Re: What's the real story here?
a couple of things here.....
they are after the guy...not the boats.
the cause of the accident was overlaoding....that boat is the same design as the centurion....they are rated for 8 people.
the boat flipped because of wake or over loading....that is capitain error.
foam.....ok....that boat is 20 years old....it has water logged foam....that is because the owner didnt take care of the boat.....and let the elements get in there.
open cell vs closed cell.....in the 90's most were open cell....it has only been for the last 15 years that we have really been using closed cell....but even closed cell will waterlog.
as far as the owner being told to use closed cell.....yeah...i wouldnt doubt it...but the laws dont specify that you have to use closed....they just say foam or flotation........hell pool noodles will do. but the builder ...like most builders....will use what ever is cheapest. they need to do that to make the price point of the boat....each penny counts.
a smaller builder like that was producing tournament boats at a time when those boats were just breaking into the market.....and you could probably buy one whole sale around 19k...25-30 on the market.
for a builder to make those margins...he needs to do it cheap....each unit off the line....if he can save 10 bucks.....well thats a lot.
the big use for foam became apperant when builders realized that the glass is really strong and does not break down ....thats when they started to use the foam for struictural componants of the hull...
heck i hope they play that story to death....ill drive to wash state and buy up every one of those boats for a song....if people really want....ill re foam them....and sell them for 17k a pop !
