Ouch! Marina Fire...
- Thread starter Maine Sail
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The way some boat yard workers do wiring and the way some DIY's do it, with no regard for over current protection, proper wiring techniques and improper use of equipment not meant for marine use, I find it surprising more marina's are not burned up.
The good thing is that more and more marina's are inspecting boats for proper wiring and making it part of the membership contract.
This was one of our Yacht Club junior sailing program chase skiffs. A simple battery fuse would have saved this 18k Boston Whaler. Just minutes before the fire there were young kids on this boat...
All our Yacht Club boats are being wired with battery fuses this winter! It's just too bad that it had to come to this before we actually did it...
More info on the fire
Looks like the source of the fire was a shore power outlet. More info available here:
http://cruisersnet.net/hazmat-team-responding-to-fire-at-mccotters-marina/
Looks like the source of the fire was a shore power outlet. More info available here:
http://cruisersnet.net/hazmat-team-responding-to-fire-at-mccotters-marina/
I'd like to add to the discussion that although proper wire gauge and overcurrent protection are crucial, they don't protect against everything. A poor connection such as a loose or corroded terminal within a shore power plug can easily produce enough heat to start a fire even while conducting amperage well below the breaker size. My point is don't blindly assume the breaker protects against all circumstances.
The following statement is made without reference to this particular tragedy nor is it intended to be critical. It's just the way it is. Sorry in advance if it ruffles feathers.
Another thing to file in the way back of your memory banks is that in reading tragic stories such as this, just because the fire department says the cause is electrical doesn't necessarily make it so. The very real truth in fire investigation is if a cause cannot be determined, calling it electrical moves the paperwork along without additional scrutiny. It's their "miscellaneous" file. To be accurate, I'm not saying this was started by a source other than electrical, there's no possible way I could know.
The following statement is made without reference to this particular tragedy nor is it intended to be critical. It's just the way it is. Sorry in advance if it ruffles feathers.
Another thing to file in the way back of your memory banks is that in reading tragic stories such as this, just because the fire department says the cause is electrical doesn't necessarily make it so. The very real truth in fire investigation is if a cause cannot be determined, calling it electrical moves the paperwork along without additional scrutiny. It's their "miscellaneous" file. To be accurate, I'm not saying this was started by a source other than electrical, there's no possible way I could know.
Sometimes overcurrent protection doesn't do what we want. I once took the cover plate off a duplex outlet on a stone column outside of a house. When the cover came off the recepticle fell into pieces and struck an arc that burned until the wires fell apart far enough to break the arc. probably burned for 15 seconds. Never tripped the circuit breaker. That was a well installed 15 amp 120 volt circuit that had just gotten too old.
Some one posted on about this on another forum saying:
Been there done that,
Looked under the dock at a marina where used to keep my boat and saw bare connectors underwater where the large cables had chafed. Told the marina electrician who said to tell the management because he couldn't do anything without their approval. Told management who said, "Thanks, we'll look into it.".
A few months later, after nothing was done, I called the fire department who said to talk to the town code enforcement officer. He asked if the cables were on the floats or the shore. I said floats, that's why they were in the water. He said it was out of his jurisdiction and I should talk to the marina management. Nothing was done that I know of until a storm tore the floats apart.
Didn't even get a Tee shirt.
To which I responded:
Been there done that,
Looked under the dock at a marina where used to keep my boat and saw bare connectors underwater where the large cables had chafed. Told the marina electrician who said to tell the management because he couldn't do anything without their approval. Told management who said, "Thanks, we'll look into it.".
A few months later, after nothing was done, I called the fire department who said to talk to the town code enforcement officer. He asked if the cables were on the floats or the shore. I said floats, that's why they were in the water. He said it was out of his jurisdiction and I should talk to the marina management. Nothing was done that I know of until a storm tore the floats apart.
Didn't even get a Tee shirt.
The day this happened my safety guy informed me that the Beaufort Marina had burned up and it was all over the news. Further investigation showed it to be McCotters. McCotters is in Beaufort County while the town of Beaufort is in Carteret County. Anyway, once my blood pressure returned to normal i went back to work. This was a real tragedy with some classic boats destroyed. McCotters is a short drive from Washington, NC a great little town but a long way up the Pamlico River. Great Marina and golf course at Cypress Landing across the river.
That's exactly why arc-fault breakers are required in the new building electrical codes.
I don't know if arc-faults are available for 12vdc...?
A burned boat is a destroyed dream. A real shame.
