A new recall could leave your summer vacation all wet. But then again, it could save your life.
The Coast Guard is recalling thousands of houseboats with a potentially deadly design flaw.
Our News Specialist John Hollenhorst first broke this story last summer, after the problem was first discovered on Lake Powell. Federal investigators began looking into the issue after two boys drowned there. That probe linked several deaths and dozens of injuries over many years to one thing-- carbon monoxide poisoning.
Investigators have found that of the 3,000 houseboats on Lake Powell, nearly a quarter of them contain a potentially fatal flaw-- a notch below the swim platform where the generator vents odorless, colorless and deadly carbon monoxide gas.
Ted Woolley/State Parks Boating Coordinator: "AS I UNDERSTAND, JUST TAKING TWO OR THREE BREATHS IN THIS, WHAT THEY CALL DEATH CHAMBER, IS ENOUGH TO OVERCOME SOMEBODY. AND THEN OF COURSE WHEN THEY PASS OUT THEY SINK DOWN BELOW THE WATER AND END UP DROWNING."
That's exactly what happened to the two young brothers from Colorado who drowned on the Lake last summer. The federal study that followed found that seven deaths and 74 serious injuries on Lake Powell in the past decade were caused by carbon monoxide concentrated at the rear of houseboats.
Those findings lead the U.S. Coast Guard to issue a recall. Six manufacturers--including the country's two largest--already have agreed to voluntarily recall boats with the design flaw.
Ted Woolley: "THE MAIN THING IS TO CHECK TO SEE IF YOU'VE GOT THAT ENCLOSED AREA WHERE THE GENERATOR IS EXHAUSTING INTO, AND THAT'S THE DANGER THING."
The deaths last summer prompted the National Park Service to begin passing out a flyer to all Lake Powell visitors. It highlights that so-called "death zone" on some houseboats near the rear end swimming platform.
Poisonings have also happened on Utah's smaller bodies of water--with small boats--sometimes even when the boat is moving.
Ted Woolley/State Parks Boating Coordinator: "JUST BE AWARE OF THE CARBON MONOXIDE PROBLEM WHEN YOU RUN YOUR OUT-BOARD MOTORS OR YOUR IN-BOARDS OR YOUR GENERATORS."
Here are some tips. Check with the manufacturer to see if your boat is the type being recalled. It's also a good idea to install carbon monoxide detectors onto your boat.
Also, later this year the State Parks and Recreation department will give out a free brochure and warning stickers.
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Coast Guard web site
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