A warning to all

Phil Chitty · 14 June 2004, 16:43

I implore you all to read this news article and check your trailers as soon as possible.

This is unbelievably sad and so preventable.

Hope this link works.

Phil

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/3804423.stm

Louise · 14 June 2004, 16:47

Very sad. Our thoughts are with the family. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Phil. Let's hope everyone is a bit more careful in all we do with boats after reading this.

robin · 14 June 2004, 16:49

The link works Phil.

A very sad story.

An appropriate warning for all of us

Richard B · 14 June 2004, 16:55

So easily done as well... only a couple of weeks ago we saw a boat recovered at the Itchen Bridge slipway inadvertently re-launched, but this time attached to its trailer. No harm done in this particular case, except for an awkward trailer recovery. So terrible that a simple error ended in tragedy at Mylor.

Nick Hearne · 14 June 2004, 17:05

A great loss, very sad!
I saw a similar thing happen when a chap was getting ready at the top of the slip at Salcombe the tide was out & I was at the bottom the next thing I new his boat had come off the trailer & was coming sliding down the slip with his young daughter tiring to stop it! Luckily no one was it the way & the boat ended up in the water with a damaged keel.
He had unhooked the boat from the trailer the started to move down the boat just slipped off!
Nick

Daniel Vanesse · 14 June 2004, 17:57

Designed to keep the trailer connected to the vehicle if the hitch fails or comes uncoupled, a safety chain would most probably have prevented the trailer to go backward. It is worth spending a few pounds to save a life.

Shame on the driver !

Hightower · 14 June 2004, 18:13

What a waste of a life! My feelings go out to the Family.

As some of you already know, when I went for a boat trial last year the seller backed it down the slip at Lee and the winch gave way. Needless to say what happend.

A very sad loss!

Richard B · 14 June 2004, 18:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Vanesse

a safety chain would most probably have prevented the trailer to go backward. It is worth spending a few pounds to save a life.

These must be fitted to all new trailers sold in the UK, and I suspect to all trailers supplied in the EU. It's a matter of remembering to clip them on - especially when struggling to get a boat up a slipway. I reckon that most people will fit them at the same time that the lighting board gets plugged in.

Ribald · 14 June 2004, 19:06

An awful tragedy - know the slip well and have launched there a couple of times.

So how many of us secure the boat to the trailer with a chain/warp when launching rather than relying on just the winch strop alone?

Phil Davies · 14 June 2004, 20:20

Agree, Ribald - for the sake of the fiver it cost me to cobble this chain and shackles together it's got to be worth it.

Richard B · 14 June 2004, 20:39

I think a few of you (Nick, Hightower, Ribald, Phil) have missed the point here.

According to the article, the boy died as a result of the whole trailer and boat coming detatched from the car, not just the boat from the trailer. A chain from trailer to boat would not have helped in this accident.

This accident could have been prevented by the use of the "runaway cable" which attaches the trailer handbrake (on a braked trailer) or just the trailer chassis (on an unbraked trailer) to a strong point on the car's towbar. You must use one of these by law once the trailer is on the road. Unfortunately, this trailer was involved in a fatal accident before it even reached the road.

Noddy · 14 June 2004, 22:01

In most cases I attach a long rope looped at both ends one to the jockey wheel of the boat trailer and the other to my tow bar. I then pull the trailer up off the slip to the nearest piece of flat land where it can be safely attached to the towing vehicle.
ALWAYS have someone follow the boat up off the slip!
ALWAYS make sure there is no-one in any danger should the trailer run backwards!
It is one of those unfortunate accidents that you think will never happen to you but all too frequently they do and it is always the innocent that suffer!
Martyn

codprawn · 14 June 2004, 23:23

Thoughts to the family but ALSO to who ever caused the ACCIDENT.

There but for the grace of God and all that - people these days forget ACCIDENTS happen - things like this occur all the time - it was just terrible that this time there was a little boy in the way.

How would YOU feel if it had been your trailer? I know I would have been totally devastated and it would have ruined my life as well.

I remember seeing a nasty accident last year - a Land Rover 101 FC was slowing down at a set of traffic lights when one of it's rear wheels came off - unfortunately there was a little girl in a pushchair in the way.

Fortunately she recovered in hospital but I will never forget the look on the old bloke's face who had been driving the Land Rover.

The worse thing was the comments from the bystanders - things like "that old wreck shouldn't be on the road" and "it was bound to happen it was so overloaded"

In fact the 101 was in MINT condition and the so called "overloading" was stuff like furniture and beds - well within the capacity of a 101.

It seems the wheelnuts worked loose as the studs hadn't sheered or anything - who knows maybe some idiot thought it would be funny to loosen them.

