Liferaft Recall

SAFETY NOTICE - Recall

Notice applies to VIKING RescYou™ liferafts

This recall covers certain serial numbers of the yachting and fishing liferafts VIKING RescYou™ (UKL) and RescYou™ Pro (UKSL), sizes 4, 6 and 8 persons in either container or valise.

Click here to see examples of these liferafts. RescYou.pdf

The supplier of pressure relief valves, Thanner & Co A/S, has informed VIKING that potential problems in relation to their product Thanner type OTS 65 may cause the valve to break and prevent the liferaft from inflating properly. In the unlikely event that both valves are affected, the liferaft will sink. As a precautionary measure VIKING LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT A/S recommends that all Thanner valves of type OTS 65 used in RescYou™ liferafts be inspected and if necessary replaced.

Please check your type of liferaft and serial number on www.VIKING-yachting.com to see if your RescYou™ liferaft is at risk. The type and serial number can be found on the Certificate of Compliance that you received along with your liferaft. The type and serial number can also be seen on the registration label on the bottom of the liferaft container or if packed in a valise at the end of the valise.

Click here to see the registration label UKL/UKSL: RescYou2.pdf

If your RescYou™ liferaft is found to be at risk and thus affected by this recall, please contact a VIKING approved servicing station for a valve inspection. A full list and contact details of applicable servicing stations are available on www.VIKING-yachting.com. Any necessary valve replacement will of course be free of charge for you.

For further information please visit www.VIKING-yachting.com or contact VIKING toll free at (877) 848-1057.

We thank you for your cooperation and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Remain assured that your safety is our priority throughout the lifetime of your liferaft.

VIKING LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT A/S

Headquarters Denmark: +45 76118100
Americas: +1 305 614 5800
Spain: +34 91-5624833
United Kingdom: +44 2380454184
France: +33 (0) 160 87 09 00
Asia: +65 6424 9200
Questions_modification@viking-life.com

Sportsstuff Wego Kite Tubes Withdrawn from Market after Reports of Deaths and Injuries

Washington, D.C. – In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Sportsstuff, Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska is voluntarily recalling about 19,000 Wego Kite Tubes.

CPSC staff is aware of 39 injury incidents with 29 of those resulting in medical treatment. Those injuries include a broken neck, punctured lung, chest and back injuries and facial injuries. Sportsstuff has received reports of two deaths in the United States and a variety of serious injuries. Sportsstuff has been unable to determine the cause of the incidents.

Nevertheless, the company has withdrawn the kite tube from the market and is undertaking this voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution.

The Sportsstuff Wego Kite Tube is a 10-foot-wide, circular, yellow inflatable watercraft designed to be towed behind a power boat. A rider in the tube becomes airborne by pulling on handles attached to the floor of the tube. Model 53-5000 is printed on the tube near the product valve. The floor of the tube has black caution warning stripes. The cover for the product bears a skull and crossbones and the statement “Never Kite higher than you are willing to fall.”

The tubes were imported and sold through marine distributors, mail order catalogs, and various retailers from approximately October 1, 2005 to July 11, 2006 for about $500 to $600.

Consumers should immediately stop using the kite tubes and contact Sportsstuff at (866) 831-5524 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST Monday through Friday to learn how to obtain free replacement products. Consumers can also visit the firm’s Web site at www.sportsstuff.com for more information.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or visit CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Attwood Fuel Tanks

Product Notification:
6 Gallon Fuel Tank - product #8867

Attwood Corporation has determined that recent shipments of our 6 gallon fuel tank product # 8867 may be non-conforming and could result in a condition that allows leakage of fuel from the tank. The products affected are marked as: Cavity 2 with a date code of February 15, 2006 shift 1, 2 or 3.

Since there is a potential for leakage and therefore possible harm to the consumer, we are taking the precaution of asking that any #8867 product with this cavity and date code marking be returned to Attwood or the retail location that you purchased it from. Please contact Attwood’s customer service department, at 616-897-2290, if you have questions regarding the procedure for replacing your fuel tank.

