Promotion highlights boat safety

By DOROTHY MARK
MOUNTING wrong engine sizes on dinghies can cause them to capsize, Ela Motors official Mathew Maela says.
Maela, Ela Motors national fixed operation coordinator said during a Yamaha products promotion in Madang on Saturday that 40hp engines should be mounted on 23-foot dinghies, 15hp to 30hp engines on 19-foot dinghies and 75hp to 85hp engines on 24-foot dinghies.
“Your boat can capsize if an engine is too heavy on a small dinghy,” Maela said.
Dinghies operating in the Madang waters were serviced by experts at the Madang branch, while free motor parts were issued for the service.
Dinghy operators and owners paid for labour only.
Ela Motors’ Madang branch manageress Lynne Lini said the timing was right for the promotion and servicing of outboard motors because the general election was approaching.
Lini said people would be moving around a lot during the campaign and voting using dinghies.
“Dinghies should be in good conditions to operate during this busy period,” she said. Cases of dinghies capsizing in Madang waters were due to overloading and those caused due to technical problems.