Carbon Monoxide poisoning and boating

[copterzach]

Just an article that we came across. Sad deal. Just curious about what the RDP braintrust thinks. I would think that the surf boats with full bags, with the plow deal down and moving as slow as they do could be a problem. But I have no real first hand info on this....

Former Kerrville resident shares story of 9-year-old son’s death as warning

Cassandra Free, who was a Kerrville resident and a coach at Tivy High School, is living in Broken Arrow, Okla., now. And her family recently suffered one of the worst

www.hccommunityjournal.com

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[Shlbyntro]

It is a huge problem. I honestly don't think anybody should be surfing behind any boat period. If you want to surf, go to the beach. Towboats are for wakeboarding and other watersports where you are a safe distance behind the boat. There are other instances with cabin cruisers where people run their generators through the night. I religiously check CO detectors in cabins. I've been known to completely disable generators as well when I spot a running condition issue or something I don't like about the exhaust. Ive been MFer'd by a couple customers for it too.

Personally my generator gets shut off at night, period.

P.s. those down tube exhaust thingies that I see on so many wake boats only make a minimal difference. Boats above the water are not very aerodynamic and create eddy currents behind the boat pulling the air forward at lower speeds. Alot like pickup trucks.

 

[The Prisoner]

It is a huge problem. I honestly don't think anybody should be surfing behind any boat period. If you want to surf, go to the beach. Towboats are for wakeboarding and other watersports where you are a safe distance behind the boat. There are other instances with cabin cruisers where people run their generators through the night. I religiously check CO detectors in cabins. I've been known to completely disable generators as well when I spot a running condition issue or something I don't like about the exhaust. Ive been MFer'd by a couple customers for it too.

Personally my generator gets shut off at night, period.

P.s. those down tube exhaust thingies that I see on so many wake boats only make a minimal difference. Boats above the water are not very aerodynamic and create eddy currents behind the boat pulling the air forward at lower speeds. Alot like pickup trucks.

Good Advice......have one in my garage in winter when I use the kerosene heater............rated for indoors but still do not trust it.

 

[rrrr]

His parents are claiming he was poisoned by riding in the back seat of the boat. Both of his brothers were hospitalized for CO poisoning.

But there's this:

“Our little Andy, our Dude, was probably slowly dying that afternoon/evening and we didn’t know it. He would’ve been tired. His head would’ve started to hurt. Sounds like too much sun after a long, physically draining day of wakeboarding, wake surfing and tubing."

Check out this photo. He's about 10' from the back of the boat. It wasn't from riding in the back seat.

 

[propcheck]

Tragic it is so easy to forget about CO with all the “clean” branding on engines today but it will always be a byproduct of combustion. I dont use our trailer generator I use a portable still because I dont trust an exhaust leak

 

[napanutt]

I know me and wifey and another couple spent the night on a cruiser boat. Middle of summer, hot as fuck.
So the generator ran most of the night to keep AC on and we all woke up with massive headaches.
I guess at that point it’s nice we did wake up.
CO is serious shit.

 

[stephenkatsea]

The CO on houseboats has been well reported as has the CO trapped around swim steps. This wake boat deal is new. Can easily see how the exhaust could roll forward and remain in the rear portions of a boat underway at slow speeds.

 

[95Enforcer]

its definitely no joke. Very dangerous and a silent killer. All boats are required to run the stickers for warning which im sure most toss out because they look bad on our boats. Im even guilty of it but its stuff like this that makes you think about it. Sad story and it could happen to any of us.

Danger: Carbon Monoxide Kills

California State Parks

dbw.parks.ca.gov

 

[River Runnin]

Have a Detector!

 

[Brobee]

It is a huge problem. I honestly don't think anybody should be surfing behind any boat period. If you want to surf, go to the beach. Towboats are for wakeboarding and other watersports where you are a safe distance behind the boat. There are other instances with cabin cruisers where people run their generators through the night. I religiously check CO detectors in cabins. I've been known to completely disable generators as well when I spot a running condition issue or something I don't like about the exhaust. Ive been MFer'd by a couple customers for it too.

Personally my generator gets shut off at night, period.

P.s. those down tube exhaust thingies that I see on so many wake boats only make a minimal difference. Boats above the water are not very aerodynamic and create eddy currents behind the boat pulling the air forward at lower speeds. Alot like pickup trucks.

Modern surf boats are usually equipped with a Fresh Air Exhaust. “Fresh Air Exhaust injects the boat’s exhaust into the propwash to move it away from the boat. Once the boat is at about 8 mph the exhaust is pushed about 120′ behind the boat; and greatly diluted. This is similar to Outboard Engines that have the exhaust exit through the boat’s propeller. Since the “Downpipe” of the Fresh Air Exhaust is in the frothy prop-wash there is less drag than would occur if the Downpipe were in undisturbed water.”