Pete
I'm a 35+ year master electrician and I've seen it all with breakers not tripping,outlets going on fire,fires in junction boxes...etc and there's one thing that I'm sure thats going to happen one of these days and thats a major fire where lives will be taken cause some one decided to play electrician.....ever since the home improvement stores for the last 20 years a lot of unqualified people are doing wiring and have no business doing it with out a license and just today on a kitchen rip out in a 5 million dollar home it was clear that the kitchen contractor did the wiring (all the ground wires were cut off)by the poor workmanship
And I've seen my fair share of pretty wild looking wiring in boats and marina's
And I've seen my fair share of pretty wild looking wiring in boats and marina's
RAD, my brutha,
35 years here too, 31 as a California licensed independent contractor and I echo your comments to the letter. Too bad those guys wearing the orange apron aren't held liable for the shinola they peddle.
35 years here too, 31 as a California licensed independent contractor and I echo your comments to the letter. Too bad those guys wearing the orange apron aren't held liable for the shinola they peddle.
I am truly thankful for people like Maine Sail and Stu Jackson. My boat's wiring is a lot safer because of them.
As a liver-aboarder, I am also very thankful for my concrete and steel docks. What a night mare it would be if the only escape route out of a floating inferno was over a bunch of burning and charred embers during the winter when the water is very cold.
As a liver-aboarder, I am also very thankful for my concrete and steel docks. What a night mare it would be if the only escape route out of a floating inferno was over a bunch of burning and charred embers during the winter when the water is very cold.
My mantra is "Its a good day if I learn something new " and I've learn a lot about boat wiring and systems from Stu and MS so I'm one of those old dogs that can learn new tricks
Just to add a couple of comments.
The reports of a witness indicate that the fire started at the S/P inlet on the hull. Do not judge the boat owner hastily.
Could be receptacle or cord at fault...but more importantly...you must disassemble the receptacle to be certain that there are no hidden problems that can exist, but not be seen in a routine visual inspection...
Additionally, the cord should never be plugged unplugged until the master breaker is off. Any sign of arcing damage to either is sign of a potentially serious problem. High resistance resulting from arc damage and or corrosion can create enough heat to start a fire without tripping a breaker.
There are several articles in Seaworthy Magazine on the subject...here is one Google the rest.
http://www.seaworthy-digital.com/seaworthy/201007#pg12
Also, too true about shoddy wiring practices...but it is up to us to be informed enough to recognize them...I had to do a lot of correction of shoddy work done by licenced electricians over the years in my 1925 home and had to point out code deficiencies a couple times to licenced (bonded and insured) electricians that I hired to do some work.
The reports of a witness indicate that the fire started at the S/P inlet on the hull. Do not judge the boat owner hastily.
Could be receptacle or cord at fault...but more importantly...you must disassemble the receptacle to be certain that there are no hidden problems that can exist, but not be seen in a routine visual inspection...
Additionally, the cord should never be plugged unplugged until the master breaker is off. Any sign of arcing damage to either is sign of a potentially serious problem. High resistance resulting from arc damage and or corrosion can create enough heat to start a fire without tripping a breaker.
There are several articles in Seaworthy Magazine on the subject...here is one Google the rest.
http://www.seaworthy-digital.com/seaworthy/201007#pg12
Also, too true about shoddy wiring practices...but it is up to us to be informed enough to recognize them...I had to do a lot of correction of shoddy work done by licenced electricians over the years in my 1925 home and had to point out code deficiencies a couple times to licenced (bonded and insured) electricians that I hired to do some work.
I concur....sometimes I wonder how someone got there credential's and I'm a firm believer in keeping up with the current National Electric codes
Thanks for sharing this headline, I've alerted our club members to this for a heads up. The colder it gets the more current you draw and little problems become big problems. I feel sad for these folks, we all know how much TLC goes in to our floating homes, passions, but just like our land based homes things get missed or not thought of and this is the result.
One day a couple of summers ago a newbie showed up on the dock and he was never there but his air conditioner was running 24/7 I happened to notice one day that the power inlet going into the boat looked a little black and the fiberglass looked melted so I shut the breaker,a week or so later the owner showed up and learned a valuable lesson and how lucky he was that day.
I get a hoot out of walking past this big-*ss power cruiser everyday and watching the AC discharge water freeze up more-and-more every day. Last winter it froze solid and is probably what caused the dock recepticle to burnout. (I saw them replace it during the summer when the owners arrived.) It was many months that his heating and cooling was down because he only visits the boat owners make to their boat is just a few times a year. He's never learned his lesson. I must confess though, if I was filthy rich I, too, would have boats in multiple locations and would only visit them occassionaly.
A burned out receptacle may not trip a circuit breaker especially one thats been exposed to the salt water elements and that same burnt up receptacle at the boat side could heat up the fiberglass and what I'm saying is a fire could start and thats how marinas and all the boats go up in smoke very quickly
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