An employee at a Bellambi catamaran manufacturer was overcome by noxious fumes while cleaning a boat years before a Fernhill man died after being found unconscious in a ship’s hull, a coroner’s court has heard.At an inquest yesterday into the death of Michael Parsons, employee Margaret Jones said no-one at Seawind Catamarans had warned her she could become unconscious or even die from inhaling large quantities of the chemicals.Wearing masks had ‘‘not been drummed into staff’’ before Mr Parson’s death, she said.Lisa Molloy, assisting the coroner, told the inquest Mr Parsons, 25, was found unconscious while working in the hull of a catamaran on August 25, 2008 and could not be revived. She said he was not wearing protective equipment, but conceded it was common for workers not to wear it while dealing with chemicals.Ms Jones agreed, and said she had not worn a mask when overcome by fumes while cleaning a boat’s bathroom. She said she had been using chemicals in the confined space for most of the day, could not recall the incident, and only learned later that she had hit her head with a tool and called out before being led from the boat.Later, at a medical centre for assessment, a doctor had warned her inhaling the toxic fumes was a ‘‘cheap way of getting high’’ but did not tell her the chemicals could cause her to pass out or die.Ms Jones said the company provided masks to staff, but had not ‘‘drummed in’’ the need to wear them all the time before Mr Parson’s death.‘‘We’d get in there, start work and ... I would forget to put it on ... it took a long time to become habit,’’ she said.Ms Molloy told the inquest Seawind had since taken steps to reduce risks to employees, including increasing supervision of workers using chemicals and protective equipment.Ms Jones said staff were given external training in the use and maintenance of masks. Former employee Steine Lofts said a permanent extraction fan had been installed, to provide ventilation, and staff had been ordered to keep it on.Ms Molloy said the inquest intended to show a history of workers, including Mr Parsons, being affected by chemicals while working on catamarans at Seawind.Mr Lofts recalled an incident where he heard two employees laughing and banging on a boat while using contact glue, before a supervisor told them to put on their masks.He told the inquest Mr Parsons was ‘‘sometimes cleaning when he didn’t have to’’, he had ‘‘seen him using chemicals and not wearing a mask when he probably needed to’’ and had heard reports Mr Parsons had been found frothing at the mouth while working on a boat.Ms Jones said she first became aware the chemicals could make staff feel high around 2004, when a fellow worker closed a boat’s hatches and started spraying the carpet because it ‘‘felt really good’’.The inquest continues today.