From the USCG Aux:

"BETTER TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO"

WHEN IT COMES TO BOATING SAFETY

It was a warm summer afternoon on Memorial Day weekend. Folsom Lake,
the most heavily used sole-state lake in California, located about 25
miles northeast from the capitol in Sacramento , was filled with boats
of all types and sizes.

A young couple in their twenties, along with the woman's brother, was
enjoying a day of cruising and waterskiing on their older model inboard
ski boat. It was just after lunch, and the husband attempted to start
the engine and get underway again for more waterskiing in the remote
north fork of the American River.

At first the engine didn't turn over, and the boat was bouncing in the
wakes of other boaters in the area. The boat's ventilation system
wasn't working, and while the couple had intended to get it fixed, they
didn't have time to get it to the dealer before the busy holiday
weekend began. They also hadn't had the engine serviced since they
purchased the boat almost two years ago.

The husband continued to turn the key when suddenly there was a loud
pop, and smoke started coming from the engine compartment. The three
boaters looked at each other, not knowing what to do, or exactly what
the problem was. They soon began to sense the acrid smell of burning
rubber as the smoke began to increase from the engine compartment area.


The brother-in-law asked if they had a fire extinguisher on board, and
the three began to search the compartments to locate the extinguisher.
Once they located it, they actually didn't know how to operate the
extinguisher and had to take a couple of minutes to read the
directions. Once they learned what to do, they attempted to put out
the small fire in the engine compartment and they found out the hard
way that their extinguisher had accidentally discharged while being
stored under a seat cushion with a lot of other loose gear. The
extinguisher was fully discharged before the fire was completely out.
At this point, none of the people on board were wearing life jackets.

Fortunately for the trio, a Good Samaritan in the area saw what was
happening and came by with another fire extinguisher to put out the
small engine fire and call the Coast Guard Auxiliary for further
assistance.

This real life scenario described about is not limited to any specific
type of craft or operator, or geographical location. Rather, it
illustrates the need for boaters to be prepared for emergencies, and to
be familiar with not only how to use their equipment, but to ensure
that equipment is in good working order.

Let's look at what went wrong in this case:

The boat's ventilation system was not working at all, and since the
boat hadn't been serviced in nearly two years, the engine's backfire
flame arrestor was dirty and contributed to the cause of the engine
fire.
The boaters didn't know how to use their fire extinguisher, and weren't
exactly sure where it was located on board. Both of these factors cost
precious time to be lost.
None of the three boaters in this case were wearing life jackets, nor
were any making preparations to abandon ship in the event the fire got
further out of control. Moreover, since they were in a remote area,
there was no cell phone coverage, and they had no marine radio on
board.
There are two things the boaters in this case could have done to have
prepared themselves for a situation like this:

To "know before they go" they should have taken a boating safety
course. It is a statistic that repeats itself over and over again: 80
percent of those individuals who die in boating accidents had never
taken a boating safety class. In a boating safety class, they would
have learned the importance of preventative maintenance, the dangers
associated with a non-operations ventilation system, as well as how to
deal with a fire on board their vessel.
Furthermore, "to know before they go," they could have had a free
vessel safety check (VSC) performed by a qualified Coast Guard
Auxiliary Vessel Examiner. During a VSC, the examiner reviews all the
legally required items and equipment, as well as recommending some
additional safety items.
If you want to follow the Coat Guard's motto and be SEMPER PARATUS
(always ready,) we suggest you invest some time to take a boating
safety course, and get a vessel safety check before the boating season
begins. To learn more about classes and the vessel safety check
program, visit http://www.cgaux.org/ .

###

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed,
non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of
its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement.
These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air,
in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness
patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.

