Boat destroyed by fire
Submitted by bod on Sun, 2017-04-02 15:29
The owner of this boat was lucky to escape serious injuries when his cabin cruiser burst into flames this morning, Sunday 2 April 2017.
At about 6:40am, the 44 year old man from Attadale, launched his 6.5 metre fibreglass vessel into the Swan River at the Leeuwin boat ramp on Riverside Road in East Fremantle.
When the motor was started the boat exploded and engulfed in flames. DFES attended and extinguished the fires. The boat was destroyed.
The boat was removed and the boat ramp was closed for a short time whilst the area was cleaned up.
The owner sustained a minor cut to his leg when he jumped from the boat.
The owner sustained a minor cut to his leg when he jumped from the boat.
dodgy
Posts: 4563
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Damn petrol inboard strikes
Damn petrol inboard strikes again.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
marble
Posts: 773
Date Joined: 03/09/09
Lucky bloke it didn't really
Lucky bloke it didn't really go off like they can
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maldugs
Posts: 79
Date Joined: 10/11/15
Inboard sleeping bomb
Inboard sleeping bomb
z00m
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 10/05/14
Petrol
The same kind of petrol lives in all the outboard boats. Poor maintenance causes fires when the fuel isn't kept where it is supposed to be. Don't think this can't happen just because you have an outboard. Feel sorry for the poor boat.
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
I believe outboard boats are
I believe outboard boats are statistically less likely to burn even than inboard diesels.
Outboard powered boats have very few ignition sources built in, really only bilge pumps, deck wash and not much else.
You'd have to search long and hard to find non-intrinsically safe ones of these.
For sure it can happen, but it usually isnt a built in cause but an outside ignition source.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Matts123
Posts: 58
Date Joined: 13/11/16
I can't say I know much about
I can't say I know much about inboards at all. But I'm sure his 50cent turned to a 5cent pretty quick as he jumped. And...
Pretty sure his mrs is more worried about him and he is more worried about when he gets to go fishing next...
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Old saying around the yacht clubs
This was passed on to me by my old skipper after his father-in-law had his petrol inboard powered cruiser blow up, luckily escaping with minor burns--" There are two types of inboard owners--those who have been blown up, and those who are waiting to be" This particular bloke was blown up when he turned on the fan meant to evacuate fumes from engine room pre-start, very particular about safety, he was.
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Thats one of the big
Thats one of the big problems with inboards.
The fan fitted must be intrinsically safe but some buy units not made that way.
Also the engines often used such as Mercruisers, Volvos etc are automotive engines and hence its possible to buy and fit electrical gear which is not intrinsically safe (spark free) cheaper intended for cars.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Iceman
Posts: 745
Date Joined: 17/03/09
Lifting the engine hatch
when my dad had one we would always lift the engine hatch before starting the engine to allow any fumes to escape. Did not rely on the fan to remove the fumes.
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Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Id say the opposite, do not
Id say the opposite, do not rely on opening the hatch.
Definitely not a reliable way as petrol fumes are heavier than air.
The vent fans are designed in a way that they should replace the air several times over before starting, reducing below the LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) of the air to a point where combustion isnt possible.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
z00m
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 10/05/14
Opening the hatch
Opening the hatch is recommended for a number of reasons.
Again, poor maintenance of a critical part (the blower according to ranmar but it could easily have been the wiring) plus there was an obvious fuel leak, will show up at the worst moment. Complacency is more dangerous than the engine type. If you've never had petrol inboards I can understand the fear but they are no harder to live with than anything else. Just different procedures to follow.
Rob H
Posts: 5745
Date Joined: 18/01/12
True but they are all just
True but they are all just routine maintenance, and if not done you are going to be screwed anyway.
But to bypass using a fan and instead "open the hatch everytime you crank it over" just isnt going to happen in reality.
If its used for fishing, does it get opened at the end of every drift before starting?
How long for?
Id think most would soon get the shits with doing that EVERY start.
Fact is there are many many inboard petrols around operating perfectly safely.
But there are many more outboards, and the explosions in the vast majority favour inboard petrols despite there being less of them.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
z00m
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 10/05/14
Fan
I agree, using a fan is very important and I wouldn't recommend not using one. Opening the hatch is usually reserved for first use for the day as the build up of fumes is usually related to sitting for long periods or a leak during refuelling so these are the most likely times a petrol boat will have issues. I would expect anyone with underfloor petrol tanks should also be aware that these issues can affect them too.
The interesting this is statistically, in the US there are more fires on diesel cruisers that any other recreational vessel due to turbo oil fires. These are not usually explosive though so a lot different to what is being discussed here.