Petrol Engines on yachts

[Clipper 343]

Can boats with fibre rigging ditch the 12 hacksaw blades then?

[ex Elly 197]

and youse can biff that rusty old pair of boltcutters

 

But I've only just bought some. They were only added to Cat 4 in 2009!

[Steve Pope 243]

I agree fossil, Tim is a keeper!

[Guest]

I grew up (1953 - 64) on a launch with twin Greymarine 6 cyl Lugger 144 HP petrol engines and, yes, we were very concerned about petrol issues, and had numerous scares.

 

To add to the potential for armageddon, the boat also had a domestic stove converted to Rock Gas

and I now know that the conversion was very unsophisticated by today's standards.

 

My first experiences of sailboat auxilliaries were with a variety of petrol engines - Morris Vedette, Morris 10 conversion, Wankel Rotary, etc.

 

When, in about 1970, I entered negotiations to purchase one of the early Cav 32s (I never quite had enough money to complete that purchase) there was, I seem to remember, a choice between petrol and diesel.

 

My first diesel was a Volvo MD2 in 1975 in a boat built in Hong Kong, followed closely by a Bukh in my Chico 30, Bobby Shafto, in 1978.

 

It was only about then that diesels became affordable in NZ.

 

American sailboats continued to use gasoline engines long after we, and the Europeans, had switched to diesel. Cost and affordability were the main reason and I never picked up any sense of

"explosion paranoia" in my (then) constant reading of Rudder or Yachting.

[wal 27]

From admittedly a rusty memory Ponsonby Express was suspected gas explosion? Total guesses all round but I seem to recall the musings at the time.

[Guest]

In my memory there has been one or two gasoline explosions on in board motor boats in NZ over the last twenty years (who cares about them) but I cannot think of a yacht explosion due to petrol. LPG on the other hand is about as safe as taking the London tube with a Middle Eastern man complete with back pack. Yet every summer we park ourselves in bays all over the coast and flick on the gas for a cuppa.

 

Had a LPG bottle go up in a Garage fire two streets away 10 years ago I was on the loo at the time, it felt like a Kenworth had hit the side of the house. It was nearly two years before I could sit in contemplation on the throne again. I'd hate to be near or on a boat when that happened. Know a man who has lived through it though, he was dam lucky.

 

No, I think Petrol is the lesser of those evils.

[The big T 41]

Attended a petrol fueled explosion on a SS24 about 15 years ago - owner was working on boat at work berths at Westhaven (remember those?). Went below with a fag in his mouth - got blown back out of main hatch. Separated hull from decks all round and looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the interior. Skipper had damage to his hand and dirty pants - put the fag out as well.

 

Was a small petrol inboard motor and the owner had mentioned he had smelt petrol before but had a cold that day.

 

Not a scorch mark in sight.

[Tim C 23]

As has been mentioned nothing was banned or any more regulations imposed at the meeting. Outboards are still fine as is currently. It would have to be said all attending were well aware of not imposing anymore costly items or regulations, and commons sense prevailed to everything discussed.

Stand away from the soap boxes!

[ScottiE 174]

Thanks Tim - both for seeking input and the update.

 

Sorry Fish - you are quite right - I should not have got emotive (though did not climb into Tim - and did infact ask for facts).

[Guest]

As a teenager I watched a launch - 30 odd feet - explode and burn in Queen Charlotte sound.

 

The explosion seemed to be very contained and the crew took to the water.

 

The boat then burned much like a barbeque for 20 minutes or so and then little black dots appeared all over the white topsides, as the planking burned from within.

 

It literally burned to the waterline and disappeared. Quite spooky - and salutary given that we had a hundred or so gallons of petrol in our tanks.

[Bogan 8]

Reading the old logs from a boat I cruised on when growing up, petrol engines certainly *were* a big risk. I would be surprised if pertol engine fires didn't account for half the lost lauches in the first half of the 1900s. But those engines were tremendously unreliable and safety systems nothing like they are now.

 

Thinking really crazy, find LF Hereschoffs book of Rudder articles. There's one in there about Naptha engines which is pretty hair raising.

[Guest]

This is a tale from long long ago. Remember I'll be 80 next birthday and it happened to my grandfather.

If the engine on his fishing boat was reluctant to start he would remove the (note singular) spark plug and warm it up in his fire pot, which was a tray of red hot embers always going in winter. Or if that failed to produce the desired result, he would crank er over a couple of times then drop a lighted match down the hole which normally warmed er up nicely and she'd go. One one famous occasion he must have cranked er over several more times and the resulting blast removed most of his facial hair, blew him overboard and "burnt the "Betsy" to the waters edge, as grandpa reported when he rowed his punt home to Northcote from Pine (Herald) Is.

[Murky 1]

Yeah, seems it wasn't so long ago that fire was part of the generally-accepted method of getting an engine started. My father-in-law is only in his 60s and as a Railways apprentice was responsible for getting various machinery started out in the field in the mornings - they used to light a small cotton-waste fire underneath the [diesel, I think] compressors and bulldozers.

[tuffyluffy 76]

The glow-plug had to evolve from something

[smithy09 50]

This is a tale from long long ago. Remember I'll be 80 next birthday and it happened to my grandfather.

If the engine on his fishing boat was reluctant to start he would remove the (note singular) spark plug and warm it up in his fire pot, which was a tray of red hot embers always going in winter. Or if that failed to produce the desired result, he would crank er over a couple of times then drop a lighted match down the hole which normally warmed er up nicely and she'd go. One one famous occasion he must have cranked er over several more times and the resulting blast removed most of his facial hair, blew him overboard and "burnt the "Betsy" to the waters edge, as grandpa reported when he rowed his punt home to Northcote from Pine (Herald) Is.

Hard Man your grandpa!!

[Guest]

This is a tale from long long ago. Remember I'll be 80 next birthday and it happened to my grandfather.

If the engine on his fishing boat was reluctant to start he would remove the (note singular) spark plug and warm it up in his fire pot, which was a tray of red hot embers always going in winter. Or if that failed to produce the desired result, he would crank er over a couple of times then drop a lighted match down the hole which normally warmed er up nicely and she'd go. One one famous occasion he must have cranked er over several more times and the resulting blast removed most of his facial hair, blew him overboard and "burnt the "Betsy" to the waters edge, as grandpa reported when he rowed his punt home to Northcote from Pine (Herald) Is.

Hard Man your grandpa!!

 

Well that (from the fossil's mouth) would seem to extinguish (no pun intended) any temptation to put a confined gasoline engine in any sort of boat.

[Guest]

What are the stats for boat fires in the US?

They still love twin petrol 350 chevs under the floorboards and presumably don't see a problem.