Lawsuit against boat manufacturer

[mdvalant]

How the **** do you get 12 people in the bow of a 45?

[chris196]

Yes, very bad verdict.

Now, I want all of you to not say stupid things next time you're up for jury duty just so the judge will dismiss you.

Have you ever been on a jury? In my experience, the average intelligence isn't very high.
Don't know about California, but in TX only need 10 of 12 for a civil verdict. I was on a slip & fall case that should have never seen a court room. Myself and one other juror voted against the plaintif. The original vote was about even as I recall, but people simply changed their votes to get out of there sooner.

I won't say the system is broken, but sometimes the execution is extremely lacking.

[Chexi]

^ Now that is pathetic, and one of the main problems with our system. People care more about getting home to overeat their dinner than they do about justice being done. Heck... it's not my money, so what do I care. I don't want to be here, so I will let myself be bullied into a decision I do not believe in... why... because I have pot roast waiting for me...*whine*

This is almost as bad as perjury or voter fraud, both of which should be capital offenses.

[Kmayotte]

12 people in the bow?? That must have been bodies on top of bodies. The bow nosedives, people start pushing and squirming and a few fall out. Absolutely horrible accident. But I can see how it happened especially with the Mastercraft pickle noses that slope down towards the water.

It's bad enough to have 19 people in the boat but then to PULL a wakeboarder. Your just asking for trouble. Driver error all the way, but someone's got to pay, Mastercraft has the deep pockets.

If I was Mastercraft I would have brought a replica of the bow into the court room and demonstrated how having 12 crammed in there was the human error, not design flaw.

[Chexi]

That is not an X-45. The X-45 has more room in the bow... not enough for 12 people, but more than that picture.

[tdc_worm]

couple of thoughts:

on the issue of the design flaw, i have extensive experience w/ the current generation X star. the downard sloping pickle fork bow requires constant driver input, even when at rest, to keep the boat from swamping. when the boat is slightly listed in a turn or in a roller, the pickle fork design drops one side of the bow even lower, exacerbating the issue. add the optional swim step and it becomes even more of a water shovel. about 4 years ago, our local MC dealer was pulling a tournament. the very experience drive dropped the rider, brought the boat off plane and was turning around to retrieve the rider when a rogue roller swamped the bow. water was quickly up to the helm. the driver had to full throttle reverse the boat to shore to keep it from sinking. the boat was a 2008 MC X Star that had just about 8 hours on it at the time. while the X45 is not the same hull, it has the same down sloping, low slung pickle fork bow and probably suffers from the same issues. No tige pickle fork that i have been has been subject to the same propensity to take water over the bow.

on the issue of capacity, boats over 20 feet are not required to have capacity plate (ref: http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/r...ect/info1a.htm). the formula used to determine capacity is length x beam/15...not taking into account freeboard, additional built in flotation, or hull design. i would be interested in knowing if the capacity plate for vessels longer than 20 feet in length is enforceable or if it is just a manufactures recommendation. also for reference, the 21'6" Calabria that i previously owned did not have a capacity plate and no LEO ever inquired about seeing when during a safety check.

on the issue of idiocy, i imagine that is why the jury placed 20% of the blame on the operator. i am not sure where split in responsibility should be, but in my opinion both parties are negligent.

[swc5150]

Couldn't MC just have had an X45 brought to the courthouse parking lot, to demonstrate the idiocy of squeezy 12 people in to that bow? It actually wouldn't shock me if the driver was TRYING to get those in the bow wet, by cranking a corner. I hate to speculate, but I've known dips**ts in my life that would pull that kind of stunt. I wonder how clear the driver's conscience is now that it's MC's "fault"? The only fault I see on MC's part is that stupid looking pickle fork bow!

[mdvalant]

Agreed with TDC. Talked to a buddy today who has driven a 45. (I'm sure some here have too)

He said the same, it takes a LOT of driver input to keep that bow above the water. More so than any other inboard on the market...

I agree that MC should have sold a better design. Also agree that stupid people shouldn't be driving boats/cars/anything.

[GoBig]

Tragic accident and a tragic verdict. It bothers me that our society always has to fault something or someone. Personal accountability hardly exists anymore. This verdict will only lead to more legislation and regulations putting further restrictions on responsible boaters.

[chris196]

If I was Mastercraft I would have brought a replica of the bow into the court room and demonstrated how having 12 crammed in there was the human error, not design flaw.

excellent idea.
You've got 12 people right there, ready to go.

[GoBig]

The proof that the driver was an idiot and this was 100% his fault is that there is no way that boat had the optimum wake going on with that weight distribution. Case closed. I should have been defense counsel.

Classic!

[Kmayotte]

Maybe my first picture wasn't an X-45. This one says it right on the side. Maybe 6 small adults somewhat comfortably in the bow.

[jmo]

IMHO - That aircraft carrier like profile in the bow presents a ton of surface area that when submerged due to the idiot operator overloading the front will act like a huge lever and push the bow down even further and flood the whole boat. I remember thinking that square front was an issue when I first saw it many years ago.

It would be interesting to have an independent assessment of that boat's susceptibility to catching the corner in a turn with a reasonable number of people in it and see how easily a passenger gets swept out of the bow - note it appears the majority of the bow is very shallow hence the tendency will be for folks to be in a lounging position as opposed to sitting.

I'm not absolving the idiot operator who foolishly overloaded the front of the boat, but I think there is merit to the statement that the boats design contributed to the accident.

[SkiTower]

i would be interested in knowing if the capacity plate for vessels longer than 20 feet in length is enforceable or if it is just a manufactures recommendation.

I have been reliably told that the plate is a coast guard requirement, and that it is only for the coast guard. So local law enforcement is not supposed to enforce it. However, I've heard many times that they do anyway.

[Chexi]

Wait, isn't the famous youtube video of a guy submarining his boat on a power turn an old MC? I know it wasn't a picklefork bow, but I think it is a MC. Maybe it's just something about MCs!

Seriously though, if this verdict stands, will MC even survive? The Great Recession nearly wiped out Malibu and MC wasn't far behind. If they have to pay $30 million in damages, I see a bankruptcy filing coming.