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It happens. And mostly to kids who want to body surf off the back of the swim paltform on the newer ski boats. I actually took part in an attempted rescue of a 13 y/o girl about 5 yrs ago who had succumbed to CO2 poisoning. Sadly, she wasn't recovered, and that one ended up being a fatality. It's not anywhere near as dangerous as this article lets on, but it is a problem none the less. The main thing to do is steer clear of the boats exhaust, which by the very nature of how boats discharge exhaust, menas to just stay away from the back of the boat while it's underway. If you do have to be at the back of the boat for some reason, wear a life jacket. It's not the CO2 that gets you, it just knocks you out. It's the falling in the water and unconsiously sucking in water while attepting to breathe that kills. I have heard of CO2 poisonings happen on houseboats and cruisers, but that is when there is a malfunction with the exhaust system. My houseboat has CO2 detectors throughout, but the way the boat is made renders it nearly inpossible for CO2 build-up to be a problem on my particular boat. The easy way to avoid 90-95% of these CO2 induced drownings, is to not allow any body surfing from the swim platform. And I'd rather see the boating community educate boaters about it instead of passing yet another law.

I am so tired of these lawsuits where people can't take responsibility for thier own actions. The kid should have had a life jacket on....period. In Texas any person under 12 years of age has to have a coast guard approved PFD on at all times while in or being towed by a boat. I feel sorry for the parents, but I am sure part of the reason for their lawsuit is to deflect some of the guilt they themselves must be feeling. If they want to do something constructive why not start and organization that educates people about teak surfing, or help get some laws passed that make this activity illegal.

In regards to putting catalytic converters on boats, this will not totally eliminate CO exhaust. There will still be the possiblity of this happening anyway. If you don't believe me just go run your car in your garage with the garage doors shut and see what happens.