While Attwood believes the chance that a leak will occur to be relatively low, there are obviously serious potential safety risks associated with any fuel leak. We urge you to not use any affected product after receipt of this notification.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
Dean Shore
Quality Manager
Attwood Corporation

To view the identifying markings on the fuel tanks in question, please click the following link: GasTanks.pdf

Fire Extinguisher Recall

PRODUCT SAFETY RECALL
STRIKE FIRST CORPORATION OF AMERICA
SERVICE BULLETIN #002

Strike First has determined that the valve stem seat in a number of its 2.5 and 5 lb fire extinguishers assembled between December 2002 and February 2004 may prevent the extinguisher from discharging properly when the lever is activated. As a result of this condition, Strike First has initiated a fire extinguisher retro-fit program for these units. RETRO-FIT KITS ARE AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE BY CONTACTING YOUR LOCAL STRIKE FIRST DISTRIBUTOR, OR BY CONTACTING STRIKE FIRST DIRECTLY.

For details visit: http://www.strikefirstusa.com/serv_bull_002.htm

Attwood Bow & Stern Eye Alert

Product Notification:

1/2” Bow eye # 66261-1

Attwood has determined that recent shipments of our ½” bow eye #66261-1 to the marine industry and individual marine part suppliers, may not have met our material specification of 300 series stainless steel.

While bow eyes and stern eyes should not be used for lifting or towing, it is possible that end users may subject the part to such misuse or other severe strain. Therefore we are taking the precaution of asking that anyone who has concerns regarding the purchase of this part, please contact Attwood’s customer service department, at 616-897-2290 or your retailer for further information. We apologize for any inconvenience of this precaution but we want to make certain that use of the questionable part is avoided.

As a leader in supplying quality product to the marine industry, Attwood recommends the following proper specification of bow/stern eyes and cleats on boats to meet the recommendations of the American Boat and Yacht Council, our industry’s standards setting organization.

ABYC H-40 entitled Anchoring, Mooring and Lifting, provides direction concerning the specifications for mooring, towing and strong points and should be referred to when making decisions regarding the application of our products.

There are numerous factors to take into consideration when developing criteria and specifying product for each lift point. These need to be fully understood before a product can be specified for its intended application. It should be noted that Attwood continues to not recommend lifting any boat by its bow/stern eyes or cleats. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding regarding this matter.

Attwood Corporation

CO2 PFD Inflator Failure

The U.S. Coast Guard has been made aware of a potential problem when installing CO2 cylinders that have bayonet tips in inflatable personal flotation devices (PFDs or life jackets). If a cylinder is not properly installed, the PFD will not inflate with CO2. The problem may affect several thousand PFDs, but the Coast Guard is only aware of one incident to date.

Some Mustang, Protexion, and Stearns/SOSpenders PFDs using Halkey-Roberts’ inflators can indicate a green “Ready” status when the CO2 cylinder is not properly installed. This false positive green indication occurs when the cylinder-bayonet assembly is inserted in the inflator, not turned, and the cylinder is not ejected.

Cylinders with bayonet tips are designed to be pushed in and turned 1/8th turn clockwise to a full stop to secure the cylinder. When the cylinder is not turned to secure it in place, the PFD will not inflate with CO2. The PFD may still be inflated orally. If the CO2 cylinder is not turned, the mechanism is supposed to eject it. In some production units a false positive green indication can be achieved by simply pushing the cylinder into the mechanism without turning it 1/8th turn to a full stop. According to the consumer report, a user was led to believe the cylinder-bayonet was properly engaged without turning it due to the firm seating of the cylinder-bayonet, which also prevented the cylinder-bayonet from ejecting as designed.

Consumers should check the model number of the PFD (located on the manufacturer’s label) to see if your PFD is affected. The models numbers are:

Updated cylinder installation instructions are on the home pages of manufacturers’ websites and at the Coast Guard website listed below. Review and follow the instructions. Check your device to ensure that the inserted CO2 cylinder-bayonet has been fully turned clockwise prior to use.

If your PFD inflator does not eject an unturned cylinder-bayonet, contact the PFD manufacturer for servicing.

To see the updated rearming instructions for these inflators and to see other safety alerts and recall notices, visit the following Coast Guard websites:

MANU  9

Non-serviceable unicellular foam PFD

Recently during several annual inspections of small passenger vessels, Coast Guard Marine Inspectors discovered a number of problems with Personal Flotation Devices (PFD) manufactured by Atlantic-Pacific Manufacturing Company (APCO). The following alert identifies problems associated with Type I unicellular plastic foam life preservers. PFDs from other manufacturers may have similar problems. For detailed information concerning this alert, please click the following link: TypeIPFDAlert.pdf

Burner Tube Recall

Webasto has uncovered a potential issue with the burner tube of the DBW 2010 coolant heater manufactured from November 2002 until February 05, 2005 wherein the stainless steel walls of the burner tube, in some cases, is made out of material that is not within specification and in those cases could fail prematurely. If such a failure occurs, the surface temperature of the exhaust tube exiting from the heater can increase and could potentially ignite combustible materials in or around the installation area of the heater resulting in a fire which could cause personal injury. Occupants may notice an increase in noise relating to such an occurrence and may observe heat related discoloration of components of the heater's exhaust system.

