another boat explosion

Holly chit. Looks like static electricity sparked it. Seems to start were the nozzle meets the fill hole.
 
some of the info on the facebook pages has stated that he did not survive and that he was filling the rod holder?? Dont know if any of that is true or just Facebook rumor, either way prayers for the folks involved.
 
Going by the latest reports the boat just refueled and no mention of a pre-start checklist after a refuel operation. Locally in Keyport NJ years ago there were 2 with the same factors. Left the fuel dock went about 200 yards and with the air mixing with the fumes they went boom.
 
I am always cautious when refueling and run my blowers after and vent for 5/10 minutes before firing up the gen or mains and still close my eyes and pray!!
 
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Wow! That top looks like it came down on him hard. Surprised no fatality?

MM
Its not jus the top, its the whole boat with the t_top still attached. The whole boat goes up in the air with the t-top still attached. then comes down sideways. that top hit him with the full force of the boat weight too. There are other full size versions of the video on YouTube and you can frame by frame walk through it. You can see the flash in the bilge under the edge of the console when it starts. Scary.
 
Wow more caution . More maintenance to eliminate spark possibilities in the bilge.more pre ignition checks and blower operation . I will do better than i have and work harder to keep my passengers safe. Wondering if opening the bilge hatches will help . Im going to invest in some gas shocks to hold mine open and invest in some new quiet blowers and use them whenever below cruise speed now . Play safe gassers
 
Hard to tell if we will ever know what caused this. What troubles me is something like this a result of a deferred maintenance or a mistake? After all there are millions of gas boats on the waters globally and the number that explode at the fuel dock is a relatively small number.

I'm not trying to diminish the danger but simply understand how something like this happens. If you think about it....the fuel system has a fill point, tank, vent and pickup tubes. Unless there is an integrity problem in the system.....there shouldn't be a leak. If there is a leak in the tank.....that is something that happens whether or not you are at the fuel dock or not.

A mistake is pumping gas into a rod holder or water tank. I have seen both and the rod holder version will make your heart stop because it will blow when you start the engine or virtually anything electronic. A bilge full of gas doesn't care about your ignition protection.

I'm also leery about running the blowers while filling the tanks. Depending on the boats design....that can be problematic if the air intakes are any where near the vents for the tanks. On those designs....gas fumes are drawn down into the ER as the tanks are being filled which can lead to a dangerous condition. Since a lot of people run their blowers when they fill their tanks perhaps that is less of a problem than I imagine.

Short of a mistake or a leak it is pretty hard to imagine what else could cause a boat to blow at the fuel dock. I still think the safest process is still to shut everything down, get everyone off the boat and fill the tanks. Then prior to starting, open the ER hatch and check for the smell of gas. I also have a gas fume detector installed as well. Once you are satisfied start the blowers, run them for a few minutes and start the engines.
 
Hard to tell if we will ever know what caused this. What troubles me is something like this a result of a deferred maintenance or a mistake? After all there are millions of gas boats on the waters globally and the number that explode at the fuel dock is a relatively small number.

I'm not trying to diminish the danger but simply understand how something like this happens. If you think about it....the fuel system has a fill point, tank, vent and pickup tubes. Unless there is an integrity problem in the system.....there shouldn't be a leak. If there is a leak in the tank.....that is something that happens whether or not you are at the fuel dock or not.

A mistake is pumping gas into a rod holder or water tank. I have seen both and the rod holder version will make your heart stop because it will blow when you start the engine or virtually anything electronic. A bilge full of gas doesn't care about your ignition protection.

I'm also leery about running the blowers while filling the tanks. Depending on the boats design....that can be problematic if the air intakes are any where near the vents for the tanks. On those designs....gas fumes are drawn down into the ER as the tanks are being filled which can lead to a dangerous condition. Since a lot of people run their blowers when they fill their tanks perhaps that is less of a problem than I imagine.

Short of a mistake or a leak it is pretty hard to imagine what else could cause a boat to blow at the fuel dock. I still think the safest process is still to shut everything down, get everyone off the boat and fill the tanks. Then prior to starting, open the ER hatch and check for the smell of gas. I also have a gas fume detector installed as well. Once you are satisfied start the blowers, run them for a few minutes and start the engines.
Thats the routine i like to follow
 
Terrifying.

You’re not allowed to run blowers while fueling here ..or anything else for that matter. By law everything must be powered down, and all battery switches off/solenoids de-energized before the attendant will hand you the fuel nozzle.
 
Sounds like a good plan - nobody wants to go BOOM!!
 
Terrifying.

You’re not allowed to run blowers while fueling here ..or anything else for that matter. By law everything must be powered down, and all battery switches off/solenoids de-energized before the attendant will hand you the fuel nozzle.
The same at our fuel dock....
 
Wow. At the new fuel dock in Baltimore (near MarineMax) they actually require that you DO run your blowers during fueling. Go figure.
 
Our marina requires all electronics to be off and no blowers running, cabin and hatches closed while refueling.

Not sure if running the blowers during would be safer or not. They are ignition protected motors and it would prevent fume build up if there was a fuel fill line leak. It would make it impossible to hear the fuel filling gurgle and there would be more overfill spills.
 
On a related note, when I had my first boat, I had a slip neighbour one year whose boat had an obvious fuel leak. His boat stunk like gas all the time. One time it was really bad. So i wrote a long note to him pleading that he fix his boat and NOT try to start or run it with that kind of leak. I tried to be nice. I ran into him one day a month later and he gave me attitude about the note. quite the a-hole. I reported it to the marina and he was gone shortly after.
 

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