Fire at marina in DC

Always a scary thought with a boat in a marina.

When we were shopping for boats last summer came upon a boat that just didn't look right.

Gelcoat had waves on the port side.

After some digging with the broker, turns out the boat was next to a boat that had caught on fire. The boat in question did not catch fire, but the heat damage of being nearby required extensive fiberglass work.
 
I know that marina well and have a number of friends there. Fortunately, nobody got hurt. DC Fire is pretty good about putting out boat fires. They just keep pouring water on it until it sinks. In this case two boats were sunk and a couple damaged.

They were also lucky the DC Fire boat is made of steel since it had to bang through some ice to get there.

No cause reported yet but it wouldn't be the first time a boat caught fire at James Creek because of a space heater.
 
ugh. that sucks. if anyone needs any help locally, please let me know. not sure what we can really do, though.
 
Insurance question
The boat that started the fire is it liable for all the damage or just to his boat. Does the marina's insurance pay for the dock or the boat that started the fire. My insurance policy states my policy is void if a fire is caused by a non permanent mounted heater.
 
Pics from early this afternoon. The boat on the left was a nice Ranger Tug.
 

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northern, you asked a question about liability. Here is an article that I used to decide which policy I bought.

upload_2018-1-8_22-2-23.png
 
Sorry for the fracturing. But I think the original was "lost" in the conversion to the new site. If anyone can help, please do.

Jaybeaux
 
Nothing to do with fire.
Do a lot of people keep their boats in the water with that much ice. Where we are you might get a skiff of ice as thick a frost on a windshield and it is gone by afternoon.
If one keeps their boat in ice as in the pictures I can imagine a lot of electric cabin and engine room heaters. That would be scary.
 
northern said:
Nothing to do with fire.
Do a lot of people keep their boats in the water with that much ice. Where we are you might get a skiff of ice as thick a frost on a windshield and it is gone by afternoon.
If one keeps their boat in ice as in the pictures I can imagine a lot of electric cabin and engine room heaters. That would be scary.
Click to expand...


Not really....DC has fairly mild winters but the Potomac does ice over. The folks that leave their boat in the water use ice eaters to keep their slips clear. It is really a bad idea to leave a residential space heater on if you are not on the boat. That marina has had several fires caused by residential heaters (or heat lamps) that owners have left unattended.

When I kept mine in the water....I would winterize the boat and use an Xtreme marine 600 watt heater in the bilge. If you don't you do risk the sea cocks cracking from extreme cold and sinking the boat.
 
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