Operator says he was moving cruiser from Mermaid Marina (TN RM 140) to Green Turtle Bay Marina (Cumberland RM 31.5) .  During the voyage, he had trouble keeping the engines running due to water in the fuel.  He intended to moor at Paris Landing State Park for the night and as he approached the Ned R McWherter bridge, he turned to port thinking the Paris Landing Harbor channel was south of the bridge.  He ran aground on the sandbar south of the bridge.  He was able to get back underway with only the port engine and transmission working and took the vessel to the RDB to get safely out of the channel.   He later decided to attempt to make it to Paris Landing Marina.  He was having difficulty keeping the port engine running and drained the fuel filter and took off the back flame arrestor to "prime" the engine and did not attach the arrestor before starting the port engine.  He says the saw a flash in the engine compartment followed by large flames.  He and his passenger abandon the vessel for their safety.  The vessel burned to the waterline.  Operator states he had approximately 100 gallons of gasoline in his tanks.  No obvious oil sheen was visible on the water in the days after the fire and before the salvage.
PARIS LANDING