Falling Overboard Not So Funny
 

Try climbing or pulling
onboard a 300-pounder
TRITON'S new reboarding
ladder saves the day…

ASHLAND CITY, Tennessee - Ed Boyer, a Carroll, Ohio fisherman, is living proof that Triton Boats' new reboarding ladder works.

The built-in safety ladder is a one-of-a-kind feature on the 2004 X-Series line of Triton bass boats, built here in Ashland City.

Boyer, a sizeable 300-pounder, tumbled overboard into Lake Erie while on a fishing trip with Triton's dealer Larry Uhl of Buckeye Outdoors, located in Hebron, Ohio.

"Without the ladder, Ed would have never been able to get back in the boat," said Uhl, who at 5-feet, 6-inches and 150 pounds is half the size of his fishing buddy. Uhl had help from another angler in the boat, Dave Maurice of Venom Lures. But, Maurice admitted, "I know we couldn't have got him back in the boat."

Falls overboard are one of the major causes for deaths in boating mishaps, according to U. S. Coast Guard findings. Even boaters wearing a lifevest will encounter problems in reboarding a bass boat. The situation becomes even more dangerous in cold-water temperatures where the effects of hypothermia can overcome a person in just 20 minutes of exposure.

According to Uhl, the mishap happened as Boyer tried to retrieve a fishing rod that had fallen overboard. "He lunged to get a hand on it, and just slid out of the boat," said Uhl.

Air temperature in the Erie, Pennsylvania area was around 65 degrees. The Lake Erie surface water had dropped to the mid-50s. And, a danger zone, if Boyer had been fishing alone or in a boat without the reboarding feature of the new Triton boat.

The National Safe Boating council recognized the boating safety feature, and awarded Triton Boats its "Award for Excellence" in July at Triton's new product introduction and dealer meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Uhl said, "I just rigged my new Triton demo boat and wanted to get it out on the water. Ed had wanted to go and take his truck. As it turned out, good thing we were in the new TR-196 with the reboarding ladder."

The ladder, hidden inside the hull, can be released with a simple latch. The ladder telescopes from the stern of the boat.

Larry Uhl believes, "It's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Everyone that comes into our dealership to see it says, 'It should be a safety factor on every bass boat'."

Ray Scott, founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), says "Triton's reboarding ladder is the greatest safety innovation since the requirement of a kill switch, cut-off device for outboard engines."

Scott serves as national spokesman for Triton Boats and is credited by Triton president Earl Bentz with the inspiration for the ladder innovation.

Buckeye Outdoors, located 25 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, is a 50,000 square foot superstore for fishermen, hunters and boaters.

"We're into our second year as a Triton dealer. The first year, mostly sold aluminum boats, but added the Triton glass hulls," said Uhl. "We did about a half-million dollars in sales last year, but I'm confident the total will be over a million dollars this time. Everyone that sees the ladder will want a new Triton," concluded Uhl.

According to Triton's vice-president of marketing Neal Hart, "The key importance is the availability for the angler/boater, who has fallen overboard, to reboard the boat with no outside assistance."

In some cases, by using the outboard motor's cavitations plate as a "step", a person can climb back over the stern, but as Larry Uhl warns, "A false step or slip and the prop can make a nasty gash."

More than 30 new bass boating features, besides the ladder, are listed on Triton's 2004 X-Series models in 21 to 19 ½ foot lengths. Among the features: a trolling motor foot-control deck recess, longer, wider front casting platform, higher profile and more buoyant bow, and new "no-water loss" livewell with redundant fill system.

For the full story, log on to Triton's website at www.tritonboats.com or write: Triton Boats, 15 Bluegrass Drive, Ashland City, TN 37015 or call 1-888-8TRITON.