[cwgator]

I can't say I'm surprised...
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/Business/2016/02/11/Shoot-The-Rapids-coming-down.html

SANDUSKY

Cedar Point’s Shoot the Rapids is coming down.

Sources have told the Register the amusement park operator started to tear down the water ride Tuesday. Cedar Point is not confirming the removal or what will come next.

“Our focus is on the construction of Valravn, our record-breaking dive coaster. We have not announced any changes regarding our current ride lineup,” wrote Tony Clark, director of communications, in a statement.

The ride was designed by Intamin, which also designed Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force. The ride, which debuted in June 2010 on Pioneer Trail, suffered its share of problems.

On July 19, 2013, seven guests were on a Shoot the Rapids boat that malfunctioned while ascending a lift hill. Inspectors determined the boat went down the hill backward about 187 feet, then traveled another 41 feet until it struck the edge of a concrete flume. The force of the collision damaged about 7 feet of concrete. The boat then continued in the flume an additional 58 feet, striking the flume wall several more times and hitting another boat before overturning, the guests still inside. The inspection revealed two safety features never engaged: one designed to prevent boats from coming off the track, the other to prevent boats from rolling backward.

[Edwardo]

I've known this was coming for a while now. Such a shame they went with Intamin.

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/Busines ... aking&lp=1

[tarheel1231]

Yes! Now they can put in a real water coaster (I.e. Mack water coaster). It'd be a perfect family coaster for the park.

[Jonathan]

[SROS Master]

Funny thing is when I was last at Cedar Point, this ride was brand new. But I didn’t bother riding it that day, thinking it was going to be there for next time.

Whatever though, no big deal.

[gabed]

Even though this ride had a bad habit of trying to kill people, I'm genuinely sad to see it go. I had a blast on it when I rode it back in 2013, definitely my favorite water ride. It's a shame to see it go after only 6 years, especially when it was as fun and well-themed as it was. I wonder if this is being done for future expansion plans or if they're just tired of taking care of it.

[Edwardo]

It's being removed because it's a liability. Too much (wayyyy too much) to go into, but both the hardware and concrete troughs have design flaws.

[gabed]

So how exactly did the 2013 accident happen? From what I've seen the lift hills had an anti-rollback device which clearly didn't do anything. Also, would you mind discussing some of the issues Shoot the Rapids had? Stuff like this really interests me for some reason.

[Edwardo]

Not much else I Can say. The troughs have no elevation change, and they expected water pumps to keep it flowing. It didn't. Hardware on the lift failed. Couldn't load middle of the boat. There were water pumps IN the bots, instead of letting gravity drain them like every. Other. Flume. In history.

[Jonathan]

A boat with people on it literally sank during testing before it opened the first summer.

The anti-rollback issue was even called out on RRC years before the accident.

When you ride this, or look at pictures, take a look at how the boat
is secured to the trough...there is an upstop channel, but it's oddly
placed, in the center of the trough, to the right of the chain. The
side sheels on the boat roll freely up the rails on either side of the
trough. Just kinda wierd, and I didn't like the weight of this huge
boat relying on one pair of upstops (which goes down the drop as
well). But, hey, I'm sure Intamin knows what they're doing.

What a disaster. One of the oldest types of amusement rides out there. How could they get it so wrong? And it cost $10.5 million!

[Edwardo]

If you only knew the half of it. There were other companies wanting to build this. I'm glad the Dick and Sandor handjob show is finally over.

[Jarsh]

A boat with people on it literally sank during testing before it opened the first summer.

Don't forget that it was being testing at 1:00 in the morning during a lightning storm just to get the necessary laps in for certification.

[dabrian]

When something like this happens and their is clear negligence by the manufacturer does Cedar Fair still have to eat the cost of the coaster? I would imagine they won't be ordering many Intamin coasters for awhile.