RedactedNarrative: I was notified of a boat fire that occurred on the James River adjacent to Osborne Boat Landing. During my investigation I interviewed the boat owner. He stated the boat was docked at Rockets Landing in the City of Richmond. During the past few weeks the ice and bad weather had destroyed the docks at Rockets Landing. The electricity had been shut off to all the docks. He had to move the vessel to another slip so that he could plug the vessel's heating system in to prevent the engines and bilge compartments from freezing. 
  
  Owner stated that it was very cold on the boat so he lit a small propane stove and placed it in the bottom of the cabin in the vessel. He placed the stove on the top of a table top on the floor. There was a reflective heat shield that was placed between the table top and the stove. The cockpit was closed with the vessels canvas closures. The cabin door was open so as the stove produced heat it would travel up into the cockpit heating the operator's area. During the trip down river towards Osborne Landing, Owner had to maneuver the vessel abruptly to the right to avoid a large log in the water. When Owner made the maneuver the cabin door slid shut and Owner continued on his voyage. A short time later he discovered smoke emitting from the closed door of the cabin. Owner piloted the vessel to the nearest bank and called the fire department.
  
  Fire Investigation
  During my investigation I noticed the fire started at the base of a seat that also housed the boat's air conditioning system. The fire started at the seat and burned upward towards the cabin door. The heaviest fire damage was to the seat and the A/C system. The seat was constructed of plastic, cloth material and foam rubber. The A/C system was mostly constructed of plastic housing.  The remaining materials and contents of the cabin suffered heat and smoke damage. I then located the small stove that was used to heat the cabin compartment. 
  
  During my inspection of the stove I noticed some melted material on the side of the stove next to the propane tank. I then went back and reconstructed the cabin to its original arrangement. I matched the stove to the base of the seat where the fire started. I discovered that the melted material on the stove and the point of origin were consistent with each other. It appears that when Owner had to make the evasive maneuver to avoid hitting the log in the river, the stove and the table top slid across the floor and came in contact with the base of the chair.  As the stove continued to heat, the cloth material covering the plastic frame work of the chair was ignited.