YachtForums.Com - View Single Post - Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee...

airship · 12-01-2006, 08:12 AM

And who's going to be the first (and last?) daring soul to "ride the bow wave" of Octopus or similar in one of these...?!

When I first saw this come out 12-18 months ago, I thought "Well, what a great invention of a plaything?!" Then I thought about it some more, mostly about the safety aspects of actually using such a toy say, if it was to be used like other PWCs. I remembered that back in the early '90s, a superyacht owner had invited one of his companies' CEOs and family aboard for a cruise in his homeland of Turkey. The superyacht carried all the toys, including a pair of the obligatory wave runners of the day, I think they were only 650cc machines back then. After a few days of familiarisation, it was considered OK for the 10 year old daughter of the invited CEO to take one of these wave runners out on her own. On that particular day though, they were moored in a little Turkish bay. I say moored, because since there was no swinging room, they also had a long line out from the stern secured to the land in addition to the anchors. She was coming in relatively slowly like "she'd been taught" apparently, but she just didn't see the mooring line hanging about 3ft above the water level at this point...could you imagine "a superyacht owner who'd spent 10 years lovingly building his yacht", only to see his pride and joy completely gutted by an accidental fire the day before the launch? Perhaps then, you might appreciate how the parents of this little girl might have felt...

This Dolphin watercraft is probably alright, it looks like a great toy and "in the right hands", should offer a few thrills. But when you really think about it: you can't see where you're going very well in one at the best of times (how about when submerged?); others will have great difficulty seeing you; and you've got a bleedin' great big internal-combustion engine drowning out every other noise the sea might have to offer you. Quite how all that should give you the impression that you've become "one with the dolphins" escapes me...

It's (multiple) accidents waiting to happen, if you want my opinion...you got it anyway!

12-01-2006, 08:12 AM	#2
airship Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: French Riviera... Posts: 168	And who's going to be the first (and last?) daring soul to "ride the bow wave" of Octopus or similar in one of these...?! When I first saw this come out 12-18 months ago, I thought "Well, what a great invention of a plaything?!" Then I thought about it some more, mostly about the safety aspects of actually using such a toy say, if it was to be used like other PWCs. I remembered that back in the early '90s, a superyacht owner had invited one of his companies' CEOs and family aboard for a cruise in his homeland of Turkey. The superyacht carried all the toys, including a pair of the obligatory wave runners of the day, I think they were only 650cc machines back then. After a few days of familiarisation, it was considered OK for the 10 year old daughter of the invited CEO to take one of these wave runners out on her own. On that particular day though, they were moored in a little Turkish bay. I say moored, because since there was no swinging room, they also had a long line out from the stern secured to the land in addition to the anchors. She was coming in relatively slowly like "she'd been taught" apparently, but she just didn't see the mooring line hanging about 3ft above the water level at this point...could you imagine "a superyacht owner who'd spent 10 years lovingly building his yacht", only to see his pride and joy completely gutted by an accidental fire the day before the launch? Perhaps then, you might appreciate how the parents of this little girl might have felt... This Dolphin watercraft is probably alright, it looks like a great toy and "in the right hands", should offer a few thrills. But when you really think about it: you can't see where you're going very well in one at the best of times (how about when submerged?); others will have great difficulty seeing you; and you've got a bleedin' great big internal-combustion engine drowning out every other noise the sea might have to offer you. Quite how all that should give you the impression that you've become "one with the dolphins" escapes me... It's (multiple) accidents waiting to happen, if you want my opinion...you got it anyway!