If Mike Farr could keep one other father from suffering, he’d do it in the scant time he believes it takes to inhale a lethal dose of carbon monoxide, the odorless gas that killed his son. As temperatures soar, kicking summer into high gear, Farr is on a mission to warn boating enthusiasts of something government agencies have long known: A surprising number of drownings and other deaths are thought to have their origins in carbon monoxide poisonings from boats. The California Legislature is pondering this phenomenon, but the evidence appears to be in. A 2003 report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that the odorless, noxious fumes from boats led to more than 93 deaths in and near the crafts since 1990. A resident of El Dorado Hills, Calif., Farr, 28, said the numbers are likely higher given that autopsies previously were rarely performed on drowning victims, deaths then believed to be freak accidents. These incidents have increased as people find new ways to use boats. Teak surfing, for instance, or bodysurfing from the rear of a moving boat, exposes people to increased levels of engine exhaust; Farr’s son, 11-year-old Anthony, slipped into the water while teak surfing on Folsom Lake on May 28, 2003, disappearing below the surface. But it’s not just these new water sports or trends that imperil boaters; U.S. Coast Guard advisories warn that boaters have been poisoned while setting fishing lines or performing maintenance while the engine is running. At a San Mateo County, Calif., marina in January, a 28-year-old man died after passing out while working on his speedboat. He inhaled the fumes and tumbled into the water, drowning. In June of last year, firefighters conducted a test on Folsom Lake during light breeze conditions. A properly tuned boat engine was started. Thirty seconds later, the carbon monoxide level around the boat was 200 parts per million. After less than a minute, the reading jumped to 900 ppm. Levels exceeding 87 ppm for 15 minutes are considered dangerous. Such dangers had been published on government Web sites prior to Anthony Farr’s death, but Mike Farr said he never saw mention of the concerns in places boaters turn to for information, such as magazines or boat shops. After Anthony’s death, he was brokenhearted to enter “teak surfing” into an Internet search, only to have pages of government Web sites pop up with warnings about such asphyxiations. “I thought it (Anthony’s death) was a freak accident at first, but there was nothing freak about it,” he said. “Older boats, newer boats. It doesn’t matter. They are all putting out lethal, lethal amounts of carbon monoxide.” A longtime boating enthusiast, Farr had hooked his son on water sports, which helped cement their father-son bond. He hasn’t been on a boat since his son’s death. “If you knew what I know, you’d never go near a boat unless you have haz-mat gear on,” Farr said. “I really mean that. There’s more warnings on a cigarette lighter than these boats.” Legislation he’s advocating, Assembly Bill 2222, the Anthony Farr and Stacy Beckett Boating Safety Act of 2004 authored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, would require adding warning labels to boats when they transfer title as a means of educating the public. It also prohibits teak surfing. Stacy Beckett was a 15-year-old Ontario, Calif., girl who died in a boating-asphyxiation incident in Mexico. Farr also is part of a class-action suit to force boat manufacturers to warn the public and to engineer away from the problems. Mostly, though, he just wants people who love boating and water activities to know the odorless, invisible gas is out there lurking. It took his son. “I can’t believe I’ve been around boats all my life and didn’t know this was a lethal danger.”