If you are the owner of a DBW 2010 coolant heating system installed on your watercraft, Webasto urges you to contact your selling Dealer/ Distributor or Sure Marine at (206) 784-9903 to arrange to have the burner tube replaced. Please note that the burner tube is also supplied as Webasto replacement / spare part no. 26553A and may have been fitted into your DBW 2010 during routine maintenance or repairs.

Please contact us at 1-800-555-4518 with questions concerning this issue. If you call, be sure to have the serial number of the heater available.

Safety Recall: Champion# MC60 – Marine Carburetor

In our continuing effort to provide quality products and information to the Marine market, Champion Parts, Inc. is voluntarily issuing the following Recall of approximately 1,170 MC60 carburetors in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard.

PRODUCT: Champion Parts, Inc. is voluntarily recalling about 1,170 carburetors, sold as CPI Marine Part# MC60.

PROBLEM: The problem may exist that the carburetor may have a fuel/fume pipe that is not drilled through to the bore/throat. A fuel/fume line on a marine designed mechanical fuel pump provides a safe fuel exit to the carburetor in the unlikely event of a rupture of the fuel pump’s double diaphragm.

If the recall condition exists and the fuel pump’s double diaphragm were to experience a catastrophic rupture, excess fuel could spill into the engine compartment and a fire could result and could cause serious personal injury and/or death.

Champion Parts, Inc. is not aware of any injuries or incidents involving these carburetors.

WHERE THIS WAS USED: Champion Carburetor# MC60 is a replacement part fitting:

• 1987-95 MerCruiser 200 5.0L SN# 0B525982 - 0F600999 engines
• 1996-97 MerCruiser 5.7L SN# 0F601000 - 0K999999 engines
• 1996-97 MerCruiser Ski 5.7L SN# 0F775200 - 0K999999 engines

WHAT TO DO: Only MC60 carburetors are involved in this recall. Consumers possessing the recalled carburetor are to stop using it immediately, and bring it to a service center to perform an inspection of the carburetor to determine if the recall condition exists.

WHERE TO LOOK: To determine if your carburetor is part of this recall, look for part number MC60 on the product label. If your carburetor has a fuel/fume line attached to the carburetor, it will be necessary to perform the following inspection. With the engine off and the battery disconnected, remove the flame arrestor and inspect the carburetor. Carburetors with a square notch must have a hole drilled through to the bore/throat for the fuel/fume line (see picture).

If your MC60 Carburetor is part of the recall (without the hole drilled through) contact the service center or retailer where purchased for repair or free replacement. Call Champion Technical Service Department for warranty details.

For more information, contact Champion Technical Service Dept. toll-free at: 800-850-0846 (Monday-Friday 7:00a.m.-5:00p.m. CST)

Safety Alert GPS Receiver Position Offset

On February 4, 2005, the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis distributed Safety Alert 1-05 regarding GPS Receiver Position Offset. The manufacturer, Furuno U.S.A. Inc. has provided additional information describing the position offset problem and the availability of a software update. This information may be accessed at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/moa/docs/furunosafety.pdf

Plastic Fuel Fill Grounding

Recent events have caused the boating industry to examine the policy regarding the bonding of plastic body fuel fills with metallic caps and retaining chains. Existing USCG & ABYC policy states that the bonding of these components is voluntary. A study by IMANNA Laboratories has shown that connecting the metallic retaining chain and cap of a plastic body fuel fill assembly to a boats bonding system may result in electrostatic discharge from a land-based fuel pump nozzle to the metallic components of the assembly when the boat is not in the water. This condition does not exist when the boat is in the water due to the equalizations of the ground potentials between the fuel pump nozzle and the boat’s bonding system.

It is recommended by ABYC and the USCG that new installations of this type of fuel fill assembly DO NOT INCLUDE any attachment to the boats bonding system. The U.S. Coast Guard and ABYC still require that METALLIC body fuel fills be bonded. There have been no reported explosions or fires resulting from this phenomenon. Therefore no substantial risk of personal injury to the public exists, and formal defect notification (recall) by boat and/or equipment manufacturers is not required by the Coast Guard in this case. The ABYC Project Technical Committee has included this topic in the soon to be published H-24 Gasoline Fuel Systems on Boats that eliminates the bonding connection for plastic body fuel fills with metallic caps and retaining chains.