Geezus....
Also of note: It's dangerous and potentially injurious to lift an engine
hatch while a fire is burning in the engine bay. The inrush of oxygen
may well pump a slow, starved flame into a large flare up. It's cheap to
install a couple fire ports, which allow you to shoot an extinguisher
into the engine bay without raising the hatch. In fact, this mod is on
the ever-growing list of improvements to Cruis'n Rulz! scheduled for
this summer.
JR

wrote:

From the USCG Aux:

"BETTER TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO"

WHEN IT COMES TO BOATING SAFETY

It was a warm summer afternoon on Memorial Day weekend. Folsom Lake,
the most heavily used sole-state lake in California, located about 25
miles northeast from the capitol in Sacramento , was filled with boats
of all types and sizes.

A young couple in their twenties, along with the woman's brother, was
enjoying a day of cruising and waterskiing on their older model inboard
ski boat. It was just after lunch, and the husband attempted to start
the engine and get underway again for more waterskiing in the remote
north fork of the American River.

At first the engine didn't turn over, and the boat was bouncing in the
wakes of other boaters in the area. The boat's ventilation system
wasn't working, and while the couple had intended to get it fixed, they
didn't have time to get it to the dealer before the busy holiday
weekend began. They also hadn't had the engine serviced since they
purchased the boat almost two years ago.

The husband continued to turn the key when suddenly there was a loud
pop, and smoke started coming from the engine compartment. The three
boaters looked at each other, not knowing what to do, or exactly what
the problem was. They soon began to sense the acrid smell of burning
rubber as the smoke began to increase from the engine compartment area.


The brother-in-law asked if they had a fire extinguisher on board, and
the three began to search the compartments to locate the extinguisher.
Once they located it, they actually didn't know how to operate the
extinguisher and had to take a couple of minutes to read the
directions. Once they learned what to do, they attempted to put out
the small fire in the engine compartment and they found out the hard
way that their extinguisher had accidentally discharged while being
stored under a seat cushion with a lot of other loose gear. The
extinguisher was fully discharged before the fire was completely out.
At this point, none of the people on board were wearing life jackets.

Fortunately for the trio, a Good Samaritan in the area saw what was
happening and came by with another fire extinguisher to put out the
small engine fire and call the Coast Guard Auxiliary for further
assistance.

This real life scenario described about is not limited to any specific
type of craft or operator, or geographical location. Rather, it
illustrates the need for boaters to be prepared for emergencies, and to
be familiar with not only how to use their equipment, but to ensure
that equipment is in good working order.

Let's look at what went wrong in this case:

The boat's ventilation system was not working at all, and since the
boat hadn't been serviced in nearly two years, the engine's backfire
flame arrestor was dirty and contributed to the cause of the engine
fire.
The boaters didn't know how to use their fire extinguisher, and weren't
exactly sure where it was located on board. Both of these factors cost
precious time to be lost.
None of the three boaters in this case were wearing life jackets, nor
were any making preparations to abandon ship in the event the fire got
further out of control. Moreover, since they were in a remote area,
there was no cell phone coverage, and they had no marine radio on
board.
There are two things the boaters in this case could have done to have
prepared themselves for a situation like this:

To "know before they go" they should have taken a boating safety
course. It is a statistic that repeats itself over and over again: 80
percent of those individuals who die in boating accidents had never
taken a boating safety class. In a boating safety class, they would
have learned the importance of preventative maintenance, the dangers
associated with a non-operations ventilation system, as well as how to
deal with a fire on board their vessel.
Furthermore, "to know before they go," they could have had a free
vessel safety check (VSC) performed by a qualified Coast Guard
Auxiliary Vessel Examiner. During a VSC, the examiner reviews all the
legally required items and equipment, as well as recommending some
additional safety items.
If you want to follow the Coat Guard's motto and be SEMPER PARATUS
(always ready,) we suggest you invest some time to take a boating
safety course, and get a vessel safety check before the boating season
begins. To learn more about classes and the vessel safety check
program, visit http://www.cgaux.org/ .

###

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed,
non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of
its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement.
These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air,
in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness
patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.



--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth