Run-Away Boat & Trailer Kills One Pedestrian and Seriously Injures Another

[Roland of Macatawa]

Greetings, All:

This happened, last Sunday, just a few miles from my home.
A pontoon boat & trailer became detached from its tow vehicle.
It ran over 2 pedestrians, killing one and seriously injuring the other.
It is unclear whether or not the boat detached from the trailer.

This was on a road with a 45mph speed limit.
The pedestrians were on a biking/walking path paralleling the road.

Let's all redouble our care with our trailers' couplers.

Regards, Roland

Local newspaper report:
https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/lifestyle/public-safety/2024/07/22/boat-trailer-brakes-free-killing-pedestrian-in-holland-township/74502512007/

National AP report:
https://apnews.com/article/michigan-trailer-pontoon-boat-kills-pedestrian-cde9f0aa19825710eadc056b63e48beb

[Captain Kidd]

Very sad.

I have my story. I had moved my boat to the road where it's flat and I can work on it. In so doing I had uncoupled my tow vehicle til I was ready to put the boat back in the yard. I hooked up the trailer and as I was backing the boat into the yard, which was a slight downhill slope, the center of gravity changed and my boat and trailer flipped up. It broke my outboard in two (ouch!). I had not hooked the safety chains and I guess I failed to get the coupler down on the ball properly. The coupler was in the latched position. Costly mistake.

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[pgandw]

Very sad.

I have my story. I had moved my boat to the road where it's flat and I can work on it. In so doing I had uncoupled my tow vehicle til I was ready to put the boat back in the yard. I hooked up the trailer and as I was backing the boat into the yard, which was a slight downhill slope, the center of gravity changed and my boat and trailer flipped up. It broke my outboard in two (ouch!). I had not hooked the safety chains and I guess I failed to get the coupler down on the ball properly. The coupler was in the latched position. Costly mistake.

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You might want to move the axle back or the boat forward on the trailer to gain a little tongue weight.  I prefer to have enough tongue weight so that if I climb on the boat on the trailer and move to the stern, the tongue will not lift.  This usually means tongue weight over 100lbs.  When I trailered my ODay25 way back when, I had to move the axles rearward about 4" to get enough tongue weight to stop sway.

just my experiences
Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133  Sweet P

[Captain Kidd]

You might want to move the axle back or the boat forward on the trailer to gain a little tongue weight.  I prefer to have enough tongue weight so that if I climb on the boat on the trailer and move to the stern, the tongue will not lift.  This usually means tongue weight over 100lbs.  When I trailered my ODay25 way back when, I had to move the axles rearward about 4" to get enough tongue weight to stop sway.

just my experiences
Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133  Sweet P

I know that there should be tongue weight. I've trailered this boat on this trailer for 12 years. In this case, the boat was close to "neutral" on the trailer. The last time I had sailed her before the accident, the ramp was a little steeper than the ramp I normally use, and I didn't get her quite far enough forward. The problem was my failure to get the coupler down on the ball. That downhill slope resulted in a "rotation" of the weight distribution in relation to the axle, and wham-o! I have trailered her since the accident and had no problems. Most of the time I don't have any difficulties with getting some tongue weight. I've had situations with other boats swaying. No fun!!! Thanks for the suggestion.

Edit: I guess most boaters deal with the issue of the bow stop on the winch being too far back with the trailer being on a sloping ramp. It's been a bit of a headache for me on more than one occasion. Someone needs to invent an adjustable bow stop. One that can retract a few inches when pulling the boat out of the water and then extended when the load gets level. I've even thought of modifying my stop somehow. Just my thoughts on the situation.

[NickScheuer]

It's nice that your trailer has worked for you so long without a proble, however, having the boat's ballance tip aft on a steep ramp should be ample warning that the boat needs to be moved forward, perhaps as much as 2ft.  It appears that would require lengthening the tongue and moving the winch post forward.  So be it.