I’m all for wearing my life jacket in the boat…..but… - General Discussion Forum - General Discussion Forum

Not that I’m interested in making PFD’s mandatory however with the fit of the inflatables, I question the reason most people wouldn’t.

Yeah, I sell inflatables. Not because I want to make a billion $$ but because I haven’t been able to find anyone that wants to stock the different sizes of vests and the outer shell. I would happily send people to a local retailer if there was one. Full disclosure: I’ve made less then $150. on all the Float Tech’s I’ve sold. Obviously I don’t do it for the money.

I believe the wearing of PFD’s of any brand gives a person a better chance. If you know when you’ll need one, just wear one that day…I’m good with that.

I’m not sure how many days they were dragging and Dam #3, but the fellas body is still somewhere in the river. It’s been what? Three weeks? Maybe you’ll be the lucky one to snag him this fall?

I do see the humor in the video, however as you can see by the length of this post, I believe in the life saving abilities of a PFD. No. They won’t save everyone but it will make it easier for the rescue team to pull their butt out for his or her family.

This is from 2001 up to 9/30.

Boating Fatalities
1. 4/14 – Mille Lacs Co. – Mille Lacs Lake – A 35-year-old Garrison man drowned after falling overboard
when his 16-foot motorboat flooded with water. He and three passengers had gone out to do some fish
netting. After about 20 minutes, they decided to turn around and go back to shore because the water
was getting too choppy. Waves came over the boat causing the front to dip, putting the four men into
the water. One passenger held a life jacket and swam toward shore, two were able to climb back into
the boat (one was wearing an inflatable PFD). The operator was found unresponsive in the water and
was taken to shore by another boat. Lifesaving measures were started and he was transported to the
hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. (Life jacket worn – no)

2. 4/30 – Cass Co. – Leech Lake – A 68-year-old Pierz man drowned after falling overboard from his 16-foot
motorboat. He had noticed water in the back of the boat and thought he had a leaking drain plug. He
grabbed another plug, lifted the motor and leaned over the transom to replace the faulty plug. His
passenger heard him fall in and threw him a life jacket and a throwable flotation device, and then tried
to move the boat to rescue him. The man was under water and the passenger jumped in and held the
man’s head above water. Others arrived and helped them to shore where CPR was started, to no avail.
(Life jacket worn – no)

3. 5/17 – Wabasha Co. – Weaver Bottoms, Mississippi River – An 88-year-old Cochrane, WI man drowned
after somehow falling overboard from his 18-foot motorboat. He had been out fishing by himself since
late morning. A fisherman saw the unoccupied boat driving in circles and called authorities at about 7:43
p.m. His body was recovered at about 9:20 p.m. (Life jacket worn – no)

4. 5/29 – Dakota Co. – Crystal Lake – A 36-year-old Burnsville man drowned while attempting to save his
girlfriend, who had gone into the water from the 21-foot motorboat she was a passenger on. He jumped
in the water from the boat, in an attempt to help her get back to the boat. She was able to get back in
the boat, but he told her he thought he was going to drown. She put on a life jacket and threw one
toward him. He went under the water and she couldn’t see him. She jumped in the water, but couldn’t
locate him. She called 911. His body was recovered about 6 hours later. (Life jacket worn – no)

5. 5/31 – St. Louis Co. – Trout Lake – A 51-year-old Bowlus man drowned after falling overboard from the
16-foot motorboat in which he was a passenger. He and the other two occupants were fishing while
slowly trolling. The man was in a seat on the raised casting deck and the operator noticed he was dozing
off. They were still trolling when suddenly the operator heard a splash. He looked over and saw the man
had fallen in. The man briefly came to the surface and then went under. The operator jumped in to help
him but couldn’t hold him up without going under himself and he had to let go. Another boat came over
to help and they got the man to shore and started CPR. The lake is in the BWCA with water access only
and ambulance staff arrived with assistance from a U.S. Forest Service float plane. Lifesaving efforts
were unsuccessful. (Life jacket worn – no)

6. 6/1 – Ramsey Co. – Lake Gervais – A 20-year-old St. Paul man drowned when the 14 ½-foot canoe he
and two others were in capsized at about 7:30 p.m. All three went into the lake, but only two
resurfaced. None of the three were wearing a life jacket. A nearby witness came to help. He tried to
grab the operator, who was still submerged, but couldn’t. He got the two passengers, who were
struggling in the water, into his boat. The operator went below the water line and was no longer visible.
A search was started and he was recovered at about 11:15 p.m. (Life jacket worn – no)

7. 6/6 – Kandiyohi Co. – Big Kandiyohi Lake – A 32-year-old Danube man drowned while swimming from an
unanchored 17-foot motorboat. The boat was stopped to let the man and three children swim. No one
was wearing a life jacket in the water. It was windy and wavy, and the boat was drifting. One child began
to struggle and the man tried to help. He began to struggle and went under the water before the boat
could reach him. The child was saved from the water. The man’s body was recovered on 6/9. (Life jacket
worn – no)

8. 6/11 – Aitkin Co. – Big Sandy Lake – A 34-year-old North Branch man died after he fell overboard, at
about 11:30 p.m., from a 20-foot pontoon boat, which was underway. He was a passenger and was on
the front of the boat when he fell. He went under the boat and was possibly struck by the motor. He
sank in the water. His body was located and recovered just after 5:00 p.m. the following day. (Life jacket
worn – no)

