So I had a fire onboard....

[rockywakes]

My great friend John invited me to his lakefront cabin a couple weeks ago, so we packed up the truck and boat full of supplies and headed to his remote cabin. The first two days went great, lots of watersports and the boat was running better then ever. On the third morning we are really looking forward to advancing our board skills so we wake up, eat a great breakfast and off we are to a floating store to fill up.

I didn't supervise the fill up but it seemed to take longer then normal, when I got back on the boat I noticed a heavy gas smell so turned on the blower as usual, started her up and floated 500 feet away and turned off the engine since I smelt gas much worse then ever before. John and I spent 20 minutes just talking about our trick goals for the day, we were excited to get going.... so I start the Sportster up and turn the blower off as revs get over 2000rpms. I hammer the throttle and notice I forgot to turn the gas lever by your feet back on so I did it while the engine and boat were in motion. 5 minutes later after cruising about 53 mph(According to speedo)I make a sharp turn and I feel the engine loosing power then we hear an explosion in the engine bay.

I turn off the engine and slowly open the hatch, all I hear is "Oh sh** Chris theres a fire down there." Well I have 5 lifejackets(Some are non conforming), helmut, wakeskate, towels, and a bunch of Johns clothes since he didn't bring a bag to put them in it wasn't easy to get all off this crap out of the way. I didn't even see the fire until I spilled a bunch of this crap into the lake as I threw the plastic cover to the bow of the boat. My first instinct was to jump off and be safe and screw the fact I'd be out the boat but Johnny had already wet two towels and started dropping water onto the fire.

I quickly got the fire extinguisher and had the flame out within 5 seconds of pressing the button. I would say it was 20-25 seconds from the time we initally heard the bang to when the flame was out. The fire was about the size of a Big Mac Meal takeout bag at the very rear of the boat. I'm still not sure if it had anything to do with the balck box b/c it seemed the fire was around it. After getting towed back into the dock we found about a quater/half gallon of fluid on the bottom with about 10% of it gas floating on top.

Any idea what caused the fire and what it'll take to get this boat working? I'll even throw out $15 to whoever gets closest in price to the actual repair cost. Does anyone know where I should take this boat to get fixed in Southern Alberta (or Calgary).

This experience was scary and I hope none of you have to live through it, Cheers Chris

I'll get better pics soon if need be...

 

[seadoosnipe]

Re-fueling!.........

I'm not from up your way, so I can't recommend any shops, but here is a good reason why I always refuel my boat with the cover open.

Between the gas cap and the tank is a section of hose, that is secured by clamps. When you fill the tank, if you fill above, what would be considered the top of the tank, you have a greater risk of the fuel leaking into the engine compartment. Like the way most fill their cars. Stick the nozzle in and pull the lever, fill it with fuel till the lever clicks off. Well, in a boat, that is to much fuel.

You should never fill a boat more than 95 to 97% capacity of the tank. This will allow room for expansion.

We could speculate all day long on what caused your explosion. A leaky fuel line, the hose between the top of the tank and the fill cap leaking, the vent from the tank leaking or even the fuel sending unit's clamps not tight. You may have had a hose that burned a hole in it, if it were laying in the wrong place.

But my point is, never fuel your PWC/boat with the covers closed. Open the cover, the tanks are easy to peer through while filling. Never try to put 100% fuel into them. Your asking for a problem.

Oh, the blower is suppose to be operated for 5 minutes prior to starting the craft. Your not suppose to turn the blower on, then start the motor. Turning the blower on for 5 minutes, purges explosive vapors before a spark is created.

 

[rockywakes]

So after picking up the boat the problem was.....

Crack in the tube that sits between the gas nozzle and gas tank. $150 to fix and no further damage from what the mechanic says.

I was expecting a much bigger bill even though I already requested over $700 in other stuff. Curious how she'll work out on the water now?

 

[seadoosnipe]

Wow.....

Amazing no more damage was done............so, now you just have to keep an eye out for leaks..............:cheers:

 

[rookie101]

Good to hear you were all right, and the damage was minimal! This should be a lesson to everyone to make sure you have all the proper safety gear on board especially a good working fire extinguisher.

Snipe you should move this from Premium to the public forum so everyone can see it.


Aaron:cheers:

 

[kustomkarl]

That was a close call...It's a good thing you had updated safety equipment.

Karl

 

[Nate Surveyor]

That was WAY beyond lucky. I saw a beautiful boat on ebay or craigs list a few months ago, that had the top and bottom parts of the boat separated, by an explosion. The boat was for sale, cheap.
It obviously had alot of damage.

N

 

[kustomkarl]

That was WAY beyond lucky. I saw a beautiful boat on ebay or craigs list a few months ago, that had the top and bottom parts of the boat separated, by an explosion. The boat was for sale, cheap.
It obviously had alot of damage.

N

Sounds like a FIRE sale. :ack:

 

[seadoosnipe]

Good idea....!

Good idea Aaron. I'll copy this one to the general section so all can benefit from this..............:cheers: