Did you all notice a couple days ago how the New York daily News laid off half its editorial staff to focus more on fast breaking content and less on thoughtful pieces?

That is what happened to a tour boat on Lake George in NY. Go kayaking to appreciate same. As the boat took on water and swamped, it became unstable and tipped (capsized) as it was going down. Then occupants were trapped; some died.

Worst part are the silly emotions that some promote. To know what happened, we must see the boat as people are dying. But we are too sensitive to see people die. So we must censor facts.

I need to see the video that shows panicked passengers dying as the boat either sinks or capsizes. But we cannot be trusted with the facts. We must not learn from what really happened.

News story has survivor report saying

You may want to see the video, but it's certainly not something that you need.

The reports of this tragedy jogged my memory about a couple of incidents with Duck Boats in the UK in recent years.
A quick search revealed that there had been three not two as I had first thought.


The Guardian

I rode in one as a child in the early 80s in the Wisconsin Dells. It was really fun and our driver was cracking dumb jokes the whole time. He asked us to look out the back of the duck as we were on one spot of the river and said something like "Now you can tell everyone you looked up the rear end of a duck." It was painted in the same colors as when it was in the military. They seemed to treat it as a functioning museum.

The Wisconsin Dells are the perfect location for something like the Ducks because the waterways are narrow and protected and very scenic.

There use to be a few of them in DC giving tours, but I haven't seen them in a while. Maybe they are still around. People on the Ducks in DC looked a little miserable when I would see them slowly chugging through the water with no shade. The Potomac is wide where they would go in the water, and the Ducks travel slowly. There are not many things to look at from the water in DC near the boat ramp they used.

I do need. Withholding facts is a lie. Lies are a threat to human life.

Most want to see a car crash to entertain their emotions. That is a want; not a need. I need to see it to learn why it happened, how to avoid it, and what we did wrong. All are reasons for need.

Sure, but you're just armchair analyzing here. You don't run a Duck Boat operation and don't need to analyze this. You aren't on the accident investigation team.

'Need' is a hand tool.

There, now you don't even 'want' it.

:p:

They used to have the old surplus ducks at Beech Bend Park. Rode 'em a bunch as a kid.

Did you learn about Murphy's Laws? Why. You are not doing military rocket work. What was learned (the whys) in White Sands applies to everyone today.

Having discussed this ongoing duck boat controversy, it will be even more interesting to learn from an NTSB investigation (that will take months or a year). To learn why some jumped to a conclusion without some facts.

Long ago, was a discussion about a forced beach landing (a week after Katrina) of a two engine plane. Fuel was cut off from both engines. Everyone should have learned from that - the hows and whys. Since it even explains why car crashes happen or are averted. The whys are always needed to know. Since what happened here does not only apply to duck boats.

Can't find it in Home Depot or Amazon. Where can one be purchased?

here's some info for busybodies who 'need' to know
 

https://nypost.com/2018/07/25/builde...neer-training/

It seems the duck boat concept itself is not flawed, just one idiot's execution of the concept.

There: 'need' satisfied.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DUKW
 

Edumacate yerself.

Another (of many) relevant fact that addresses that need.

It might explain, for example, no reserve buoyancy. Or worse, reserve buoyancy that makes a swamped duck boat capsize.