Friday, September 15, 2023

Five years after 17 people died when a duck boat sank on a Missouri lake, the U.S. Coast Guard has issued new rules for the amphibious World War II vessels retrofitted for tourist excursions.

But the new rules have limited impact: Only 16 applicable vessels are still in use.

The rules apply only to repurposed World War II-era Army vessels now used for land-and-water tours — not newer vehicles built specifically for tourist trips. The 16 older vessels in use are operated by three companies, the rules document states. The Coast Guard didn't say where those boats are, but 10 are part of one Arkansas fleet.

Ten of the 16 remaining World War II-era vessels in operation are part of National Park Duck Tours in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which takes about 100,000 visitors each year on a tour of the historic downtown and a water ride around islands in Lake Hamilton.

Duck boats have been involved in more than 40 fatal accidents since 1999. 

at

3 comments:

  1. rlk11:08 PM

    The odds are high that at least some of the six unaccounted for original ducks are in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

    In 1946 there was a Milwaukee native, Melvin Flath, who operated a trucking business. His online bio tells us he came across an ad for Army surplus trucks for sale in California, so off he went to buy one. Upon arrival at the auction sight he discovered the vehicles were actually surplus Army ducks, and although they were not what he was expecting he nevertheless bought one. His intent was to drive the thing back home, so he had to get it registered. To his dismay, and unsurprisingly, the requirement was one had to be a resident of California. No problem. Mel made up a Los Angeles address and before he knew it was on his way back to Wisconsin with a registered duck.

    Long story short, the guy started selling rides on the Wisconsin River in and around the Dells in 1946. A good argument can be made this one man show was the beginning of the huge tourist trap the town is today, with four exits off of I 90.

    https://www.dellsducks.com/history-of-the-ducks/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marc B9:41 AM

    I was going to say the same thing as rlk. We took a trip to the Wisconsin Dells and did the Duck boat tour. I think it was 2008, because it was the year that the Delton Lake dam was breached and it emptied into the river.

    ReplyDelete