Paddle vs Power Boat Safety

Printed with permission of the Authour - Dave Reichert, PE
(Originally appeared in rec.boats.paddle September 21, 2002)

Ms. O'Hara,

I recently read your message to the rec.boats.paddle newsgroup (see
original text below). In that message you made the assertion, " After
all, canoes and kayaks have the highest fatality rate of all boat
types - double the rate of personal watercraft at four times higher
than open motorboats." I, like others who frequent the newsgroup, was
amazed by this "fact."

I understand from reading subsequent messages that your assertion
appears to have been based either on testimony provided by a
representative of BoatUS (see text below) or whatever "facts" were the
basis for the BoatUS testimony.

After reviewing the many cited internet sources for relevant
information I have concluded that the cited canoeing/kayaking fatality
rate is at best an approximation and, at worst, a calculation that was
knowingly based on incomplete data.
As others have correctly said, an accurate comparison of canoe and
powerboat fatality rates must be based on valid, comparable rates. It
appears that the comparison was based on number of deaths, an accurate
numerator for the fatality ratio, divided by the number of registered
canoes and powerboats. Hopefully you have followed some of the
newsgroup discussion and are aware that canoe registration is not an
accurate indicator of the number of canoes in use.

To move this discussion forward I researched what other indicators of
canoe and powerboat use, the denominator in the fatality ratio, might
be available. Unfortunately, I have found no comparable and accurate
information on the amount of time people use these types of boats. Nor
have I found reliable information on the number of canoes and
powerboats that are being actively used. However, data is available,
and it appears to be both accurate and to have a common source, on the
sales of new units. While this data is not a direct indicator of the
time such boats are in use or of the total number of units in service,
it is a secondary indicator with high correlation to the current
interest in these activities, and it is far more accurate than the
registration numbers.

Using sales data from two sources (see sources and calculations below)
I have concluded that the fatality rates per 1,000 units sold are
nearly equal to each other. Sales data from the two sources differs
slightly, but in both cases the death rates are very similar.

Fatality rates per 1,000 units sold,
based on National Marine Manufacturer Association data
Canoes = 0.87
Powerboats = 0.80

Fatality rates per 1,000 units sold,
based on sales as reported by Boating News
Canoes = 1.1
Powerboats = 0.90

I hope my brief foray into this field is of some use to you. And I
would ask that you use great care when reading and referencing
assertions in the future.


Dave Reichert, PE