Roger Gunkel Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 At 6am this morning, I was awakened by a muffled explosion a few yards away and on dashing out of the boat found this outside the pub next door. 6.01 6.04 6.10 6.25 The owner of this recently restored 35ft woooden, petrol engine cruiser, had moored up overnight at the pub. At 6.00am, he started the engine to go back to his home mooring, and noticed the engine not sounding right and a smell of petrol. He decided to continue and slipped the ropes, but as he started to open the throttle, there was an instant explosion which blew him onto the jetty and engulfed the boat in a ball of fire. Someone from a nearby boat managed to grab a rope and tie the boat to stop it drifting, but hand held fire extinguishers were obviously useless. There was also a real danger of explosion from the onboard petrol tank, jerry can and gas cylinder. There was no explosion before the boat burnt out, but the intensity of the fire would suggest the tank was probably ruptured, burning the fuel very quickly. The fire brigade arrived with four appliances after about 9 minutes and quickly had the remains doused in a couple of minutes. The owner suffered singe burns to his forearms and hair but was otherwise ok after a hospital checkup. Luckily no one was below as I think it would have been impossible to escape and the outcome could have been fatal. If there is the slightest chance of a leak or petrol fumes on board, never attempt to start an engine or to use any form of electrical equipment. Get off and get it professionally dealt with. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 You're on the telly, Roger! Clicky Such a shame to lose what looks like a lovely boat. It's the main reason my old Stuart Turner petrol boat engine will remain an ornament, never to be fitted in another boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magpie patrick Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Dear God, that is horrendous. The owner must be doing a combination of thanking their lucky stars and thinking "oh brown stuff" over the fact they chose to continue rather than turn the engine off. "it'll be alright until I get home, I'll sort it then" Now, remind me again about the advantages of diesel If we get that trailable, I might go looking for diesel outboards And yes a sad loss of a boat, but thankfully the owner lived to tell the tale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 If we get that trailable, I might go looking for diesel outboards And yes a sad loss of a boat, but thankfully the owner lived to tell the tale I suspect that the boat had a petrol inboard. Outboards are safer because the are in the open air, though there was that explosion, a few years ago, when a gentleman was filling his outboard's petrol tank as his wife, at the opposite end of the boat, put the kettle on and lit the gas ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonie Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 My God. My heart sank. I thought you were going to tell me that arson was involved and that somehow someone was still on that boat. The real events sound horrendous enough but that picture conjured up a different sort of nighmare in my overactive imagination. Hope the boat owner heals well and that his insurance covers the damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 I'm amazed that someone managed to get a rope on the boat to stop it drifting and also that the rope didn't just burn through. When the fire brigade turned up at Brentford about 6 months ago to deal with a big burning cruiser on the towpath side opposite the marina (arson), the mooring ropes had burned through and their powerful hoses caused the blazing boat to drift over to us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Gunkel Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 I'm amazed that someone managed to get a rope on the boat to stop it drifting and also that the rope didn't just burn through. When the fire brigade turned up at Brentford about 6 months ago to deal with a big burning cruiser on the towpath side opposite the marina (arson), the mooring ropes had burned through and their powerful hoses caused the blazing boat to drift over to us! Luckily the rope was tied to the bow cleat and as a quite strong wind was blowing down the river, the flames were being blown back and didn't quite make the rope. It was touch and go for a while, so I had my eye on a long scaffold pole to fend it off if it broke away. The fire brigade had the presence of mind to throw a grappling hook and cable to hold the boat back before directing the main hoses as it. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmelly Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Must have been very scary bet he found out that adrenelin is brown........ And yet we will still see and hear daily the quiet purr of a petrol gennie on the deckboards of all too many narrowboats with their expolsive fuel stored so called safely in a PLASTIC can..................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnetman Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 d Must have been very scary bet he found out that adrenelin is brown........ And yet we will still see and hear daily the quiet purr of a petrol gennie on the deckboards of all too many narrowboats with their expolsive fuel stored so called safely in a PLASTIC can..................... Plastic petrol cans are safer because a steel can will rust from the inside and eventually a small hole will develop. This will happen without the owner of the petrol can knowing anything about it unless they have a habit of looking inside the thing or replacing it regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Gunkel Posted August 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Plastic petrol cans are safer because a steel can will rust from the inside and eventually a small hole will develop. This will happen without the owner of the petrol can knowing anything about it unless they have a habit of looking inside the thing or replacing it regularly. I wouldn't disagree with that, but I did notice when I looked at the wreckage today, that the steel jerry can on board that had petrol in it, has expanded under pressure to the shape of a rugby ball, but looks as though it is still completely sealed. A plastic one of course would have melted and exploded. The boat is being dragged out of the river tomorrow morning, so I'll have a closer look and take some more pics. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty Cal Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 How many owners of petrol engined boats check their fuel tanks? I bet the answer is very few. (Hmm goes off thinking how many boats around Cal are petrol ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chagall Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 At 6am this morning, I was awakened by a muffled explosion a few yards away and on dashing out of the boat found this outside the pub next door. Thankfully the owner survived but my minds eye instantly saw the outline of a figure in the first picture, left of the front window?...and another trying to escape the cockpit? ........spooky! ....... I watch way too much tv! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Gunkel Posted August 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Thankfully the owner survived but my minds eye instantly saw the outline of a figure in the first picture, left of the front window?...and another trying to escape the cockpit? ........spooky! ....... I watch way too much tv! The owner certainly survived, but ended up with a tan, singed hair and forearms from the fireball. Heres the petrol can, which still had about a litre in it Nothing left inside at all Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHutch Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 I dont know about petrol cans, but when i did my pyro certificate two years ago the current policy was that pyrotechnics should be stored in the box in which they arrived, which was made of fire resistant cardboard. Rather than older steel pyrotechnics lockers due to the increased risk of explosions in confind spaces against they ebing ignited in an unconfind situation, ie, said cardboard box. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty_Rinum Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Inboard petrol engines on boats are an absolute no no. I nearly said a non starter but saw the pun. A few years ago, at Brighton Marina, someone bought a secondhand motor boat, took it to the fuel pontoon and filled it up. When the amount of fuel reached a point where, presumably, he was about to exceed his credit card limit he stopped filling and paid the bill. Back on board the new owner started the engine and the boat exploded blowing him and his wife into the water. The fuel pontoon staff managed to push the boat away and it burned itself out without blowing up the fuel pontoon as well. They found later that the fuel filler pipe wasn't connected to the fuel tank and he'd just filled the bilge with petrol. I would never have an inboard petrol engine on a boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digipete Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 I heard a story once of a fellow that had let a marina crew fill up his boat with petrol. He paid his bill and took off across the bay. On the way into his mooring spot he ran out of fuel. Luckily he was able to rope it in the rest of the way. Not being the mechanical type he figured he would let someone else look at it. It couldn't have been fuel, he just filled it!. This being a Sunday he knew that he couldn't get anyone to look at it till the next day. He set to work making a pot of coffee, started the faucet and promptly got a sink full of gasoline. Apparently the marina crew had filled his water tank instead of his fuel tank. He is lucky to be alive right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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