Boat explosion Tampa Florida

Terrible accident. Hope all are ok...
 
Wasn't there someone around these parts some time ago that said it was "OK" to put things in a gas engine room that were not ignition protected?

I am not insinuating that was the cause here... For all we know, there could have been a fuel line break or something not the fault of the owner... I just remember how some said that their gas boats didn't have to worry about fuel leaks/fumes because their boat was always in tip-top condition.

Sad indeed...
 
Last edited:
I was anchored next to that boat about 30yds away when it exploded. It was a very violent explosion, I was standing in the water and it literally almost knocked the wind out of me. One of the seats from the cockpit ended up on shore. There were some very significant injuries, and it was incredible that all the people even got off the boat as it went up in flames almost instantly. Alot of us rushed over and tried to help get the people to shore and one woman lost part of her leg. It was a very eye opening experience. Once we heard all were off the boat, I quickly ran over to my boat and pulled up anchor and moved a safe distance away. I didnt know if there would be another explosion or not and there was alot of fuel buring in the water around the boat. So far it looks like everyone survived, but the news said that 3 had life threatening injuries. Very sad. I do have some pics and video that I will post later.
 
I saw this comment from another person on the island today..."The word on the island was that the children wanted to watch TV and when they turned the generator switch on, the explosion occured."
'
 
Incredible. It is truly sad. It makes you wonder how random these things are. Can we really prevent them, or at least have some control over the odds of it happening to us?
 
Not having alot of experience with cruisers and generators, I was wondering if this could be a commom occurence if the blowers are not running. Can starting the generator be as dangerous as the engines if there are fumes built up, or is this a freak thing? Although it only takes a small spark to cause a problem...
 
We are on the hook right now. The admarial is down stairs with the air running and the blowers as well. That is because it is coming a down pour in Ga. As long as the air is running so will the blowers.
 
180 Sport said:
Not having alot of experience with cruisers and generators, I was wondering if this could be a commom occurence if the blowers are not running. Can starting the generator be as dangerous as the engines if there are fumes built up, or is this a freak thing? Although it only takes a small spark to cause a problem...
Click to expand...

The generator was likely the ignition source, but otherwise unrelated. This is just a partially educated guess. They had a fairly serious fuel leak or spillage from fueling earlier in the day. Whether they ran the blowers or not, the fuel/air mixture was correct for a very volatile ignition. When they cranked the genny, the ignition source was provided. This could have come from a normal engine instead, on another day. I don't understand the ignition-protection concept. I trust that it usually works to conceal open spark from causing ignition if the fuel/air mixture is correct for explosion.

When I start my blowers, I smell the air from both exhaust ports. After 4 minutes or more, I smell them both again, and then start an engine. I do it at the beginning because I feel that is when I'm most likely to detect pooling fuel vapors - before I air them out somewhat.
 
black pearl said:
We are on the hook right now. The admarial is down stairs with the air running and the blowers as well. That is because it is coming a down pour in Ga. As long as the air is running so will the blowers.
Click to expand...


Do you mean as long as the genny is running?
 
I have owned 4 boats...all either I/O or inboard. I have always run blowers from 3~5 minutes before I start until I shut down ALL engines including generator. The only time I am not runnng blowers is when I am running on plane.

I have been eye witness to gasoline explosions when bilges were not properly cleared of fumes. Once I saw the engine hatches blow 30 feet in the air on a 35' Cigarette Cafe Racer and watched it burn to the waterline.

I am in the Fire Protection business so believe that I am very sensative to this issue.
 
sprink56 said:
I have been eye witness to gasoline explosions when bilges were not properly cleared of fumes. Once I saw the engine hatches blow 30 feet in the air on a 35' Cigarette Cafe Racer and watched it burn to the waterline.

I am in the Fire Protection business so believe that I am very sensative to this issue.
Click to expand...

That is basically what happened today. So they should have kept the blowers running while anchored, or at least ran them before starting the generator?
 
180 Sport said:
That is basically what happened today. So they should have kept the blowers running while anchored, or at least ran them before starting the generator?
Click to expand...

Just like you do before you start your I/O.:thumbsup:
 
After reading another article, it stated that the kids were watching movies and the generator had been running. So the quote I read and posted earlier that the explosion happened when the generator was switched on was most likey not accurate. I can understand the fumes building up while the generator was running...but wouldnt something have to ignite it for that type of explosion?
 
As Hampton stated it is not prudent to just run your blowers, you should either smell the bilge or smell the discharge vents to know what is going on. Just clearing the bilge of fumes is not what you want to do, you need to address where the fumes are comming from. There should not be any fumes down there or you will go BOOM!!
 
180 Sport said:
That is basically what happened today. So they should have kept the blowers running while anchored, or at least ran them before starting the generator?
Click to expand...

No, not while anchored with everything off. But, once preparing (fixin') to start the genny, blowers on for 4 minutes, sample the exhaust with nose, proceed to start if completely free of gas fumes. I add the step of sniffin' right after turning blowers on.

Picture a fuel leak in bilge with some fumes gathering. Then, you turn the blowers on and clear the fumes. Then, you sample the exhaust and it smells clean. You start the ignition source with a fuel leak going on. I'm just saying.

By the way - good night.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,112
Messages
1,426,287
Members
61,026
Latest member
NeilS
Back
Top