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Bob on Boats THE SAFE BOAT Drawing courtesy of MTI Industries Inc, makers of Safe-T-Alert CO Detectors.
by Bob Cerullo 02/2003 Moving slowly after a heavy fog suddenly set in, six boaters cruising in the Great South Bay on Long Island fell ill from Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. When the boat owner and his friend, both by this time feeling lightheaded, docked the boat they discovered their four passengers unconscious below decks. Police attribute the accumulation of CO to the fog and a back draft created by the slow moving boat. Fortunately no one died. A marine CO detector on board any boat can minimize the dangers of CO poisoning from leaking exhaust systems, faulty stoves, nearby boats, portable gills, heaters or faulty boat design. CO poisoning kills on average 1500 people every year. For more information: www.mtiindustries.com.
GAS FILLER OR FISH ROD HOLDER? His first day on the job at a marina, a teenage gas dock attendant mistook a fishing rod pole holder for a gas tank fill pipe. He unknowingly pumped 150 gallons of gasoline into the bilge. When the owner of the boat returned he didn’t discover the error until he hit the starter switch and the boat exploded. The lesson: always watch the attendant when you take on fuel. Make sure they know where to put the fuel nozzle and which type of fuel, gas or diesel, you require. Always close the port holes and hatches when your fueling and open them after fueling to ventilate the bilge. Operate the blower before you crank the engine. The Safe Boater opens the hatch and sniffs the bilge for gas odors just to be sure there are no accumulated gases that could explode.
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