Deceased
Walter Muir McFarlane
Demographics
52y, male
Date of death
2005-11-27
Finding date
2008-10-16
Cause of death
salt water drowning
AI-generated summary
A 52-year-old man drowned after his fishing boat's hydraulic steering system failed catastrophically. The threaded connection between the hydraulic steering ram rods had become unscrewed, likely due to lack of threadlocker (loctite) or inadequate maintenance. When the threads separated during operation, the outboard motor suddenly turned to starboard, causing the vessel to spin violently and throwing the deceased into the water. He was wearing waders which would have caused rapid sinking. The boat had not been serviced according to manufacturer recommendations since purchase. No personal flotation device was worn. While the coroner noted a PFD may have assisted, the circumstances were deemed too unusual to recommend legislative change, though encouragement of PFD use in small powered vessels was endorsed.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
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