Firesprinklers
Patrick,While I agree whole-heartedly with your concerns about police and fire empire building (in some instances, boys with their toys), the firesprinkler issue should be looked at realistically. You should see the water toys they have here, as well as the paramedic response truck. Its an entire fire truck, does not go nearly fast enough (because it is huge). We call it the HMO on wheels. Personally, I'd opt for something small and fast if I have a heart attack. Anyway, different subject.Firesprinkler systems are designed so that only the heads affected by the fire are triggered. I know the movies all show everything going off, but it does not work that way. Each head is triggered by an individual fuse. In fact, the systems are designed so that only a certain number of heads can actually be supplied. If they all went off, insufficient flow would occur at any individual head to be effective.That said, fires on boats are a bit different than fires in buildings or houses (unless you put the sprinklers inside the boats). I suspect that boat fires do not occur on deck very often, but rather, start somewhere inside and by the time a breakout occurs, that particular boat is probably in pretty bad shape. Once the fire breaks out, the local firesprinklers would trigger, probably protecting the cover for the slips and maybe the boats within close proximity and certainly those slightly farther away. It all depends upon how fast the heat from the fire triggers the head in an open sided covered space (much different than the heat build-up in a closed room).I live in a place where firesprinklers are required in all houses built since about 1985. I was not excited about the requirements at the time (I was in the building business), but I sleep under a few today. And, I have grown fond of the idea of waking up in a rainstorm over a smoke filled room. Similarly, if I had the kind of boat that would fit in a covered slip, I think that it would be safer under a firesprinkler than not.To get back to your original concerns, and they are valid. The secret is to produce the results without overkill. Our residential type systems cost about $1.50 a sf to install down here (probably less in other parts of the country). Residential heads also go off at lower temperature than commercial heads, which is probably a good idea in the "open" situation of a covered slip. That said, I'm not sire how you protect the supply lines from freezing temperatures in colder climates. A burst firesprinkler line puts out a lot of water. Finally, its a cost of construction, not a tax supported process. I would assume that any cost associated for a covered slip would be passed on to the user of the slip. My two cents.Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)