Very Bad Boating Incident in Delray Beach, FL

C

Comfortably Numb

New member
Just picked this up off the Net from The Palm Beach Post...a boat in the marina at Delray Beach, FL (where I went to high school...hence, my interest in things in and around Delray) exploded while re-fueling.

Be careful out there, my C-Brat friends.
 
I have written about this in the past... Having lunch at a river side cafe we admired a Classic Chris Craft moored next to our table... Approx. 15 minutes after we left the Chris Craft exploded upon being started killing the couple on board and blew flaming gasoline across the table area where we had been sitting... Enjoy the day - you just never know...
 
With outboard power, you are not required to have one because in theory you don't have that piston pumping ignition machine down under your enclosed cockpit floor. You can fill carefully, inspect hoses and wiring, keep you nose open for leaks and my favorite...the wife and kid go for a walk while I refuel at the dock and get the motors re-started. I'm relatively expendable but they are not.
 
Amanda, The blowers are installed in boats with gas tanks located in closed areas such as the bilge on inboards. Fumes can build up there and a spark will ignite the fumes.
Ron
 
A friend, in a moment of distraction, pumped a couple gallons of fuel into the bilge of his OB-powered 18-ft boat by using the rocket launcher port in lieu of the adjacent to the fuel port. The concentration of fuel vapors in the cockpit and over the side decks was enormous. Nobody was brave enough to stick his nose in the bilfe. Even after the usual ritual hosing and rinsing of the under decks area, it was rank with fuel vapor, causing is vapor alarm to go beserk. We convinced Ralph he needed to do a full tilt detergent-based washing of the whole thing, and a drying of a couple days outside his garage before he fired up anything.

I think a bilge blower under decks/in the bilge might be a good thing to have in place, even for an OB rig.
 
I used to have an old OMC that had a blower with the inboard motor and fuel situation where it is required. My pontoon boat needs no blower because the fuel tank is out in the air. I get that. With the C-Dory, the tank is under the cockpit deck (all nicely enclosed). The batteries are also enclosed just aft of the cockpit, and of course, things that make sparks are inside the outboard engine, sooooo I guess I don't need to worry about blowing up...thanks for listening.
Amanda
 
I don't think you can be too careful when it comes to gasoline and the inherent dangers that go along with using it to fuel our fun. Sometimes, when thirty miles from shore, I ponder just how big an explosion the 40+ gallons of gasoline 10 feet behind me might create. But then I reassure myself that electrical connections were checked, and hoses have been inspected and replaced every few years, and double, high-quality clamps have been used, and the tanks were looked at closely before leaving the dock. And it also reassures me to know there is another boat accompanying me on my fun.
 
Rarely any assurance with other boat accompanying us on our fun, but do take the gas danger very seriously especially when cruising with an extra 60 gallons in five and six gallon containers. Don't over fill and check periodically for smell and seepage. On those rare warm days in Southeast Alaska that can cause the gas to expand must be even more vigilant. Also when topping off the main tanks from the spare containers make plans for doing so near shore or at the remote docks. Have in the past refueled in open water, but was extremely careful during the process.

This is just one of many accepted risks one must take if wanting to go alone on long remote cruises where a balance has to be struck if its to be thoroughly enjoyed between all the prudent safety concerns and the mind free enough from them to enjoy your surroundings. Good equipment and time spent learning how to use it with all the other pre trip planning can to do much to tip the balance more to the enjoyment then the concerns.

Jay
 
Had a related problem with a boat full of gas in January (Not in Texas!!), pulled into a warm shop for work. When the boat reached shop temp it spilled more than enough gas out of the breather to cause a very bad problem. Fortunately it was spotted immediately and cleaned up.

Can't be too careful.

Merv
 
The blower installation relates to a vessel which has a source of ignition in the same compartment as the fuel tank. Theoretically if you have batteries in the same bilge area as the tank, then a blower might be a good idea. On my 25, the batteries were above the cockpit floor, and the fuel tank below. There was a bilge pump, and macerator pumps under the floor. The bilge pump is ingnition protected. The macerator pump may not be. The question may be raised if the C Dory 25 is an "Open boat"--requirements are: At least two ventilator ducts for the purpose of efficiently ventilating every closed compartment that contains a gasoline engine and every closed compartment containing a gasoline tank, except those having permanently installed tanks vented outside the boat and containing no unprotected electrical devices.

Generally on inboard boats the blower is run before start up--after fueling and at low speeds. At high speeds the engine air intake moves more air than the blower does. In diesel boats the blower is present to remove hot air at lower speeds or after the engine is shut down.

On the C Dory 25, I checked the area of the tank for fumes with the sniff test before starting the engine or after fueling.
 
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