Attention - Float Tube Users - An accident we can learn from
Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2010 9:50 am
We had a customer ( a very experienced tuber) suffer a sudden and complete bladder failure while traversing the middle of a lake. This individual was forced to swim ashore with water filled waders and boots while holding their rod. Not a good situation to say the least.
The cause of the failure was a leaky bottle of insect repellent. The repellent appeared to have burned a large hole in the Urethane tube and heavily damaged the surrounding area.
The owners manual, if anyone read it, contains a warning about insect repellent, but it does not give any indication of the catastrophic outcome.
The best recommendation is not to carry insect repellent on the tube. If you feel you must carry repellent, do not put it in the pockets over the bladder.
While the users boat had a single bladder, the loss of air was so fast that one side that the user was dumped into the water before the other side had collapsed. In other words, had it been a 2 bladder design, the outcome would have been the same.
In short Float tubes are safe. But a little caution goes a long way
The cause of the failure was a leaky bottle of insect repellent. The repellent appeared to have burned a large hole in the Urethane tube and heavily damaged the surrounding area.
The owners manual, if anyone read it, contains a warning about insect repellent, but it does not give any indication of the catastrophic outcome.
The best recommendation is not to carry insect repellent on the tube. If you feel you must carry repellent, do not put it in the pockets over the bladder.
While the users boat had a single bladder, the loss of air was so fast that one side that the user was dumped into the water before the other side had collapsed. In other words, had it been a 2 bladder design, the outcome would have been the same.
In short Float tubes are safe. But a little caution goes a long way