For further information contact:
John Adey, ABYC (410) 956-1050 ex, 29 jadey@abycinc.org
Richard Blackman (202) 267-6810 rblackman@comdt.uscg.mil   4

Carbon Monoxide Advisory

The Coast Guard advises owners and operators of boats to turn off gasoline-powered generators with transom exhaust ports when the swim platform on the stern is in use. The Coast Guard further advises that swimmers should not enter the cavity of a boat designed with a generator emitting exhaust into the cavity between the swim platform and the transom of the vessel. The Coast Guard is concerned about the serious health risk from carbon monoxide poisoning and seeks to prevent loss of life and personal injury.

The Coast Guard was made aware of the deadly combination of generator exhaust and swim platforms through a September 2000 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study of houseboat carbon monoxide deaths on Lake Powell in Arizona. The study showed that the particular design of the stern swim platform on certain models of houseboats created a cavity between the hull of the vessel and the swim platform where the gasoline-powered generator exhaust port is located. When the generator is running the carbon monoxide buildup in this cavity, as well as the swim platform and rear deck space, is so high that it creates an imminent danger of death for anyone who enters the cavity even for a very short period of time. The common practice of keeping generators running to power air conditioning, entertainment centers, and electronic suites while moored or anchored has exacerbated the problem.

The Coast Guard has conducted a preliminary investigation into the problem and has issued a letter to all known houseboat manufacturers informing them of this hazard and soliciting their plans for reducing the danger.

The problem may not be confined to houseboats, however, since any boat with the generator exhaust located in the transom and a swim platform could present the same lethal hazard. The Coast Guard is expanding its investigation of this problem to include all types of boats.

Previous carbon monoxide warnings and educational materials have concentrated on the hazards created by the exhaust of the main propulsion engines while underway. Although these dangers still exist, the Coast Guard will develop new educational materials to emphasize the additional hazards of using a gasoline-powered generator, especially while not underway.

The Coast Guard warns all boaters that this is an extremely dangerous matter that could result in serious injury or death and advises all boat owners to heed this warning.

Port Closures & Restrictions

If you intend to go boating on the Mississippi River, Atlantic Coast, or Gulf Coast, please refer to the information below.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - A Coast Guard toll-free hotline line is now available to provide both commercial and recreational mariners with the latest, up-to-date information on local waterways and ports openings, closures, and restrictions.

The Coast Guard Maritime Safety Line, 1-800- 682-1796, has information from over 30 Coast Guard Captains of the Port from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Safety Line is broken into five regions:

• The Northeast Region, including most of New York, Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts;
• The Mid-Atlantic/Southeast Region, comprised of eastern and southern Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and eastern Pennsylvania;
• The Gulf Region made up of Northwest Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas;
• The Great Lakes Region including western New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota;
• The Mid-West Rivers Region, including Missouri, West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Puerto Rico has its own information line, with information on 22 ports. It is 787-706- 2415.

If you intend to go boating on the Pacific Coast, Alaska, or Hawaii, please refer to the chart below, and call the unit nearest to your intended boating area. The normal working hours for these offices is from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. If you call outside of these times, or on weekends, please call the 24-hour number listed.

PACAREA Security Zone Points of Contact

Area	District	State	Unit	Working Hrs Phone#	24-Hr Phone#
Pacific	11	CA	MSO Los Angeles/Long Beach	310-732-2020	310-833-1600
Pacific	11	CA	MSO San Diego*	619-683-6495 (MSO San Diego Port Operations)	619-683-6470 (Activities San Diego OPCEN)
Pacific	11	CA	MSO San Francisco Bay	510-437-3101/2770 (Waterways Management)	510-437-3073 (Command Center)
Pacific	13	OR	MSO Portland	503-240-2585	503-240-9301
Pacific	13	WA	MSO Puget Sound	206-217-6330 (Waterways Management)	206-217-6231 (MSO Watch)
Pacific	14	HI	MSO Honolulu	808-541-2477	808-541-2477
Pacific	14	Guam	MSO Guam	671-339-2001 ext. 164	671-339-6100
Pacific	17	AK	MSO Anchorage	907-271-6723	907-229-8203
Pacific	17	AK	MSO Juneau	907-463-2467	907-463-2000
Pacific	17	AK	MSO Valdez	907-835-7222	907-835-7222