I have one and all my friends have one, as well as multiple catalytic converters and we’ve never had any symptoms of CO exposure. Sounds like the OP was surfing behind a boat designed for skiing. Surfing or wakeboarding directly behind this kind of boat is as dangerous as transom riding and for the same reasons.

You run the risk of CO poisoning in any boat where the exhaust is expelled above the water line, especially at no wake speeds. It’d be interesting to see how much is being pulled onboard the boats that cruise the channel all day.

This isn’t a surf boat problem, this is a boat problem. One that could happen to anyone on the water.

https://www.freshairexhaust.com

 

[copterzach]

I don’t know the people. Don’t know about fresh air exhaust, wake/surf/ski boats or any details about where the kid was or wasn’t. I just thought it was interesting and worth posting here. Something to think about.


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[cakemoto]

I had this happen to me as a kid at Buena vista lake.For about three or four hours we were teaching the little kids how to ski and I was sitting on the back of the boat. I was sick for days nonstop throwing up.Probably the worst I’ve ever felt except for the time that I had heat exhaustion

 

[Cibolasam]

Modern surf boats are usually equipped with a Fresh Air Exhaust. “Fresh Air Exhaust injects the boat’s exhaust into the propwash to move it away from the boat. Once the boat is at about 8 mph the exhaust is pushed about 120′ behind the boat; and greatly diluted. This is similar to Outboard Engines that have the exhaust exit through the boat’s propeller. Since the “Downpipe” of the Fresh Air Exhaust is in the frothy prop-wash there is less drag than would occur if the Downpipe were in undisturbed water.”

I have one and all my friends have one, as well as multiple catalytic converters and we’ve never had any symptoms of CO exposure. Sounds like the OP was surfing behind a boat designed for skiing. Surfing or wakeboarding directly behind this kind of boat is as dangerous as transom riding and for the same reasons.

You run the risk of CO poisoning in any boat where the exhaust is expelled above the water line, especially at no wake speeds. It’d be interesting to see how much is being pulled onboard the boats that cruise the channel all day.

This isn’t a surf boat problem, this is a boat problem. One that could happen to anyone on the water.

https://www.freshairexhaust.com

View attachment 922993

Been tossing around getting one for years but there was always cooler stuff to buy. I will be ordering one and installing before we surf again. I am very aware of this problem and always make sure we are surfing so the wind is coming at us but it’s not 100%. In the old days they called it “the station wagon effect” because riding in the station wagon with the rear window down caused the same problems.


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[bowtiejunkie]

Old video, but guy does some carbon monoxide testing. Plus, some before and after tests of Fresh Air Exhaust. End result was very little difference when wake surfing, but big drop in Carbon Monoxide levels when sitting in rear corner of boat.

 

[Duramax]

His parents are claiming he was poisoned by riding in the back seat of the boat. Both of his brothers were hospitalized for CO poisoning.

But there's this:

“Our little Andy, our Dude, was probably slowly dying that afternoon/evening and we didn’t know it. He would’ve been tired. His head would’ve started to hurt. Sounds like too much sun after a long, physically draining day of wakeboarding, wake surfing and tubing."

Check out this photo. He's about 10' from the back of the boat. It wasn't from riding in the back seat.

Really??? It is hard for me to even believe you said something so fucking stupid. Do you know this is exact day it happened, or was this simply a picture of this poor child his parents gave to the paper. No way he was in the back seat!!!!! Look, he was wakeboarding ALL DAY. His parents lie!!! Look at the picture!!!

Wow


RIP little man.

 

[rrrr]

Really??? It is hard for me to even believe you said something so fucking stupid. Do you know this is exact day it happened, or was this simply a picture of this poor child his parents gave to the paper. No way he was in the back seat!!!!! Look, he was wakeboarding ALL DAY. His parents lie!!! Look at the picture!!!

Wow


RIP little man.

Stupid? Hardly. How many other times have you heard about a death and two near deaths from riding in the backseat of a Malibu Skier? That's not what happened. The mother said the boys had been wakeboarding, surfing, and tubing behind the boat all day. CO poisoning is cumulative. Even if the exposure is slight, over a period of hours blood levels soar.

As for the photo, it isn't important when it was taken. What it shows is a small boy boarding extremely close to the back of the boat. Look at the angle of the rope to the tower and the wake behind him. The Skier is a tournament boat, and anyone who has owned one (like me) knows what the wake looks like close to the boat.