9. 6/24 – Itasca Co. – Little Splithand Lake – A 30-year-old Grand Rapids man drowned after falling
overboard from the side-door on his 20-foot pontoon boat. The boat was drifting while the passenger
was fishing from the bow of the boat. The man was at the back of the boat. The passenger heard him
walk to the port side of the boat and heard him fall into the water from the side door. She jumped in the
water to save him but was unable to locate him. She swam back to the boat and yelled for help. A
nearby angler came to help and called 911. A search was started and the man’s body was recovered on
6/29/21. (Life jacket worn – no)

10. 6/30 – Hennepin Co. – Lake Minnetonka – A 15-year-old Chanhassen boy died after an 11-foot personal
watercraft (PWC) collided with the 9-foot PWC he was operating. The operators were friends that were
out riding and jumping wakes. The victim’s PWC stopped suddenly and was hit by the one his friend was
operating, causing injury to the boy and damage to both watercraft. (Life jacket worn – yes)

11. 7/12 – Hubbard Co. – Little Mantrap Lake – A 65-year-old Brooklyn Park man drowned after falling
overboard from his 14-foot motorboat. Witnesses said they heard a boat speed past their boat while
they were fishing. They then heard a loud bang and looked up to see a boat driving in circles and a man
in the water. They went over to help and threw a life jacket to the man, but he wasn’t able to grab it and
he went under. One witness tried to dive for the man but couldn’t find him. His body was found and
recovered almost 3 hours later. (Life jacket worn – no)

12. 7/19 – St. Louis Co. – Loon Lake – A 73-year-old Fort Lupton, CO man drowned after the 17-foot canoe
he was paddling capsized in the BWCAW. He and his passenger were camping when they were advised
of park closures due to wildfire activity in the area. They packed up camp and as they were paddling
toward another lake, a storm came up. They turned toward shore and a large wave capsized the canoe.
The passenger swam toward shore and the man held on to the canoe. When the passenger reached
shore, he could not see the man anywhere. He used a satellite phone to call for assistance. The man’s
body was recovered about four hours later. (Life jackets worn – no)

13. 8/10 – Aitkin Co. – Waukenabo Lake – A 63-year-old Lakewood, CO man drowned after he jumped from
an unanchored pontoon boat to swim. He started to struggle in the water and life jackets were thrown
to him but missed. He went under the water and did not resurface. His body was recovered by
authorities about nine hours later. (Life jackets worn – no)

14. 8/12 – St. Louis Co. – Sand Lake – A 21-year-old Roseville man drowned while trying to swim to shore
from a capsized 18-foot canoe. He had been fishing while his friend was paddling the canoe. They
encountered high winds and large waves and the canoe took on water and capsized. They stood on the
submerged canoe and eventually tried to swim to shore. The operator made it to the island, but the
victim never arrived. His body was recovered on 8/16. (Life jackets worn – no)

15. 8/16 – Crow Wing Co. – Ruth Lake – A 66-year-old Towanda, KS man apparently drowned after diving off
the drifting 19-foot pontoon boat he was a passenger on. The operator felt that something was wrong
and then saw the man struggling and beginning to panic. The man was hanging on to the side of the
pontoon but couldn’t continue. The operator threw several life jackets to him. Another boater heard
calls for help and got the man in their boat and back to the public access. First responders rendered aid,
but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. (Life jackets worn – no)

16. 8/19 – Cass Co. – Leech Lake – A 65-year-old Oak Grove man apparently drowned after going in the
water from his drifting 24-foot pontoon boat. A witness in another boat saw him in the water with his
dog as they went by. When they came by again, they saw the dog swimming away from the boat and the
man was nowhere to be seen. They called 911. The man’s body was recovered about 1 ½ hours later.
(Life jacket worn – no)

17. 8/20 – Ramsey Co. – White Bear Lake – A 43-year-old Brooklyn Park man drowned while swimming from
a rented 22-foot pontoon boat. He was a passenger on the drifting boat and was in the water swimming.
He became distressed and went under water. The others on the boat attempted to find him but were
unsuccessful. Authorities arrived and started searching. He was located, put in a boat (where CPR was
started) and brought to shore. A waiting ambulance took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced
dead. He had been in the water a little more than an hour. (Life jacket worn – no)

MN Boating Drownings
1961
78
1962
82
1963
75
1964
73
1965
68
1966
80
1967
64
1968
84
1969
92
1970
70
1971
76
1972
81
1973
81
1974
75
1975
55
1976
101
1977
52
1978
86
1979 **notice boat drownings started dropping here.
68
1980
51
1981
59
1982
59
1983
56
1984
38
1985
31
1986
72
1987
48
1988
51
1989
42
1990
31
1991
38
1992
33
1993
30
1994
31
1995
36
1996
60
1997
21
1998
60
1999
52
2000
20
2001
53
2002
42
2003
32
2004
30
2005
45
2006
49
2007
26
2008
33
2009
28
2010
34
2011
50
2012
40
2013
30
2014
29
2015
35

Link to MN Stats

/butt hurt