make sure your blowers are in working order

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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If this happened during fueling, the blowers should not be on. Only after fueling should they be on.
 

Tassie 1

Chief Petty Officer
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Apr 13, 2018
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Similar sort of thing happened yesterday in Sydney
Explosion on a boat either while refuelling or afterwards,
bloke badly burnt,

Info is still coming in

also large flybridge caught fire last week off
the coast of Western Australia while under way,
occupants had to jump overboard,
not something l'd like to do
 

wrench 3

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Aug 12, 2012
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Provincial regulations here in Ontario require the blower(s) to be on, all the hatches to be closed and everybody off of the vessel.
 

sphelps

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Nov 16, 2011
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When I was a teenager working on a small river shrimp boat we had that happen . I was bringing stuff to the dock while the captain was getting the boat cranked up . He had refueled it the night before but I guess there was still fumes where some had spilled into the bilge . 5 am in the morning and BOOM !! All i saw was a flash then the deck boards hitting the water ! :lol: . Luckily he was up front and was ok other than needing to clean his britches ...
 

harringtondav

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May 26, 2018
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Interesting post. Boats compliant with US SAE J1171, free from fuel leaks, and using the bilge blower prior to starting should be safe. I'm not seeing how refueling a dead engine boat could result in a gas fume touch off. Gas fumes need a spark or cigarette, etc to explode. Liquid gasoline is fairly stable. I remember a 9th grade demo where a fireman quenched a match in a container of gasoline. It's the fumes. I'm guessing weird climate conditions allowed tank vent fumes to enter the boat and a spark source (radio, speakers, cigarette, static) touched them off.

But now I'm paranoid. Use dock cans for most of my gas. But when I fuel at a gas dock I'll give the blower a few more minuets before I start up. OK, I'll also turn on the blower during refueling.
 

tpenfield

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Jul 18, 2011
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How about that nice clean separation of the hull/deck joint :) . Although I would not recommend that disassembly method for a cut & gut rebuild.

I would imagine there must have been a fuel leak of some sort to get that level of vapors.
 

harringtondav

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May 26, 2018
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I would never use fuel cans if proper pumps were available harringtondav. Too many chances to spill fuel.

We trailered every weekend for the first 14 yrs we owned our boat. 12-16 times/summer. The last stop before the ramp was the BP station. Eight yrs. ago we bought our Miss. river place, and I built a marine rail lift where the boat sits all summer.

I'll admit I'm a tight a*s. For $1+ dollar/gal I fill on the lift. I know what I'm putting in the tank, and even though the gas dock is <1/4 mile down the slough, I hate the price and congestion. I'm very careful, more concerned about mother nature and my decals than a hazard. If I spill it's < an ounce, and my paper towel roll handles that.

I do take on fuel 1-2 times/summer at the marina, mostly to patronize the nice lady that runs a short season operation. But they are mostly self service, so care is still necessary.
 

Tassie 1

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Apr 13, 2018
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I would never use fuel cans if proper pumps were available harringtondav. Too many chances to spill fuel.

lugging jerry cans around is " normal " for many people away from big cities and marinas,

l live on the east coast of Tasmania ( Australia ) and l do not know of any public PETROL bowsers anywhere along this coast,
diesel bowers yes but not petrol

This coast sees a lot of cruising yachts and motor cruisers

you can arrange to get a fuel tanker to meet you at a suitable jetty or dock but they ain't gonna drive for an hour each way if ya only need 10 gallons or 45 litres...in that case you have to beg, borrow or steal a vehicle to get to the nearest servo or use shanks pony and drag jerries by hand,

l have a 30 ft boat with 300 litre petrol capacity and have to use cans to fuel it unless in a large marina down near the capital city,

A fair dinkum pain in the a...
 

sam60

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May 21, 2011
Messages
3,189
lugging jerry cans around is " normal " for many people away from big cities and marinas,

l live on the east coast of Tasmania ( Australia ) and l do not know of any public PETROL bowsers anywhere along this coast,
diesel bowers yes but not petrol

This coast sees a lot of cruising yachts and motor cruisers

you can arrange to get a fuel tanker to meet you at a suitable jetty or dock but they ain't gonna drive for an hour each way if ya only need 10 gallons or 45 litres...in that case you have to beg, borrow or steal a vehicle to get to the nearest servo or use shanks pony and drag jerries by hand,

l have a 30 ft boat with 300 litre petrol capacity and have to use cans to fuel it unless in a large marina down near the capital city,

A fair dinkum pain in the a...

Well, it was new years eve after all and they really wanted to blow wanted to "blow the lid off".
 

Old Ironmaker

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Dec 28, 2015
Messages
3,050
I must elaborate as far as fueling at the pumps. Of course I have used Jerry Cans, when the boat is in the driveway, less expensive and can take my time. The Marina I had the StarCraft moored at was a fairly long jaunt across the car park, down a steep hill and onto a rickety dock. I wasn't about to haul 5 gallon jugs back and forth to refuel and 10 gallon jugs aren't in my wheel house since my body is breaking down. Tried a dolly and nearly slid down that ugly hill on my butt. Plus the slip was on the port side and the filler on the starboard side so I had to carry the gas into the boat, not a good set up. What do want for 500 bucks CDN for a slip for the season? A real Mom and Pop set up. A great example of you get what you pay for but it worked for a few years. Sorry I didn't give you 1/4 of the reason harringtondav.
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 5, 2006
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30,454
Interesting that they don't mention blowers while fueling either way but I did miss a few items.
I was just going by what the marinas tell us.
You missed this:

Run the engine compartment blower for at least four minutes immediately before starting the gasoline engine.

You never run blowers while fueling.
 
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