The muskrats that call Seattle’s Portage Bay home are at it again. This time they sank a motor yacht that graced the cover of Northwest Yachting Magazine last year.
The striking red lobster style boat settled on the bottom a week ago at the Seattle Yacht Club’s docks. All the evidence points to a muskrat who climbed aboard and then ate through the exhaust hose. The vessel has since be raised and hauled and is currently drying out for damage assessment. The engines were pickled within an hour of air exposure, but the damage throughout the vessel was significant.
I had the opportunity to write about this very subject seven years ago, and apparently the muskrats haven’t lost their love of exhaust hoses.
We’ll try to get more on this as the info becomes available.
In the meantime, since the muskrat and his buddies are still at large, it’s a good idea to take steps to keep them out of your boat. And no matter where you’re moored, if you’re not using your boat regularly it’s also a good idea to check on it every once in a while (or have someone to do it) throughout the offseason.
The hole.
