Carbon monoxide poisoning tragedy in ski boat

[wettek69]

Tragic story

 

You guys have probably heard about it but be aware of it.....

Little guy was poisoned by carbon monoxide on the back of the family ski boat, and by the sounds of it his brothers were affected as well, but fortunately not as bad. Absolutely terrible and heartbreaking.

 

https://www.essentialkids.com.au/news/we-had-no-idea-mums-heartbreaking-plea-after-son-dies-in-tragic-boating-accident-20200928-h1r0ec?utm_source=Nine&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=homepage

[Cooper_Trelawney]

This is very sad and definitely heightens my awareness. Although I didn't like reading it, I'm glad you shared it. Anything to prevent a tragedy such as this.

[OldboyII]

Did not know that boat exhaust does not equiped with catalitic system as a every today car.

Fair enouhg for nearly 100k boat of 21st century...

[oldjeep]

Modern boats do have catalytic convertors - My 2012 does. The boat in that article is a from the 80's.

 

That article has been running around every boating site lately and many seem to miss the fact that the kid died from drowning with no life jacket on. It's a tragedy in more than one way, but seems written as someone trying to absolve themselves from responsibility.

[DW]

Very sad story, never like to read about any tragedy. As noted, boat is older thus from that era of technology which was carbureted with no emissions controls. It behooves everybody that has a boat using older, and specifically carbureted, technology that the tune and condition of their boat is as delivered and thus need to spend time ensuring systems are in proper condition. My experience over the years is older boats tend to be out of tune trending towards running rich, and rich at an idle condition. Just as older cars require extra maintenance, boats are no different.

[2Valve]

We were skiing this past Sat morning and I was ready to jump in off the swim platform, when my buddy noticed how close to the shore we were. He said to hold on while he motored out a bit.

 

In the 2-3 min. I was back there, my head started to get light and I got pretty nauseous. Everything was fine and I got in to ski, but it took a few minutes for my head to clear up.

 

My fault as I was too lazy to get out of my bindings and get back in the boat. One thinks that in the open air you can't get poisoned. Obviously not the case.

 

 

[storm34]

Tragic. Thanks for sharing.

[jhughes]

Seems like an edge case. There is a lot to worry about and a lot that could potentially happen on a boat or doing almost anything. People get killed by vending machines every year. It's good to be aware of this stuff but it's not like in 30 years anything has changed with that particular boat to all of a sudden make it some "killer boat" or some new hazard that just appeared out of nowhere. There's a spinning propeller underneath, there's fumes in the engine compartment that can blow up, there is exhaust that comes out the back, etc. etc.

[wettek69]

True, but most people are aware of danger from a prop or explosive fumes in an engine compartment.

There's not a huge percentage of people that even know what carbon monoxide is, let alone are aware of the potential of it getting eddied back into the boat and affecting people. Not sure where the "killer boat" comment popped up from.

[ScottScott]

Did I read the article too fast? I didn't see anything about drowning or lack of life jacket.

[oldjeep]

The article is a poorly summarized Facebook post from the mother that is linked in the article. Mother says his drowning was secondary, and even if it hadn't happened he wouldn't have lived.

[chrislandy]

@wettek69 not sure about that, if people aren't aware, it's more likely that they don't bother reading the warning stickers and manual. It's been a known problem for decades, my mid 90's Mastercraft has 2 stickers on it warning about CO, one next to the driver and the other next to the stern tow loop - both original

[wettek69]

@chrislandy I have been in a lot of boats and I have never seen one. Having said that, it may be a legal requirement where you are, just not where I am

[unksskis]

Tragic, but don't agree with the mission. Lack of knowledge and research does not equal the need for more regulations, and many of the claims she makes are not accurate. Anyone who has an old carb'd boat knows there is exhaust and the danger that poses. They have the warning stickers from what was required at the time of manufacture. She states they were wakesurfing. As much as we may hate the sport of wakesurfing, it has brought innovation and advancements to exhaust systems to avoid this. Anyone who has teak surfed an old boat can tell you the exhaust that is present, there's no way they didn't know at all that there was exhaust if they were wakesurfing behind that boat. The state of Oklahoma where she resides does not require any inspection of or update of exhaust systems, as she claims in the post.

[LeonL]

Am I reading that some of you assume that catalytic converter equipped and/or newer boats don't produce CO? Well, every internal combustion engine does.

[wettek69]

I'm certainly not pushing any agendas or supporting more regulations. I simply posted as an FYI and to highlight that the danger is there. It's not something I think about that much, and sticker or not, I am sure there are a lot of other people who don't.

[MitchellM]

@oldjeep this child did not die from drowning. His carboxy hemoglobin level was 72%. This is well in the lethal range. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning. What a tragedy we all need to be aware of when operating any internal combustion engine. Best to turn off the engine with anyone on the transom or idle for any length of time.

[DW]

Adding to @LeonL and being guilty of only referencing carb'ed boats, a stuck injector will create a rich condition as well, as will incorrect ignition timing.

IC engine running = CO as a byproduct of combustion.

[Stevie Boy]

Tragic and heart breaking for the family, what was supposed to be a fun day on the water, turned into this horrendous event.

Everybody should be aware Boats, Handles, Ropes, Water, etc can make for a fun day, but also it can go wrong very quickly, if you guy's see something that you think is not right, do not be afraid to say something, do not let it pass by, without comment, you could save somebodies life, there are a lot of people out there that are not as aware as others.