With all the discussion regrading winter layup safety and a recent local fire, I though it might be helpful to include this as a reminder. The picture in the link is of our then-new boat sitting on the hard awaiting spring launch. And I though this could never happen to me...
http://picasaweb.google.com/dberger381/BoatFire?authkey=kR9wJQ2_Qis#5260401839491110226
Boat was on the hard as I said, unplugged from shore power, batteries off and we had just completed spring cleanup, bottom paint and topsides waxing when we left on a Sunday night leaving the boat ready for launch the following day. Needless to say, it never got wet (except from fire hoses). We received a call early Monday a.m. stating there was a fire the previous night, the flames reportedly reaching 20 ft high.
Thorough investigations by both the local police and our underwriter failed to find anything conclusive as to cause.
The morale, if there is one to pass along here, is that marinas have cause to preclude boats from being plugged in. As I said, the batteries were off but not fused as it came that way from the factory and I didn't have a chance to rectify that omission not that it likely would have helped as both 4Ds were dead.
In short, there was no apparent cause but the resultant fire destroyed not only our boat but damaged several others in close proximity.
Note that if you look carefully at either photo, you can make out that the intensity of the fire was sufficient to melt the self-tailer rings.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dberger381/BoatFire?authkey=kR9wJQ2_Qis#5260401839491110226
Boat was on the hard as I said, unplugged from shore power, batteries off and we had just completed spring cleanup, bottom paint and topsides waxing when we left on a Sunday night leaving the boat ready for launch the following day. Needless to say, it never got wet (except from fire hoses). We received a call early Monday a.m. stating there was a fire the previous night, the flames reportedly reaching 20 ft high.
Thorough investigations by both the local police and our underwriter failed to find anything conclusive as to cause.
The morale, if there is one to pass along here, is that marinas have cause to preclude boats from being plugged in. As I said, the batteries were off but not fused as it came that way from the factory and I didn't have a chance to rectify that omission not that it likely would have helped as both 4Ds were dead.
In short, there was no apparent cause but the resultant fire destroyed not only our boat but damaged several others in close proximity.
Note that if you look carefully at either photo, you can make out that the intensity of the fire was sufficient to melt the self-tailer rings.