Is the death of the boy tragic? Of course it is. That doesn't mean I can't point out some obvious facts, especially about the mother's claim the boys were exposed to the CO from sitting in the back seats. There are thousands of Malibu Skiers on the water. I've never heard of CO poisoning while in the boat.

I feel deeply sorry for the family. But by pointing out the dangers of riding close in to a boat that has waterline exhaust, maybe someone will see this and become aware of the danger.

 

[Justfishing]

Do you know what your UL. Approved alarm is really telling you. How safe are the levels?

Basically, the problem with UL listed alarms is that they’re meant to offer protection to healthy adults during very high levels of CO in a home’s air. So how much CO does a UL listed alarm allow you to breathe?

• 30 ppm for up to 30 days
• 70 ppm for up to 4 hours
• 150 ppm for up to 50 minutes
• 400 ppm for up to 15 minutes

If you think about what those numbers mean, it’s actually worse than it looks. For example, as Kerr points out on the CO Experts site, a UL listed CO alarm would allow you to breathe air with 358 ppm for 45 minutes—with NO alarm at all. I don’t know about you, but I want a lot more protection

 

[Justfishing]

Stupid? Hardly. How many other times have you heard about a death and two near deaths from riding in the backseat of a Malibu Skier? That's not what happened. The mother said the boys had been wakeboarding, surfing, and tubing behind the boat all day. CO poisoning is cumulative. Even if the exposure is slight, over a period of hours blood levels soar.

As for the photo, it isn't important when it was taken. What it shows is a small boy boarding extremely close to the back of the boat. Look at the angle of the rope to the tower and the wake behind him. The Skier is a tournament boat, and anyone who has owned one (like me) knows what the wake looks like close to the boat.

Is the death of the boy tragic? Of course it is. That doesn't mean I can't point out some obvious facts, especially about the mother's claim the boys were exposed to the CO from sitting in the back seats. There are thousands of Malibu Skiers on the water. I've never heard of CO poisoning while in the boat.

I feel deeply sorry for the family. But by pointing out the dangers of riding close in to a boat that has waterline exhaust, maybe someone will see this and become aware of the danger.

It may be an indication there was a problem with the engine. CO is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Thus a rich running engine could produce high CO level. An engine, furnace etc that is burning very clean puts out little CO. That doesnt mean it is clean air at the exhaust. Combustion uses up the oxygen so it could be low oxygen levels. There are other combustion byproduts that are unhealthy.

Children have higher respiration rates and would absorb more CO per lb of body weight. The smaller the child the worse the effect.

 

[rrrr]

It may be an indication there was a problem with the engine. CO is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Thus a rich running engine could produce high CO level. An engine, furnace etc that is burning very clean puts out little CO. That doesnt mean it is clean air at the exhaust. Combustion uses up the oxygen so it could be low oxygen levels. There are other combustion byproduts that are unhealthy.

Children have higher respiration rates and would absorb more CO per lb of body weight. The smaller the child the worse the effect.

You make two very good points.

 

[oldschool]

I added one to mine for a couple reasons. First was for the carbon monoxide factor, second was for the exhaust noise. The Fresh Air Exhaust was my biggest stereo upgrade.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Stupid? Hardly. How many other times have you heard about a death and two near deaths from riding in the backseat of a Malibu Skier? That's not what happened. The mother said the boys had been wakeboarding, surfing, and tubing behind the boat all day. CO poisoning is cumulative. Even if the exposure is slight, over a period of hours blood levels soar.

As for the photo, it isn't important when it was taken. What it shows is a small boy boarding extremely close to the back of the boat. Look at the angle of the rope to the tower and the wake behind him. The Skier is a tournament boat, and anyone who has owned one (like me) knows what the wake looks like close to the boat.

Is the death of the boy tragic? Of course it is. That doesn't mean I can't point out some obvious facts, especially about the mother's claim the boys were exposed to the CO from sitting in the back seats. There are thousands of Malibu Skiers on the water. I've never heard of CO poisoning while in the boat.

I feel deeply sorry for the family. But by pointing out the dangers of riding close in to a boat that has waterline exhaust, maybe someone will see this and become aware of the danger.

Boarding or sitting in the back seat, it doesn't really matter. Also, that picture gives ZERO reference for how far away he is from the boat. The picture is obviously zoomed in on tbe boy (hence why the wake and such if blurry, 2 different focal lengths). Even then, that doesn't matter.

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[Baja 252]

A few years ago when wake surfing was a new thing the Water Patrol here at LOTO would pull you over and explain the danger and warn you to stop. Now everyone is doing it, so they quit pulling people over.