Another boat fire in Fort Lauderdale

Good question. PWC's are no different, engine and fuel leaks are in a enclosed bilge. Checking fuel hose connections along with with the engine before taking off would be smart.

Let's not run wild on assuming what caused this. Also, let's recognize that there are far more recreational gas boats than diesel and fires are still rare. However, there are precautions and safety measures. We have Williams jets and no reservations about them. In the case of this incident, there were so many red flags of potential problems and all were ignored. Just don't ignore any warnings such as the smell of gas, trouble starting, electrical problems, sparks. Also, have extinguishers handy but also practice evacuation. Have good procedures for fueling, have them for the use of propane as well.

As to PWC's, there was an episode of Lone Star Law with a PWC explosion. All the warning signs were there and ignored. Fortunately, the rider escaped with minor injuries.

What procedures do you follow before you start your Williams. When we take a trip we may stop and start our Williams more then a dozen times a day. As a habit I keep my blower on before I start my engine and even when it running.

Not a good idea.
Blowers extract air from the engine compartment, so by keeping them on while the engine is running you are "stealing" air to the engine, sort of.
Running the blower for a while not only before turning the engine on, but also after turning it off would be a better habit, imho.

always want to operate safe. When we launch tender from our boat garage we always lift cover to engine and look around and smell around. I turn on blowers for a few minutes then start engine I then close cover to engine but leave blowers running. Williams suggests leaving blower on to help turbo.

once tender is launched we don’t check engine again that day unless something wrong but do make sure blowers running before start. Obviously if smell gas would not restart engine.

Very similar to what we do and we do the same, except for blowers, with our diesel tenders.

We also get everyone off the tender for fueling and we do the fueling ourselves so we're sure no spillage or overflow. One thing we learned years ago on the lake is how much difference in how various boats fuel and knowing the speeds they'll take and how they react is important. One will take it fast, one won't. One will warn you, one won't.

thanks. We can only take a Williams 320 in our garage. Wish it came in a diesel for a variety of reasons

I don't agree with this. As you push air out of the engine space it's replaced by fresh air. Nature abhors a vacuum. But many boats barely get enough air though the vents to keep the motors going. Blowers help. I like to keep blowers on continually to force the exchange of air as well as for safety unless the noise is bothersome. No telling when a fuel leak will occur.

Well, of course as air is extracted from the engine compartment it's replaced by fresh air coming in from the intakes.
This does NOT mean that "blowers help" though, because by sucking air they "compete" with the engine, that is also sucking air that must come in from the same intakes.
I'm strictly referring to a proper blowers setup in a gas boat, mind. Which means that the blower(s) MUST only work in extraction, and sucking air from the bilge bottom, where gas vapours tend to cumulate, being heavier than air.

Diesel boats (which I think is what you have in mind when you mention your habit of keeping blowers on at all time) are a different kettle of fish.
In some of them, blowers are working in pairs (blowing in+out).
Or when they only blow out, it's usually from the top of the e/room, which is hotter.
But I've also seen boats where they only blow air inside the e/room - the assumption being that air circulates anyway, going out from the intakes.
Now, I don't know how your boat is configured, but it's only with the latter setup that you could theoretically argue that "blowers help" while the engines are running.
A correctly designed diesel e/room with large enough intakes should not rely on them anyway, but they surely don't hurt.
It's in a gas boat that such setup would be plain wrong - even dangerous, in fact.

If a gas boat starves for air it'll let you know pretty fast and I've never had it happen except on go-fasts at idle speed, but that's because not enough air is being pushed in at idle. Many need their lids lifted at idle for that reason and heat, and doesn't matter if blowers are on or not. However gas can leak from carbs, fuel lines, filters, tanks, filler necks etc. at any time and sparks be being generated constantly as the motors are run. Sorry, but I'll leave my blowers on. I have no fear of gas boats, but I'm also very cautious. If a boat conks out for lack of oxygen I'll deal with that then, but it's not happened in the past 60+ years, however not a year goes buy that I don't hear of a boat going boom.

DK how it is in Florida, but up here it's hard for a marina to keep a diesel mechanic. They're either working for themselves or in the trucking industry where they can work all year. No trouble finding marine gas mechanics cause they charge less and there's tons of boats to keep them busy. Plus gas mechanics can float between the marine and automotive fields. So a marina can lay them off in December and bring them back in April for a few bucks more than a car dealer will pay them. A diesel mechanic earns top dollar and if you lay him off for the winter he's gone for good, but how does a marina pay his rate during the slow season.

Trouble is diesels are expensive to buy and to maintain. On boats under 36' they drive the cost of a boat above the price point people are willing to pay. Also, when you're talking people newer to boating, everyone is familiar with gas motors. They have them in their cars. Diesels intimidate them. Makes them think of long haul trucks. Also the gas motors push the light boats faster. Then there's diesel smoke. Not bad when it's 20' or 50' behind you, but when it's 5' behind you it's a little annoying for the wife and kiddies.
Btw, up here (and I suspect a lot of other places) we have very few water access dealerships. In fact I can think of only 3. One is entirely gas and a 2nd one is probably 70%gas. That means that anyone having a diesel worked on starts with a bill for travel time.