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THis is terrible news. However I think we SHOULD be casting stones but not in a negative way. I think we should all look at the stiuation and figure out where these gentlemen made their errors and us try and learn from their mistakes. Nothing we say or do can bring them back, however if we look at what they did and learn something from it, it WILL save lives in the future.

As someone that hunts on the MS river about 40 days a year, that's a lot of people for any boat. Anyone that hunts/fishes with me knows it's a requirement to wear a lifejacket in my boat, and I prefer a float coat. No life jacket means no hunt with me. Five is the most I'll put in the boat at any one time and I have a MUCH bigger boat than is what has been described.

i was there. pfd would not have helped one bit for the two guys that didn't make it. we had to go down to get out. boat went down motor first and we were under water trapped in the cab in less that 5 seconds... seriously less than 5 seconds. a pfd would have helped after getting out of the cab for sure but hindsight is always 20/20..but i can honestly say that i did not ever feel in danger getting in that boat. and I can honestly say, I'll never be in another cab boat no matter how many people there are.. that's all i can stomach to say right now. just please pray for these two men's families and remember that their family members can read these forums too so choose your words carefully!

Thanks for the clarification hoot , and yes men , we need to remember that there's two families that have lost loved ones here . That's the important thing .

prayers sent

Prayers sent to both families, communities, and the gentlemen who were with them. It has to be hard on the guys with them to had to experience what happened.

hoot --- i can only imagine and pray for these folks families. i figured that it swamped the ass end of the boat and you probaly had never seen anything like it but i have on those old cab boats. they were not very good as far as flotation but alot has changed since then . they are notorious for just what it did and like you said the boat went down motor first and there isnt an easy way out of a cab boat . i never liked them for just that reason and am truly sorry for your loss and alot of people are un aware of stuff just like this . i just cant imagine the guide service saying it could be safe w that many in a boat . i have built and designed alot of boats for people through f and f and i havent seen many that were rated for more than 5 people or more . sorry for your loss and prayers sent to the familys

Dad sold an 18' peice of fiberglass and wood with a built 454 Chevy V-8 in it to a fella back in the day. I was there when the dad showed him proper slow down technique of zig zagging when slowing down rapidly. That next weekend dude swomped it right at the the no wake zone at Lake Meade outside of Vegas...boat sunk like a brick. My thoughts and prayers are with y'all.

I didn't think it was legal to guide in that area...no private land around Maddox Bay that I know of but I definitely could be wrong.

My prayers are with the families who lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Mallards and labs was drawn to guide and have to pay but to my knowledge there are only two people who can guide there Belle Gulley and Mallards and labs, they have to pay a fee to do so.

+1

lipsplitter39654 wrote:i am not casting stones. i am just making some observations. i dont know of many duck boats that will SAFELY carry 8 people and all their gear in the White River. I dont know of many people that have drown in fresh water with a life jacket on. It is a tragedy either way. We should all learn from the mistakes that were made.

quack_a_tack wrote:Mallards and labs was drawn to guide and have to pay but to my knowledge there are only two people who can guide there Belle Gulley and Mallards and labs, they have to pay a fee to do so.

There are actually 7 guides with some of them having multiple permits..

http://www.fws.gov/whiteriver/waterfowlinfopage.html

Belle Gulley guides on the south unit and Greenheadsandlabs guides on the north unit...each of them pay a fee for a guiding permit and are required to have CPR training, guiding licenses and insurance..

Well I thought they were the only ones I hunt that area and those are the only two I really know of. It is cool that you found that though, I never thought bout that many.