Boat catches fire while tied up at fuel dock

L

localboy

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C Dory Year
2007
C Dory Model
25 Cruiser
Vessel Name
'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
This could've been WAY worse. It appears someone was thinking quickly and cut the boat loose before it spread.

http://www.komonews.com/news/40478692.html

IIRC this is the third boat fire in Seattle this month alone.
 
Report says ( for all a newspaper report is worth) that the hot engine ignited the fuel vapors? A spark yes but a engine would have to be very hot to ignite vapor. This is way you should always run your blower while fueling and it should be turned on BEFORE you start to fuel not half way Thur. I also wander how the boat on fire only had $4000 in damage but the 60 fter it touched had $30000 in damage? Good thing no one was hurt.
 
Yikes! Spooky. And lucky.

The boat that exploded must not have been real fancy, and the yacht it touched must have been extremely fancy. Or the reporter got the figures reversed.

...
A 60-foot yacht was damaged when the cabin cruiser came into contact with it.
...
The cabin cruiser sustained $4,000 in damage, and the 60-foot yacht received $30,000 in damage, Harbor Patrol officials said.
...
Click to expand...
 
I was getting my hair cut near there around noon yesterday. We saw the smoke and the fire trucks and assumed it was a boat fire but couldn't see the boat from where we were at.
 
My understanding the boat that burned was recently purchased for $4,000, hence a total loss. I would bet they did not have insurance.
 
I have to take a strong disagreement with Tom about running a blower during fueling.

One should never run a blower during the fueling process. All hatches, widows and doors should be closed. All people should be off the boat (except some of our boats require a person to be in the cockpit to fill the second tank, when in the water.

A blower running during fueling will suck fuel fumes into the engine compartment. You run the blower for 5 minutes after fueling. I always do a visual and smell test on an inboard before starting the engine , as well as running the blower. I also check the cabin for fumes, and open windows for ventiallation before starting the inboard engine. The same principles are for outboard boats.

Also be sure that there is no stove or item in the cabin on which would ignite fumes. It is also prudent to turn off the master switch before fueling, so there is no chance of sparks.
 
The blower I was talking about sucks air OUT of the engine room. That way fuel vapers from a leaky line can not build up. This is the way we had our 27 cabin cruizer with 350 inboard on the c-bay rigged. I thought every one did it that way.

P.s. we always ran the blower brfore starting too. I have not had a inboard for a long time and now dont have to worry about it.
 
Scary event this summer. We were at Friday harbor when several old wooden boats came in. One was all over the place and hit at least two docks on the way in. After they got tied up and calmed down the whole group headed of for town. 5 minutes after they left the bulge pump in the dock hitter comes on and pisses out a bunch of fuel into the water and around out boat. I was just waiting for the sucker to fire off and burn. We hit the floating fuel with dish soap to get rid of it. Then we called the dock master and they got the owner down there to take a look. We left instead.
 
Dr Bob said:
"It is also prudent to turn off the master switch before fueling, so there is no chance of sparks."
Click to expand...

Really good addition. New to me, and will be on our fueling process list. Thanks for the tip,

Harvey
SleepyC
:moon
 
starcrafttom":29se979c said:
The blower I was talking about sucks air OUT of the engine room. That way fuel vapors from a leaky line can not build up.
Click to expand...
The air sucked out by the usual bilge blower in an inboard has to come from somewhere; while fueling there is some chance the blower will pull in air contaminated with fuel vapors, so that you are not supposed to run the blower until the fueling operation is shut down and you are ready to go. If there is a leaky fuel line, running the blower afterward will do the job and clean out fuel vapor if it has accumulated.

This advice is straight out of the Power Squadron course I took to get my Oregon Boater Certificate.
 
starcrafttom":3qp0refn said:
We hit the floating fuel with dish soap to get rid of it.
We left instead.
Click to expand...

Be careful, you can get hit with a huge fine if you are cought putting a dispersent on an oil-fuel slick.
Leaving was a smart move.
 
Don't want to argue about when to turn on the blower but I will any way. If you have enough fumes out side the boat that when you run the blower it fills the boat with vapor you have bigger problems anyhow. I just don't see it happening. Second, if you wait after you fuel and the engine compartment is full of vapor and you hit the on switch( which is the most likely the only time you will get a spark) you are more likely to blow up your boat. By running the blower,which you should do before starting your engine, while fueling you are not allowing the fumes to build up in the first place. I know what the Power Squadron says but I just don't buy it. As for the floating fuel, better a fine then getting blown up. Common sense over regulations will keep you alive longer.
 
I'm with the Power Squadron and Coast Guard on this one. Blower should be off when fueling.

My logical reason for this is that when fueling, fuel is displacing air in the tank, and it is venting out of the filler and vent hoses. During this time there is air movement and fumes (and possible fuel vapor) being forced out of the tank.

The blower could then suck these fumes into the bilge.

Where after fueling, there is no air movement in the tank, so the bilge blower can't cuck in fuel vapor.

As always, my 2 cents, and your mileage may vary.
 
OK there's the difference, in our old Cris craft the engine was in the same compartment as the fuel and water tank. I guess that is not the case these days with newer boats so I can see your point there. I was assuming that there way a common bulge.
 
Milehog":cxm85pz8 said:
starcrafttom":cxm85pz8 said:
We hit the floating fuel with dish soap to get rid of it.
We left instead.
Click to expand...

Be careful, you can get hit with a huge fine if you are cought putting a dispersent on an oil-fuel slick.
Leaving was a smart move.
Click to expand...

Even if it 's not your fuel? :? Wow.
 
It does not make any difference if the fuel tank is in the engine room or behind a separate bulkhead. There will be limber holes and holes for fuel lines and wiring.

There is always a chance of fumes being sucked into the bilge, and that is the reason that all agencies suggest that the blower be run after fueling.

All you have to do, is see one boat explode and burn, it will make a believer out of you!

Again--check the bilge, look and sniff--if there is a leaky fuel iine, you won't last long, bilge blower or not!
 
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