Shoot the Rapids: "The boats didn't fit the flumes"

IF the boats have a steel frame on the bottom then they would effectively be ballasted. But if such a frame exists, I would assume that it is there for structural purposes, not for the purpose of ballasting the boat.

I get nervous any time Intamin assures me that any particular failure cannot possibly happen.

That said, I think the risk of capsize with the Shoot the Rapids boats is vanishingly small, and besides which if the boat goes over, I think drowning is probably going to be the least of your worries.

As for the standards-compliance piece of the puzzle, one of these days I am going to put together some kind of a presentation aimed at coaster nuts that explains what the standard really says, because it is rather complicated. The bottom line is that the manufacturer can do pretty much anything so long as he can back it up with appropriate engineering analysis. Beyond that, there is a five-stage scale for basic restraint types, where restraint functions...adjustability, latching/locking function, number of patrons per unit, etc...are balanced against sustained G-force loads in the X and Z directions. It makes very little sense when you look at it critically, though you can kind of tell what the intent might have been (apart from a very obvious attempt to get rid of single-position shared lap bars whenever possible). Those requirements are then backed up against a laundry list of additional considerations, and finally a specific clause that reiterates that where there is a disagreement between the guidelines presented and an engineering analysis, the analysis should prevail. But of course, nothing in the standard talks about how to conduct the analysis.

Complicating matters further are some pretty extreme restraint requirements for rides that accommodate riders under 48" tall. Shoot the Rapids escapes these requirements by requiring a supervising companion for riders under 48" tall, in fact putting the ride into a category that the ASTM F24 committee has been fighting about for several years without reaching consensus. F 2291:6.4.2 still hasn't passed, but the manufacturers and parks are well aware that it will include requirements for rides that accommodate both adults and children, so we're going to see rides that comply with the draft language. Kind of like all those modern web browsers that support HTML 5 even though it isn't an adopted standard yet.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

It doesn't matter where the cut off is. Someone will always be to short and there will always be someone complaining about it. That's what I like about Cedar Point's hight checkers. If the bar hits the head, they're tall enough. If it swings past they aren't. Not like the guess work at some other parks.

I think the height requirement will be okay. This guy claims the White Water Landing requirement was 46" or less with a 'responsible person'. I really think that is comparable, even though STR has a minimum height requirement of 42".

We moved away from the 'common sense' era of ride requirements into a time where everything must be explicitly stated/identified.

RideMan said:
IF the boats have a steel frame on the bottom then they would effectively be ballasted. But if such a frame exists, I would assume that it is there for structural purposes, not for the purpose of ballasting the boat.

Anything added to the lower part of a boat/something that floats that has only the purpose of stabilizing it/lowering its center of gravity is ballast. Anything that is on the lower part of a boat/something that floats that is heavier than it otherwise needs to be (such as using a heavier.larger steel frame than you need for stuctural purposes) that also servies to stabilize it/lower its center of gravity is also ballast. Keel on a sailboat is ballast. That it keeps the boat from slipping sideways in the wind doesn't keep it from being ballast. Otherwise not minimizing the weight of the lower portion of the boats/things that float serves as ballast as well. So saying the STR boats may have ballast wouldn't require them to have a lead keel.

And how do you capsize a boat about seven feet wide in an eight foot channel in two feet of water? Are you still implying (or were you ever?) that they'd add weight below the water line?

I had heard the reason STR isn't open is because the winged keels that they put on the boats were causing the boats to run aground in the channel during the ride. :)

As long as the boats aren't getting stuck at the bottom of the hill causing the next boat to hit it and launch into the midway. ;)

That is supposed to be the thrill ride for 2011 but now you went and spoiled the surprise. ;)

Looks like the opening of shoot the rapids has been delayed once again. The red cross winners were told that the first rides have been postponed again. No new date has been given.

No word from cedar point yet. I find that kind of odd, because it is supposed to open tomorrow. I think the least they could do if it was not going to open tomorrow, is give people a heads up.

I believe that there is a lot more wrong than just the length of the boats.

Perhaps, as I mentioned at PB, they're trying to get the ride open tomorrow, but aren't 100% sure they can do so. As such, they do the prudent thing and postpone the RC auction, but still hope to have the ride open for their weekend guests.

I agree.

I am waiting to hear something from cedar point themselfs.

I still say the problem WASN'T that the boats didn't fit the flume....but rather that the flume didn't fit the boats. ;)

Sorry...it's a Friday before a long weekend - happy TGIF everone! :)

I'm sure Kinzel called the Sandusky Register and told them himself this morning.

I'll tell you what, if StR does not open this weekend, some heads need to roll in the coporate office BIG TIME and I hope Q is watching every step of this. I have heard the weather in Ohio has be unusually sunny and warm so far this spring.....and yet the new star attraction hasn't been open to take advantage of it. How many times does it take for someone to understand that Intamin just can't be relied on??????

German's do it better, buy a Mack :)

I roasted in the sun yesterday at CP and it was 9am! All you kept hearing is "Today is a Water ride day" I didn't hear one person mention the name STR all day! It was Snake River Falls everyone was talking about. Millions later and people don't even know the name of the new ride!

From the park's Facebook:

Cedar Point has an official update on Shoot the Rapids. The ride will not open this weekend as planned. Our preopening procedures are taking longer than expected, but we anticipate it will open soon. We apologize for the delay, and we'll let you know as soon as it's open.

... Doh!

LOL, absolutely hysterical! Hell, let's get another Intamin for next year too while were at! Gotta keep these trends going ;)

Anyone recall what Maverick's official delayed opening date was?

Maverick opened on Memorial Day weekend.

*hearsay alert* (no i didn't talk to the lemon chill guy) :)

I was talking to a friend of mine at the park. He seemed to know what he was talking about. But, we all know how that goes. So, apparently there have been multiple issues with the boats. He said the first issue was that these were the same boats as what Holiday World had. So when they got to the park, they did not have any chain dog on them. The were going to try and modify them, but opted for new trains.

Secondly, apparently these boats, as well as Holiday World's boats have pumps in them to drain out the water after they pull back into the station. However, STR's boats are accumulating more water that Holiday Worlds due to all the extra effects throughout the ride. The 60 seconds that the boats were spending in the station was apparently not enough time to drain them completely. So, the longer they ran, the heavier they were getting. He hadn't heard anything about the boats being too long. He thinks it may have been a misquote or a misunderstanding. Based on what he said, as the boats were accumulating more and more water, they were getting heavier and they were running to far (long) down the trough and going into the turn to hard. They apparently solved this by amping up the power to the pumps to make them more efficient. In addition, it seems they are going to require heavier riders to sit in the front. That may help dig the boat into the water to slow it a bit more. You will see in my video and pictures (that I will post later) that the water dummies in the front seats are huge. I was told it takes 2 people to get them out.

Though the boats may not have been long enough, it sounds like they were to wide or had to much girth to navigate the channel properly. Which is probably why we saw all the work going on with the rails.

So with everything finally solved and testing completed or nearly completed the park now got the word from the state that because of the holiday weekend, the state wouldn't come out to inspect it. So, hopefully that will happen on Tuesday.

When I talked to the Red Cross this morning, they indicated that they were hoping to to the Auction rides next Saturday. I don't know if he really knew anything, so I didn't mention it earlier.

If the ride does happen next Saturday, I will likely have to choose between that and the Mini Golf Tournament. Either way, I will let my donation stand.

Those dummies in the front look like giant statues. Pumping water out? Navigating the chute? Haven't they been building log flumes for like 40 years?