RedactedNarrative: Vessel – 8’ 11” Sevylot Fish Hunter Inflatable Boat – Manual Vessel/Year Unknown
  
  On 01/08/2020, at about 03:02 p.m., this vessel was rowing/paddling on Puget Sound, at 1504 1st Street, located near Mukilteo, WA in Snohomish county.
  
  According to Law Enforcement, Operator was crabbing at the above location.  He had placed two crab pots about 100-200 yards offshore earlier in the day.  He was the sole occupant and rowed out to retrieve the pots.  There were no PFDs or safety equipment on board the vessel and Operator was dressed in only shorts and a t-shirt.
  
  Operator retrieved the pots and had started to row back to shore.  Operator’s girlfriend was on shore and heard him yell.  He told Girlfriend that the vessel was losing air and asked her to call for help.  Girlfriend witnessed the vessel appear to fold and Operator fall into the water.  The vessel was blown east while Operator attempted to swim south toward shore.
  
  Operator was pushed west by the current and went under water about 100 yards west, 25 yards from shore.  He did not resurface.  His body was recovered from the area about 8 hours at low tide.  
  
  Law Enforcement inspected the vessel after it was recovered.  There were 5 air chambers.  Two long narrow chambers underneath on either side with a single fill point and no check valve.  Starboard was missing the cap and would not have been able to hold air.  Port had the cap but it was not secured.  It is unknown if it was closed at the time of the incident or was opened after recovery.  
  
  The floor was one chamber with a single fill valve which was closed and still contained air the next day.  The main chamber was a single chamber on the outer collar of the vessel.  This was filled by a large opening with a check valve and a screwed in cap which was still in place.  
  
  Three punctures were located on the edges of the main chamber, two starboard and one port.  This chamber was able to be filled then slowly lost pressure.  The final chamber was the safety chamber on the inner circumference of the collar.  This chamber had no punctures but the fill valve was completely missing.  This was not likely lost as it is a screw-in check valve and the threads were in good condition.  The operator likely went underway with the safety chamber deflated.    
  
  0 Injuries / 1 Fatality
  No Apparent Drug/Alcohol Involvement
  Vessel Damage Estimated at $20.00
  Operator Was Not Wearing a PFD 
  Operator Did Not Have a Mandatory Boater Education Card
  