Mastercraft takes a tough one

[wallacmc]

This sucks. Boat manufacturers should not be held responsible for reckless drivers that don't maintain safe conditions on their own boat. I already wrote a long rant about this in the wakesurfing forum, so I'll sapre you here. But, I wanted to put this article here in case you didn't see it in the other forum:
http://www.paradisepost.com/news/ci_18229727

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

I still cant believe they paid. I'd appeal all the way to the Supremem Court. That's like saying It's the banks fault for leaving the doors open during business hours if you get shot by a bank robber.
You cant fix stupid.

[wallacmc]

I still cant believe they paid. I'd appeal all the way to the Supremem Court. That's like saying It's the banks fault for leaving the doors open during business hours if you get shot by a bank robber.
You cant fix stupid.

According to the article I linked, they have a jury verdict against them, not that they paid anything. Have you read something else? Unless a separate settlement has been worked out, you can take it to the bank that they'll appeal if they were willing to take it all the way to trial.

[NiceOnes]

Wow... This is a really sad story. I can see it now and have been in this situation before. Overloaded boat won't plane... Get more weight in the front.

The article claimed 20 people were aboard.. The X-45 is rated for 18. Right there I would say that the driver/owner is responsible for overloading the boat!! What am I missing that makes this MC's fault?

[wallacmc]

Wow... This is a really sad story. I can see it now and have been in this situation before. Overloaded boat won't plane... Get more weight in the front.

The article claimed 20 people were aboard.. The X-45 is rated for 18. Right there I would say that the driver/owner is responsible for overloading the boat!! What am I missing that makes this MC's fault?

You know there were people sitting on the deck, had to be in order to get "washed out of the boat"

[Timmy!]

Dupe Police!
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15055

[Jeffe]

Those things swamp anyways, imagine adding that extra weight to the front. They were probably running full ballast, pulling a tube and had lots of fat girls.

[laserfish]

I can see it now, multiple people move to the front meaning they were not sitting in the seats but up on the front with feet in the seats. Bow under wave due to driver screw up and going too fast, or trying to get occupants wet. They lose their balance and go over the front. Just can't see how they would have been washed out if they were sitting in the seats. I have gone bow under when I was learning the best way to pick up downed riders to the extent of waves washing over the windshield. No one ever came close to washing over the front of the bow. Always someone elses fault. I will wager that none of the 11 has ever been on a wake or ski boat before.

[Joeprunc]

Wow this is pretty unfortunate. It really sux how some idiot can screw up so badly and just blame the boat manufacturer. I wonder what the blood alcohol levels were. I will be curious to see what Tige does with their pickle fork designed lineup...?

[Surfdad]

I don't think that the driver blames the boat manufacturer, he could, but mostly that's about the Plaintiff's attorney. He's taking the case on a contingency - he'll get 30% or 40% of the damages which nets him a cool 9 mil. That guy WANTS to sue the boat manufacturer because they have the insurance and deep pockets. He just won the lottery!

[wallacmc]

I don't think that the driver blames the boat manufacturer, he could, but mostly that's about the Plaintiff's attorney. He's taking the case on a contingency - he'll get 30% or 40% of the damages which nets him a cool 9 mil. That guy WANTS to sue the boat manufacturer because they have the insurance and deep pockets. He just won the lottery!

In the article, the driver said that he was ok with the percentage of liability assigned to him, insinuating he was "taking responsibility." In fact, by saying that he was agreeing that MC was the must culpable and was passing the buck over to them! What a punk. If he really wanted to accept responsibility he would have testified that he made a mistake. I say he was blaming MC, because he knew he'd be off the hook once MC pays up. A plaintiff can't collect twice.

[jwanck11]

Mastercrafts closing statement was weak. Of course they are aware of how the boats will be used.

The boat was overloaded. Right there, Mastercraft should have been absolved.

Why was the propeller still spinning? If someone goes over, the throttle should have been cut off immediately.

Its like running a boat into an iceberg and having it sink - then blaming the ship builder because water-tight compartments did not extend all the way to the top of the deck. Well, don't hit an iceberg, eh?
I certainly did not hear the entire case, but this seems like operator error to me.

[wallacmc]

Dupe Police!
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15055

Original thread was in the surfing section, because that's where Surfdad hangs out. It is really a general issue, especially since these folks were wakeboarding and not surfing. And, I posted this with a fresh news article link explaining that the jury cam back with a verdict. Surfdad's simply talked about the suit in progress.

[djFL]

WOW. Thats what happens when you load up the boat with over the max amount of people and load the bow. When you go back around to pick up the wakeboarder going slow, you're gonna hit the rollers and water is gonna come in the bow! Fault on you for going over the max capacity and not knowing how to properly drive a wakeboard boat. It's crazy what people will do for money...

[whitlock87]

I don’t understand how somebody sitting in the front could be swept out! Do the front set sit high in the master craft?
Nevertheless, it is the driver responsibility to make sure the boat is used correctly and safely