It was fun working with Ivanhoe, but I was ready to toss Ignatius Reilly overboard by the time he had completed A Confederacy of Dunces . Personal injuries are the most common danger to fishermen and are due mostly to working around heavy, moving equipment on an unstable platform. Tired men working on deck in bad weather are easily thrown or pulled into moving parts of machinery. Weather would be next in line to take responsibility for the dangers aboard a boat. Severe weather can cause flooding, capsizing, and eventually sinking.
Shipboard fires are also very serious dangers.
I have had several hair-raising experiences, most of which have involved severe weather conditions, and did on one occasion fight an engine room fire. During these bad situations the crew and I are too busy to be scared. That's not to say that I am fearless. My greatest fear is of falling overboard, which I have fortunately never done. In my imagination, I fall overboard at night, while my shipmates are sleeping.