RedactedNarrative: INITIAL CALL:
  
  At approximately 1000 hrs on 5/29/17 NPS dispatch called me and informed me there was a houseboat with 18 people on board taking on water and sinking near buoy 84.  They stated it was Aramark rental houseboat T-51 I agreed to respond.
  
  INVESTIGATION:
  
  I arrived on scene just behind NPS Ranger.  Ranger was instructing all the occupants of the boat to put on their PFD's.  I noticed the rear right side of the house boat was noticeably lower in the water.  I pulled along side the rear left side of the vessel and boarded the houseboat and noticed the bilge pump was pumping out some water on that side.  I lifted the motor compartment covers and saw there was about 8 inches of water in the port side motor compartment and about 3 feet of water in the starboard side motor.  I retrieved my de-watering pump from my vessel and moved my vessel over to the starboard side.  I placed my de-watering pump in the starboard side motor compartment and began to pump the water out.
  
  While it pumped out I spoke to one adult male on the vessel and was told they had had several mechanical issues with the boat throughout their trip.  He stated that they had noticed water in the starboard side motor compartment for a couple days but not this much.  He stated that they had been having trouble getting the starboard motor to run for several days but that they had never struck anything with the vessel.  He stated that on this day both motors had died and wouldn't run, likely due to the amount of water in the motor compartments.  He stated the person who had rented the vessel had taken their power boat in toward Bullfrog to get help because they could not raise anyone on the radio.
  
  I continued the pump out the water waiting for Aramark to arrive with their chase boat and mechanic.  The Aramark employee arrived with the houseboat renter and he took over pumping out the motor compartment which was almost dry.  I asked Subject to fill out a witness statement as the houseboat renter and primary operator, which he did.
  
  I confirmed with the Aramark employee that he was okay with staying and waiting for their tow vessel which was in route before clearing the scene.  The engines will have significant water damage.  It is unknown how or why the vessel was taking on water but it appears it may have had a constant leak that eventually overcame the bilge on the starboard side, which was not working.  This allowed the motor compartment to fill making the vessel unsafe and likely to capsize had it continued taking on more water.
  