SILENT DEATH LURKS FOR PLEASURE BOATERS

SF Chronicle ^ | 7/18/03 | Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer

[randita]

Folsom, Sacramento County -- Mike Farr dived off a friend's ski boat into Lake Folsom moments after his 11-year-old son sank below the churning waters while bodysurfing in the vessel's wake.

"I swam as deep as I could and as far as I could," said Farr, his voice cracking. "I expected to catch an arm, but there was nothing."

[xrp]

err that should read "look out"

[thepainster]

Engineer actually, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night ;-)

[cinFLA]

I haven't skiied for years but remember skiing on quiet lakes where the engine left clouds around the startoff area. Always refreshing as the boat gained speed an I entered the 'clear air'.

[tdadams]

Did the boy die from carbon monoxide poisoning? Yes or no. You're the one trying to make this into something more significant. It was a drowning caused by stupid parenting.

I'll never understand people who's first instinct is to give great credulity to everything they read and hear, especially when it's coming from a trial lawyer or a leftist newspaper.

[Wonder Warthog]

"I live on the delta and see/hear of bonehead people getting killed on the river ALL THE TIME. It's a shame that the kids of boneheads suffer for their parents stupidity sometimes."

As Jerry Pournelle put it in his book "Oath of Fealty"---"think of it as evolution in action".

[snooker]

Sure does. You can get a CO alarm, looks like a smoke detector, cheap at any boat supply store. Most boats come with one standard from the factory. I you have inboards, a smoke detector and CO alarm is a must have.

See the sky isn't falling.

[stainlessbanner]

LOOK OU chris1!!!

Hugh shark!

[reagan_fanatic]

Congress should immediately institute a 7 day waiting period for all boats.

[clamper1797]

I just can't imagine how a parent would let a kid so close to a prop that would eat him up like jaws. The lawyer in this case is even more despicable because he knows this has nothing to do with CO and everything to do with stupid parenting.

Actually in this case the boat in question is what is known as a "comp" boat ... the prop on a comp boat is 3-4 feet towards the bow (away from the stern) and really is not an issue. It is very common for people to hang-on to the swim platform while the boat is idling while they "check the prop". Done it myself. BTW it STINKS back there from exhaust fumes ... not just CO. BUT a person should not be back there when the boat is in gear.

The problem is that anyone hanging-on to ANYTHING be it rope or barefoot bar or the boat itself outside the boat MUST wear a flotation device when the boat is underway by law.

[Charles Martel]

I find this hard to believe that CO can have any effect in the great outdoors. It has to be easier to be hit by a meteorite than to be killed by CO coming off a boat engine.

The kid was just about sniffing the transom; you can bet there was a high concentration of exhaust gases back there. Think about larger inboard-powered boats, such as cabin cruisers. While underway, you can see white vapors from the exhaust creeping up the transom. That's not all steam. Even if the people in that ski boat couldn't smell the exhaust, there's no way that the kid didn't smell it - and long before he passed out. Lots of stupidity in this case to go around, but hey... they've gotta sue *somebody*.

[Hank Rearden]

But only in the last three years have federal and state health officials realized that outdoor CO poisoning from boat exhaust has caused or contributed to more than 45 deaths nationwide since 1990

And how many people-trips have been experienced on pleasure boats in that 13-year timeframe - billions?

How many people have been killed at Great White concerts in just the last year alone? More than 100?

45 is nothing. Sorry. Yeah, it affects at least 45 families, but statistically it's nothing. Riding in boat exhaust, however, seems pretty stupid.

[Howlin]

the combustion products that accompany it (tyical engine emission) can be easily detected by scent.

Tell that to anybody who has lost somebody to CO poisoning.

[chris1]

Great picture!!!! That shark is huge. Anyway, I feel bad for the kid because he was too young to understand the dangers involved. Not to 100% disparage the father, but he was 16 when he had this kid, how responsible could he be??? Suing the boat company??? They should file a grievance with the bar association and disciplinary committee for frivolous litigation and abuse of the process.

[dennisw]

The boat exaust stinks. Who in their right mind wants to inhale it? This stink should control how close and how long one wants to be exposed to it and the CO in it. Even for children.

Something is off in their self preservation mechanism.

[cinFLA]

Sorry...it isn't heavier than air. It weighs slightly less (0.98) than air and although it is odorless, the combustion products that accompany it (tyical engine emission) can be easily detected by scent.

Another hazard, propane/natural gas is heavier than air and can accumalate in the bilge. Warning scents added to the gas and safety cutoff valves are methods of reducing the hazards.

Gasoline fumes also present similar hazards.

[Kenny Bunk]

Thanks, Cap'n Norm.

Apparently right after you graduated, most High Schools stopped teaching basic Chemistry. Why anyone would let an 11-year-old hang around exhaust pipes is a mystery to me.

And although I do not require all passengers to wear PFD's at all times, I damn sure do require it of children,especially if they are water-skiing or board riding.

[xrp]

Gasoline fumes also present similar hazards.

Would you support banning gasoline since it is hazardous?

[clamper1797]

Gasoline fumes also present similar hazards.

That's why every enclosed boat engine hatch is required to have a compartment blower fan .... by law. Now ... if I am stupid enough not to use it and my boat blows up ... should my heirs be able to sue the boat manufacturer for my idiocy ... or how about suing the gas manufacturer after all can't they make non-explosive gas (diesel) ...

BTW I have actually seen a boat blow up and the passengers killed by this a few years ago at Lake Comanche

[cinFLA]

Did the boy die from carbon monoxide poisoning? Yes or no. You're the one trying to make this into something more significant. It was a drowning caused by stupid parenting.

And you would rather have the article NOT say anything about CO? With people like you their would be more and more "STUPID PARENTS KILL CHILDREN" headlines since noone would know or care why they died.

[dc27]

The real reason behind this story is there isn't any smog control on ski boats. The ski boats will need some sort of catalytic converter by 2005 to meet the clean air standards. I got that little tidbit in Waterski Magazine. Most ski boats are 5.7L engines. But the greenies want nothing more than to ban lawn mowers, BBQs, chain saws, etc.
On the second part of this story, I see idiots like this guy all the time on the lakes around the Bay Area. The Personal Watercraft crowd are the biggest idiots. On the boat I ski with, the driver turns the engine completely off while switching out skiers.