Three boats caught fire in four days this week, in California, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Nobody was reported hurt, but one boat was declared a total loss and another was badly damaged. Fires like these are also why it pays to check a used boat's history before you buy one.
Montecito, California: two rescued offshore
On Monday, 9 November, the Montecito Fire Department took a report of a boat on fire about half a mile off Butterfly Beach, in Santa Barbara County, at around 12:36 p.m. Video from the department showed heavy black smoke over the water. Harbor Patrol crews took both people on board off the boat, and Santa Barbara City firefighters on a Harbor Patrol boat put the fire out. "Both people were uninjured and came aboard the Harbor Patrol boat," the fire department said.
Carteret County, North Carolina: a total loss
Two days later, at about 4:40 a.m. on Wednesday, the Broad and Gales Creek Fire Department was called to a boat fire at Jones Landing Road in Broad Creek, WITN reported. Crews spent about two hours putting out the fire on the capsized 20-foot boat, which appeared to start in the hull. The boat was a total loss and the dock had minor damage. Firefighters handed the scene to the Coast Guard.
Westport, Wisconsin: a fire in boat storage
On Thursday, fire broke out in a storage field near Skipper Bud's Service Center on West River Road in Westport, WMTV reported. A Betty Lou Cruises boat was badly damaged and a wooden boat next to it took minor damage. A sheriff's deputy told the station the fire did not appear to be suspicious.
What happens to a burned boat
A boat that an insurer writes off does not always disappear. Damaged hulls can be sold on, repaired and listed again, and fresh paint, new upholstery and a cleaned-up engine bay can hide a lot. How a state records that history varies: some brand the title, some do not, and a boat moved to another state can arrive with a clean-looking title. The hull number stays with the hull through all of it, which is what makes it the thread to pull.
On a viewing, look for signs of heat: blistered or patched gelcoat, new wiring next to old, replaced fuel lines, and soot or a burnt smell in the bilge and under hatches. A survey will find more. A seller who cannot explain recent repairs is a reason to slow down.
Check the history before you pay
Start with the hull number. The free HIN decoder tells you who built the boat and its model year, so you can catch a listing that does not match the hull. It also flags a number that does not fit the Coast Guard format, an early sign of a replaced or altered plate. See where to find the HIN if the seller has not sent a photo.
Then go further. The decoder's results page offers the full boat history report, which checks salvage, total-loss and storm damage records, title branding across states, accident and insurance records, theft records and liens for that hull number. On a boat that might have burned, sunk or been written off, that is the record the seller is least likely to volunteer, and at $29.99 it costs far less than buying a rebuilt wreck. No report catches everything, so pair it with a survey, and run the boat recall check while you are at it.
Check the boat, not just the listing
Type the 12-character hull number from the transom. The decoder reads the builder, build month and model year, and the recall lookup lists any US Coast Guard recall campaign on record for that manufacturer. Free, no account.
