‘I was afraid for my grandchildren’: Ontario man experiences near-capsize of pontoon boat

An Ontario family has safety concerns after purchasing new type of boat. CTV's Pat Foran reports.

A family from St. Isadore, southeast of Ottawa, bought a pontoon boat in the fall of 2023, and while they initially enjoyed the watercraft, the owner says this past summer it took on water and almost capsized.

Markus Haerle said he wanted something fun to use with his children and grandchildren.

“We wanted to have something that is family oriented, and they (the boat dealer) presented us with a Sea-Doo Switch,” Haerle told CTV News. “It’s an 18-footer, the most common size the dealership sells.”

Haerle said he was out in the watercraft with two other adults and his three grandchildren, who were under the ages of three years old, when another boat passed by them and the wake caused the Sea-Doo Switch to take on water.

“Water started coming into the boat,” he said. “It was like a scoop, scooping up water into the boat.”

Haerle said he became worried for his grandchildren’s safety, and he feared the boat might capsize.

“The rear of the boat was coming out of the water, and two of our grandchildren were swimming in the water because the front was submerged. Thank goodness they had lifejackets on. That saved the day as it could have turned into a great disaster.”

Haerle said he was able to get the boat to shore, and said after doing some research he found out there had been other cases of Sea-Doo Switches flipping over in Washington, D.C., and in Florida.

Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) issued a safety recall notice in February of this year where is warned that overloading the front of the boat could result in serious injury or death.

An accompanying safety video from the company additionally advises to “not allow passengers to sit or gather at the front of the boat that would overload the bow. It may result in the boat nose-diving leading to capsizing.”

However, Haerle believes the safety recall and warnings don’t go far enough.

“They have not solved the issue with that boat, and it will capsize in smaller waves,” he said.

When CTV News reached out to Bombardier, a spokesperson said, “Bombardier Recreational Products takes any incident with its products very seriously. Our riders’ safety is our top priority, and we are committed to providing products that are safe and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.”

“As such, our Sea-Doo Switch watercrafts comply with applicable ABYC standards and U.S. Coast Guard regulations regarding flotation tests and weight capacity, as well as with the ISO 12217 standard. In Canada, the Sea-Doo Switch watercrafts comply with the SOR/2010-91 Small Vessel Regulations and TP 1332 Construction Standards regarding flotation tests and weight capacity.”

“This product has been rigorously tested throughout its development phase and still is today.”

Haerle told CTV News that including taxes, his Sea-Doo Switch cost about $64,000. He has since returned it to a dealer as he doesn’t feel it’s safe to use it with his family.

“We are actually asking Sea-Doo to reimburse us for that boat because (I feel) it’s not safe for the family and no one will ever go on that boat again,” said Haerle.

Despite returning the watercraft, BRP said as long as safety precautions are followed there’s no reason the boat is unsafe, leaving the two sides at a standstill.