OXNARD : Explosion Damages Boat Under Repair

Gas fumes exploded in a fishing boat undergoing repairs at an east Oxnard welding shop Thursday, ripping a hole in the boat’s deck and sending equipment flying through the air, authorities said.

The blast caused $35,000 damage to the custom-built boat, used for sea urchin gathering, and its gear, said Brad Windsor, an investigator with the Oxnard Fire Department. The welder who was working on the vessel at the time escaped unharmed, Windsor said.

“The guy’s real lucky to be alive,” he said.

Paul Moore, the owner of Moore Fabrication at 1224 Commercial Ave., was beneath the vessel, welding a portion of the 24-foot aluminum boat hull when the accident took place about 11:30 a.m., Windsor said.

Gasoline fumes apparently had leaked into some of the air compartments inside the boat’s double hull, he said. The fumes may have exploded from the heat of the welding alone, and not from a spark, he said.

The force of the explosion ripped a hole in the boat’s deck, blowing diving gear and boat parts, including a 40-pound watertight hatch, 25 feet in the air, Windsor said. A small flash fire ignited in the captain’s cabin but was quickly extinguished, he said.

Lloyd Sheffield of Oxnard, who had the boat built in 1989, said the boat was too severely damaged to use it again for commercial sea urchin diving, but said he hoped to salvage the hull.