NAPLES, Maine — A Massachusetts man was injured Saturday afternoon after his personal watercraft exploded.
Karl Marchionda, 31, of Danvers, Mass., had been fueling up a Sea-Doo at Long Lake Marina in Naples with about 10 gallons of gas when the accident happened, according to a press release issued Sunday morning by the Maine Warden Service.
Marchionda was sitting on the watercraft and had tried to start it when it exploded.
“Witnesses say that Marchionda was launched about 20 feet into the air and the cowling of the machine went about 60 feet,” John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service wrote in the news release. “Marchionda landed on the dock face first.”
He was taken to Bridgton Hospital for treatment of injuries mostly to his face that were not considered life-threatening. He was not burned during the incident, MacDonald said.
James Davenport, the owner of the marina, was able to quickly extinguish a fire that had started in the hull of the Sea-Doo, according to the warden service.
Game Warden Neal Wykes is the primary investigator of the explosion, and said that the accident happened because a lock ring securing the fuel lines to the gas tank became loose and allowed fuel to enter the hull of the machine. The explosion likely happened because of gas fume ignition when Marchionda started the machine, Wykes said.
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Naples Fire and Rescue assisted at the scene. The incident remains under investigation, MacDonald said.
I smell a law suit
Or did you forget to use pit juice this AM?
Hoping for a speedy recovery for him. Thats a crazy scary story;
thats another reason to check your equipment out after and before every run on the water… never know what damage could have been done, or if you could prevent future damage…
excellent point! I love my Sea Doo- hope everything turns out well for this man
This the second ski-doo explosion I have heard about in a week. What are causing them to explode? Seems it is incredibly dangerous where you sit so close to the engine. Is it recall issue or a maintaining the engine issue? Would be nice to see a follow up article as to why these machines explode.
Is this particular problem something that a rider can easily be educated on, and check regularly?
OUCH
Jehovah hates these Sea Doo things.They are loud..
Check to see if it was a plastic lock ring vs a metal one! The plastic ones crack/break and cause fuel to leak. My Polaris had a plastic one and i replaced it with an aluminum lock ring to prevent leaks. These personal water craft are actually very small high speed boats, with the drivers sitting over the engine. Boats leaking fuel explode and jet ski’s are no exception to this. They are fun to safely operate…… no different that ATV’s, motorcycles, and snowmobiles. Some people don’t like them (these are the same people that Santa leaves nothing).
Karl I hope you’re doing better.
Sad to hear somebody got hurt.
Not-So-Secretly, I wish all jet-skis would explode.
Ya and could all eat grass fart and walk every where
Use a paddle instead of gasoline. It’s safer and you’ll save a lot of money. Anyway, how long does 10 gallons last in one of these toys?
Depends on hp and how you hammer it wide open an hour take it easy 2 point five an hour
It’s the most expensive sport atv you can ride all day and more for 10 bucks sleds in four stroke design get 20 to 25 mpg ride two hundred miles on a tank for 40 bucks but they are all fun for us that have disposable income
I figured I would hear that. The aluminum boat with 10 hp outboard my grandparents had was bad enough. I bought my own gas so I could run wide open without being nagged. I would run it around the lake until it ran out of gas and row back to the dock.
I never understood going ga-ga over Sea-doos-the face boo-hoo,the shorts doo-doo- kind of takes the whoo-hoo out of the yahoo.