Changes
Perilous Plunge debuted with a blue and white color scheme and with three 24-passenger boats, with passengers held in place by a lap bar and an individual seat belt. However, after a September 2001 incident in which a guest fell out of the boat during the descent and was killed, the boats were retrofitted with four-point harnesses and the ride received a new paint job consisting of a lime green and blue color scheme. After a period of time, Knott's received two new boats with over-the-shoulder restraints. These new boats were drastically different in design and thus created a much smaller splash than the first set of boats. In addition, newer designs caused problems with the lift chain. Stress fractures appeared in the lift chain shortly after the arrival of the new boats. The ride was shut down, and a new chain was ordered. This time, the lift chain snapped (though the anti-rollback device prevented the boat from reversing down the lift hill). Finally, the problem was diagnosed and a new chain was ordered.
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