crash, how did she go down with the ship so to speak>?

I still don't understand how even if the boat sank in two minutes she couldn't get out from underneath without some sort of injury involved. Strange but sad story all around. Does sound like this guy is a sketchy boat builder though probably a reason I haven't heard of Tiger Trax before this.

So it turns out that my best friends wife's best friend is the lady's niece (very Ferris Bueller I know). As it turns out they were putting along when a couple rollers came by and she was told to gas it in the trough which slammed the open bow down into the water. The tremendous amount of water slammed into the back and side of the boat as did the people which caused the boat to roll. Apparently it was so violent it snapped off bolted down seating. The drivers seat (where she was) had been altered (previous owner)to be very close to the steering wheel, so close a friend that drove it had to sit sideways. I was told that both her husband and son in law were reefing on her to try and pull her free but couldn't. I can't imagine what they went through when they couldn't free her and realized it was over. Again, I was told this second or third hand from my best buddy so there may be some holes or literary license somewhere along the way.

Sucks, someone that comes into my work lives on Lake Stevens and said everybody knew her and really liked her. I suppose she probably shouldn't of had that many people in her boat but she probably didn't deserve to pay the ultimate price.

i have no idea what the capacity rating was on this boat, but 10 people on a 20ft boat is not THAT crazy. I have a 21ft boat and its rated for 11 people. I have had 15 on it before with no issues at all.

i think the build quality make have some role in it.

I have heard a malibu vlx will float (buoyant right at the water line) even if completely submerged.

Crazy story. Her and her family actually used to join our group on Lake Roosevelt every summer. Very sad.

What a shame. If it's true that open cell foam was used, the boat manufacturer is criminal. Open cell foam just sucks up water, weighs down and causes rot. She'd have been better with no foam. 10 folks on a 20' is tight, though it may have been rated for 10+. Problem is if they had that many, plus boat weighted down with water in the foam they could have easily been over the weight capacity. Throw in darkness and it could get real easy to tuck the bow.

You'd be surprised how fast a boat can disappear from under you, but with two minutes I'm amazed no one got the driver/owner clear of whatever she got caught on. Sad story indeed.

This is why we need the death penalty! There are no consequences in this country. People need to fear wrong doing...