Boat Explosion Update – A Wonderful Note From Billy, And Carol Kistner
Billy & Carol Kistner
We interrupt our Clayton tease with an important update from the Kistner’s who’s Century Boat exploded at the Wine Country Boat Show a couple weeks ago. We do not have an update on the cause. But I will add that I have changed the way I go about things on my boats, and once again this note to all of us, is such a powerful reminder of the good that can happen from bad things. Here is Carol’s note.
My husband and I want to extend our deepest gratitude to the extensive WoodyBoater Community that has reached out to us following our accident. We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and support that boaters from across the country have offered. Each card, flower, text, email and prayer has lifted our spirits and reminded us of why we love boating! The greatest joy of the boating experience is the pleasure of the company we keep on the water and the shore.
Billy and I are progressing in the healing process. One more week should find each of us home and able to enjoy summer’s end. By the grace of all that is Good, we may yet see our boating friends at the national show in the Thousand Islands in September.
We would be grateful, Matt, if you might share our gratitude by way of the WoodyBoater.com website.
Grace and peace,
Billy & Carol Kistner.
Great to see you. You both look wonderful!
Greetings and good wishes from South Africa!
What a wonderful update! The Michigan chapter sends you well wishes for a speedy recovery!
Billy and Carol,
I feel your pain. I experienced a serious burn/boat accident at Tahoe 22 years ago. So I know what you are going thru. My accident also involved a carburetor issue. If you won’t to talk about the recovery process please give me a call.
Take care, Tim Robinson 530-277-3204
So happy to see two smiling faces!! God Speed and God Bless.
Pleased and relieved to see You Both smiling while on the mend. God Speed in Your recovery.
Thank you for this wonderful news!
So glad that they are healing and soon to be home. This could be any of us. Blessings to the Kistners!
Thanks so much for sharing. Over 40 yrs ago I saw a guy sitting on a motor cover on a deck boat i/o ride the cover 20 feet in the air! By the time we got there, there was a burning grease spot…It was gone in a few minutes. College captain forgot blower!
The blower was on. It was a carburetor malfunction. Old is not always good. Choose safety!
I was wondering how they were doing. Great news on their recuperation! Hope healing goes well and they recover from this with no issues.Thanks for the update
Greetings from Florida…glad to see the healing going well…as least as well as seemed to be expected…Like your attitude about not letting this one get you back to boating…
Get well and continued good luck….shake it off and Go Boating!
John in Va.
Carol, I am glad to see you are doing better. I very much look forward to one day meeting you and Bill in person. We are all here to help you and Bill in any way we can.
Good to hear everyone is healing and looking forward to getting back on the water.
Thank you so much for the update and I’m glad to see the smiling faces and plans to get back on the water. Happy healing!
Great to see your smiles and to know you will be back to boating soon.
Glad to hear all are healing and well !!!!
Thank you so much for the update. So happy to see your smiling faces!
aloha nui loa to you both!!!!!! much love.
So glad that you both are feeling better and on the road to recovery. Thank God that nobody, including yourselves, were seriously hurt. (not to make light of what you went through) Truly an unfortunate incendent, but if anything positive can be salvaged from your situation, I think the entire boat community will think twice about fuel maintance and start up procedures. You had your blower on but still had a very serious problem. Hopefully this will be a wake up call and someone will think about this, check their boat and be able to correct something before another serious accident happens.
Best of luck to you and may your health continue to improve!
So glad you two are doing well-especially you Carol. I had the pleasure of actually meeting Bill last Thursday in Hammondsport for the first efforts of raising of the boat. The entire Wine Country Chapter as well as the antique boating community as a whole has been wishing for a speedy recovery from your injuries. Hope to see you in Buffalo or the ACBS International show in Alex Bay. We’re thinking positive thoughts for both of you!
Super to see you both smiling!!! All the best for a speedy recovery.
So good to see the photo of you both smiling. And to hear that you’re recovering well & not going let this accident get the better of you. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
I am glad to hear that you two are on the mend. The entire Niagara Frontier boat club wishes you a speedy recovery and that you get back on the water soon.
Great news, continued prayers and hopes for successful full recovery.
Bill and Carol it’s great to see you both smiling. Hope the healing process goes well, you guys are real troopers. God Bless hope to see you in NY in September
So glad you survived, I just wanted to say from what I have read that no one did anything wrong. Prayers to your on going healing process. We own a 1984 century resorter and hope our paths will cross one day. Yes the boating community is wonderful.
Great to see you guys are on the mend, and still smiling!
So happy that you both are on the mend. Your experience has certainly made me more cognizant of the importance of exercising proper safety procedures ALL the time.
Dear Bill and Carol, I am so glad to see you are recovering from your tragic accident. We met just minutes before when you came to see my Raven. We were backing out of our slip right behind you when the explosion occurred. Thank God the fire and Sheriff’s boats were just yards away and were able to assist immediately. We hope this incident doesn’t deter you from enjoying the wooden boat hobby in the future. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to boating.
Nice to see that you’re doing OK. I had similar experience. The boat blew, flames were everywhere like a puff. No injuries, I bailed for shore (20′ away). This was not my boat it was a fiberglass rental. A Coast Guard gentleman talked to me afterwards and said, “What if you would have been in the middle of the lake and bailed?” I said I was not in the lake, my friend bailed before me.
It would obviously be super helpful to determine exactly what happened. If not, a punch list of likely causes. I found an issue with my 1940 that I wasn’t really taking seriously. I found this before their accident. Explosions are REAL possibilities. If you smell fuel, FIND OUT WHY!
Glad to hear that you’re both doing well and are mending all right. Hope to see you again next year at Wine Country!