Evening star., 1940-04-28

tact with I'LL pipe before starting
to fill and maintain continuous con-
tact until finished. After fueline
operations are completed, close fill
ing pipe and wipe up any gasoline
which may have spilled. Open ur
all ports and doors which may have
been closed and air out properly be-
fore striking matches, starting ma
chinery, etc. Refueling Of the YES
sci should be accomplished in day.
light hours.
Then there is attached "A prudent
operators catechism," which should
contain the following prohibitions:
Do not overload the boat, take
chances with fire and explosion, tol-
crate an installation which lacks
modern safeguards, allow gas or OIL
in the bilge. operate near swimmers
in the water, allow rubbish to ac-
cumulate. make temporary repairs
except in emergencies, use gasoline
stoves, use kapok-flled life pre-
servers to sit upon, as such action
congresses the filler and destroys
efficiency, fail to provide life belts
for children, be afraid of a boat
respect it, forget your wake can
damage others, fail to reduce speed
through mooring fields, fail to take
precautions against fouling other
boats when anchoring, lie at anchor
with short cable, allow ample scope.
But while there are penalties at
tached to motor vessels for not
carrying certain equipment, such as
fire extinguishers, life preservers.
fog horns, whistles and bells, the
Bureau of Marine Inspection and
Navigation is concerned in its edu-
cational campaign at this time with
urging owners to take those precau-
tions against serious loss of life and
property, as well as injury. To cover
these there is no law, except the nat
ural one of self preservation, which
many motorboat owners have been
found by experience to have over
looked.
I. There is a small corps Of motor
boat inspectors who patrol the rivers
and harbors, with authority to board
motor boats under way to ascertain
that they carry the required equip
ment. There must be life pre-
server for each person on board the
vessel at the time, including babies,
and no piece of equipment is au-
thorized to take care of two persons.
Failure to have any of the required
equipment aboard is punishable by
a fine not to exceed 500, which is
assessed against the vessel and its
owner, regardless of who is operat-
ing 1t at the time.
In the case of fire extinguishers.
they must be filled. Life preservers
must be in good condition. Those
of the cork type, with rotten canvas
covering will not pass. Bells and
horns are required to be produced,
but in daytime inspections, the
lights are never asked for. But
after sunset they had better be
lighted and in the required position.
If there is one piece of equipment
not in conformity with the law. the
inspector merely makes note Of it,
explains the nature of the violation
to the operator and leaves. But
few days later the owner of the
vessel will receive a letter from the
collector of customs calling for the
payment of the fine. If the fine is
not forthcoming then action to COL
iect is started in the United States
District Court for the area in which
the violation occurs.
In this latest movement the Bu-
reau of Marine Inspection and
Navigation Is concerned with those
things which cause loss Of life and
over which it does not have any
jurisdiction, fires and explosions
caused by carelessness, lack Of
proper construction along safety
lines, and lack Of knowledge Of the
danger Of the fuel used, gasoline.
Gasoline vapors are heavier than
air and 60 down. In unventilated
spaces, these fumes accumulate, and
q spark from q starting motor, a.
loose connection on a spark plug,
or the spark from a match, or In
the case mentioned at the begin
ming, spark from an electric stor-
age battery may mark the differ
ence between Sunday Of pleasure
on the water and death or weeks q
months spent In . hospital.