We will be running a story in the next issue about a Bayliner sinking
at Seattle Yacht Club dock. As remarkable as the presence of a "mere
Bayliner" on the dock of the most prestigious yacht club in the area
may be, the interesting aspect of the article involves the cause of the
sinking- a muskrat.

A colony of muskrats lives in close proximity to the Seattle Yacht
Club. Never let it be said that toney neighborhoods don't attract
vermin. The muskrats often build nests in the exhaust hoses of yachts
at the SYC dock. There is never any external sign of a muskrat
invasion, and the first indication for most boaters is an angry bundle
of fur and a wad of mud and sticks shooting out of the exhaust when the
engines fire up.

Unfortunately, the stereotypical bahers aren't the only critters found
of taking a bite out of Bayliner. A muskrat nested in the Bayliner
exhaust hose and began sharpening it's teeth on the rubber. After
sufficient munching and crunching, the hose was penetrated at a point
below the waterline. Down she went.

Those who moor in areas where muskrats are known to hang out should be
aware of the potential problem these animals can create in an exhaust
system. In a worst case scenario, they can very obviously sink a boat.

The saga continues for the owner of the Muskrat dinner barge here in
our fair city. His insurance company has told him, effectively, to take
a long walk off a short pier. He's fighting them, of course. There is a
clause in his policy excluding damage from "vermin, wildlife, etc". Not
all boat insurance policies have this particular exclusion, but boaters
who moor in muskrat zones might do well to check the language in their
particular policy and either negotiate its removal or consider
switching to an insurance carrier that covers this
not-really-very-funny possibility.