And before you all point the finger how often do you check yours - truthfully?

Manos · 14 June 2004, 23:44

TRAGIC!

Jackwabbit · 15 June 2004, 08:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

This accident could have been prevented by the use of the "runaway cable" which attaches the trailer handbrake (on a braked trailer) or just the trailer chassis (on an unbraked trailer) to a strong point on the car's towbar. You must use one of these by law once the trailer is on the road. Unfortunately, this trailer was involved in a fatal accident before it even reached the road.

There but for the grace of god go I !

I had a close one the other week, after using trailers without auto reverse breaks for a number of years this came as a bit of a shock.
The slipway being used was a small one with not a lot of room at the top; there wasn’t enough room to reverse the car round because someone had parked in the way as usual. So I used the same method I have used a number of times. I un-hooked the trailer from the car on the flat at the top, then turned it round so it was ready to lower down the slipway on the hand break. This is where I found auto-reversing breaks don’t work very well in reverse. The boat and trailer then went about 6M down the slip totally out of control until it hit the water (with the hand break full on). Now I don’t know if all trailer manufactures are the same, but on this new Bramber trailer, the breakaway cable is linked to the hand break so if the trailer had come off the back of the car with the cable attached it wouldn’t have made any difference. The breaks work perfectly while going forward but in reverse they are a waste of time, because as soon as the breaks start to bite it reverse the break shoes move backwards off the drums allowing you to reverse.
Luckily it was early in the morning so there was no one hanging around the slipway and no damage was done apart from the dent in my pride.
So please don’t rely just on the trailer breaks or breakaway cable to prevent this type of thing happening.

Nick Hearne · 15 June 2004, 08:53

Yes Have to agree with Jackwabbit auto brakes do not work in revers.
Also Richard I was not misunderstanding the situation but just adding anther situation the I had witnessed that could have been prevented & could have injured someone!
It dose sound more likely that the trailer was not hitched on properly, some thing that is so easily tested! Hitch the trailer on give the hitch a good pull up & the car should just come up with it, if it not on it will pop off the hitch!

I fitted one of these to attach the boat to the trailer as a back up to the winch & us it!

Secondary Coupling Cable c/w Snap Hook
This cable attachés the trailer to the towing vehicle whilst towing and provides a secondary link. A UK legal requirement for all trailers, caravans etc.
B344
£6.25
http://www.towsure.com/default.asp?d=28&t=5&p=0&op=

geoff · 15 June 2004, 12:31

It is highly likely that most of us at some point will want to manoeuvre a trailer and boat around the top of a slipway and we could be involved in just such an accident. Children and slipways do not mix but kids love to sit and watch boats being put in the water. Very few of us like bossing around other peoples children but we do know better than them and, certainly with the benefit of hindsight, adults should not allow children to be in harms way. Having read this thread I will be taking a much more authoritarian approach in future.

codprawn · 15 June 2004, 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff

It is highly likely that most of us at some point will want to manoeuvre a trailer and boat around the top of a slipway and we could be involved in just such an accident. Children and slipways do not mix but kids love to sit and watch boats being put in the water. Very few of us like bossing around other peoples children but we do know better than them and, certainly with the benefit of hindsight, adults should not allow children to be in harms way. Having read this thread I will be taking a much more authoritarian approach in future.

Couldn't agree more - it does say in the news article that the kids were sitting on a wall - maybe the boat owner thought they were in a safe spot - it is amazing how quickly a safe spot can be the worse place to stand - just watch a rally!

The Jackeens · 15 June 2004, 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

Secondary Coupling Cable c/w Snap Hook
This cable attachés the trailer to the towing vehicle whilst towing and provides a secondary link. A UK legal requirement for all trailers, caravans etc.
B344
£6.25
http://www.towsure.com/default.asp?d=28&t=5&p=0&op=

I must admitt that I've noticed one or 2 trailers without the backup cable which is stupid to put it mildly

P

whitingiom · 15 June 2004, 14:22

Having read the thread, why do you detach your trailers from the launch vehicle?

Mine stays on whilst I'm afloat and therefore no chance of forgetting the chain.

If your vehicle can't get the boat from the bottom of the slip, perhaps time to get a bigger vehicle/smaller boat?

My sympathies to the family, and hope that everyone on Ribnet will now be 'autocratic' enough to insist that slipways are for boats, not fishing, dangling etc.

My usual line is 'My kids are standing at the top, perhaps you would like to join them?'

Usually works.

Having said that, I saw a large rib being launched with 3 kids sitting in it as Dad reversed down the slip a couple of weeks ago. I've just mailed him a copy of the BBC report.