To: Houseboat Industry Association Members
From: Bernice McArdle
Date: 12/12/2003
Re: HIA Activities Update

It’s mid October already, and the 2003/2004 Winter boat show season is already underway! Before we know it, the Houseboat Expo will be upon us!

I wanted to bring you up to date on a few houseboat industry issues:

ADDITIONAL CO RESEARCH CARRIED OUT BY NIOSH:
As some of you already know, NIOSH, at our request, carried out some additional CO testing in August on Lakes Cumberland and Tablerock. This was done to test CO levels under different environmental (e.g. high humidity/high temperatures), and varying load conditions. The following is a brief summary of findings at Cumberland. NIOSH will be sending us their findings from Tablerock shortly, and I will pass these along at that time. Scott Earnest, NIOSH, is planning to attend the Houseboat Expo in February and present his full findings to the industry. Further details will follow regarding this meeting:

An Evaluation of Issues related to the Performance of Dry Exhaust Stacks to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisonings on Houseboats Duane R. Hammond, G. Scott Earnest, Ronald M. Hall Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers evaluated the performance of dry exhaust stacks retrofitted onto houseboat generators at Lake Cumberland, Kentucky. The dry exhaust stack is a new technology that NIOSH has repeatedly evaluated in recent years. Those evaluations showed that the dry exhaust stack reduced carbon monoxide (CO) exposures by up to 99 percent. The Houseboat Industry Association (HIA) requested that NIOSH evaluate exhaust stack performance under high temperatures and humidities, high generator loads, extra boat weight, and at night in a cove. Most houseboat manufacturers currently use side-exhausted generators. Three exhaust configurations were evaluated: side-
exhaust, vertical stack and flagpole stack. Ambient test conditions ranged from 18–31°C with relative humidities of 32–95 percent. Study results showed that dry stacks were safer than side exhaust under all conditions tested. During the side exhaust evaluation, CO concentrations on the swim platform exceeded 1000 ppm and average concentrations were approximately 341 ppm. Evaluation of the vertical exhaust stack for all conditions had average CO concentrations on the swim platform generally below 5 ppm and peaks below 50 ppm. Evaluation of the flagpole stack was similar with peak CO concentrations below 20 ppm and average concentrations below 2 ppm. CO concentrations measured on the upper decks were lower for dry stack than side exhaust [peak of 178 ppm (vertical stack)/ 94 ppm (flagpole stack) vs. 929 ppm (side)] Hazardous CO concentrations were intermittently measured within a few inches of the water outlet on the houseboat having a flag pole stack. This problem can be eliminated by reducing the system’s static pressure. Peak concentrations on the upper deck could be further reduced by extending the stack. This study showed that houseboats having gasoline-powered generators with properly designed dry exhaust stacks will reduce CO exposures and poisonings.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sumerset Houseboats and Fun Country Marine for their support with this project. Both companies supplied houseboats to NIOSH for their assignments, and were on hand at all times to assist as appropriate.

THIRD FUEL TANK ISSUE:

At our board meeting in Louisville last March, the issue of a “third fuel tank” was discussed. Tom Marhevko, who is heading this initiative, has been in touch with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to open up discussions regarding their expertise with this issue. The NFPA is experienced in writing standards for onshore/dockside marine fuel tank distribution systems, and we petitioned them to add a new work item to their committee to write a fuel tank standard for marine fuel distribution systems for outboard floating craft. They accepted our request and it will be a part of their next review cycle. It is also our intent to clarify the existing ABYC standard for the additional fuel tank distribution system.

HOUSEBOAT INDUSTRY STATISTICS:

The NMMA has, in the recent past, invited Houseboats manufacturers to participate in the Monthly Statistics Report (MSR) statistics control group. As the name implies, the MSR is a monthly statistical report depicting sales trends specific to the boating industry. Houseboats are the newest addition. Control group enrollment packages were mailed to you in early September. We urge you to participate and would request that you please contact Vicky Yu, Market Research Associate, to sign up. There is no cost to you to participate, only gain. As a control group member, you will receive annual subscriptions to the MSR, New Boat Registrations Report, and Insights newsletter at no charge. Enrollment forms were due on October 3, 2004, however, there is still time to join. Please contact Vicky for more details at vyu@nmma.org or by telephone at 312-946-6261.

HOUSEBOAT DEFINITION:

At the board meeting last March, board members were asked to submit comments on two generic definitions of houseboats distributed at the meeting. As no major feedback was received from industry, the following definition is the one currently employed by NMMA:

Boat designed primarily for family recreations use and/or leisurely cruising in inshore waters. Boat has hull constructed of fiberglass or metal material, on which a fully equipped “dwelling”, similar in content to a house trailer, has been constructed. Interior characteristics include full galley, living room area, dining area, multiple bedrooms may be on more than one deck level) and full head(s). Inside and/or fly-bridge style (topside) steering stations are found.

2004 HOUSEBOAT EXPO:

It is our intention to host our annual board meeting at the Houseboat Expo in March 2004, and we will be in touch shortly to advise when and where this will take place. We plan to host some sort of educational session (for manufacturers) at the event, and we will keep you informed of this as we progress. As mentioned earlier, NIOSH will also be in attendance to present their full research findings to industry.

JOINT GRANT OPPORTUNITY WITH THE CENTER FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

We have been in negotiations with the Center for Rural Development, Somerset County for the past few months to explore an opportunity to host a joint Engineering Compliance Workshop specifically designed for houseboat manufacturers. To date we have not received confirmation that this grant application has been successful. We will keep you advised of progress.

NMMA’S ENGINEERING COMPLIANCE SEMINAR:

Each year the NMMA hosts a 3 day Engineering Compliance Seminar for the boating industry. This year’s event will take place in Nashville from December 8th – 11th. Further details can be obtained by contacting David DeHorn at ddehorn@nmma.org or 312-946-6253.

May we also take this opportunity to remind members to renew their HIA (NMMA) membership if they have not already done so.

And finally, enclosed with this memo you will find a poster dealing with the dangers of CO. This was designed and distributed by our Washington office, and has been sent to over 2,000 NMMA members and Marina Operators.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above updates, please feel free to contact me directly at bmcardle@nmma.org or by telephone at 312-946-6280.

Regards