Boat Burns in Grenada!

[Bluewaters2812]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

YES!! The crew man, not the skipper, but the crew is a young feller named Scotty. Everything he owns is not burnt to a crisp! he got his passport but NOTHING else. So he is in accomodation supplied by another cruiser but he has only the Tshirt and shorts he stands up in!

yes the company credit card will be splashing out tomorrow to fix him up... but he's out of a job. Now unemployed. Another **** kicker on the queue to get a super yacht job.

Yes, there is a genuine case that someone needs help.

He was shell shocked at the bar tonight and I think just wanted a good nights sleep - hes been fighting a fire since 4am... and still awake now, albiet sucking a beer .

Ownwrs, skippers etc are going to always be compensated (or their money has a risk factor) but the poor ol crew gets nout.

Glad to see the Grenada cruisers step up and help


Mark

Thanks for all the feedback on this, yes, this is the sort of help I was referring to in my initial post (which was posted without knowing any background). Such a shame that such a beautiful boat is gone. I hope the crew gets the help they need.

[Sea Frog]

Speaking of fire extinguishers, this looks like a valid choice for electrical boxes protection, made by Firetrace (or similar). In case of fire, red tube melts and extinguishing agent goes into the box killing the flame.

[steamgoat]

Just for historical interest,I took these in '84 or '85 of the 120ft Camper & Nicholson schooner 'Panda' after a fire in Fort de France, I was working on a 100ft Fife at the time,it was a sad sight. I wonder if she was rebuilt ?? Bruce.

[mbianka]

Mark J.

I was wondering did this boat use Lithium Ion batteries for it's house bank?

[cheoah]

Sheesh. Beautiful yacht. Hope the crewman comes out ok and the owner is a standup guy. Looking at the pictures and specs posted, and in light of all crew ok, it is such a pity that yacht suffered such an early demise! Looks suitable for tropics and high latitudes alike, and a shame it didn't see the many tens of thousands of sea miles it was meant for. Am I shallow to think that a tragedy? I mean, that boat is a cape muncher. Don't know if I'd ever stop going round and round in a ship like that. Well I'd be afraid to stop , ahem, I mean afraid to dock it.

Ironically I'm out at anchor getting my electrical system in order. Pacific seacraft did a pretty good job at the factory as far as I can tell, with a hinged panel and good chafe protection for bundled wire, but circuit protection at the battery must not have been code 25 years ago. Just a pity I have to work in these conditions - bobbing around in a pristine anchorage, nice breeze, and everything else a man could ever want. Sigh.....

Sorry for the crew, the owner, the boat, and the anchorage. Good thing they were not in a marina. Mark thanks for keeping us posted!

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Mark J.

I was wondering did this boat use Lithium Ion batteries for it's house bank?

Hmmmmm.....

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Mark J.

I was wondering did this boat use Lithium Ion batteries for it's house bank?

Dunno. I'll ask.

I spoke to the young crew member last night at the bar and he told me a lot of what happened. But I am not going to post it because he wouldnt have been talking so freely if he knew it would be repeated. He hadnt had any sleep yet, he was pretty shaken up, though calm, confident and in control, and he had a few beers.

But I will tell you that he and his skipper had the fire contained, without flame, but a lot of heat, for 2 hours before the arrival of the fire brigade on the Coast Guard boat... things then went down hill...
During that 2 hours they had been using VHF 16 to no avail! They obviously didnt know about the cruisers channel of 68 that folks monitor at night.
Finally either the skipper or the crew (there were only the two on board) took the dinghy into the Marina and woke the security guard...

This is all second hand info/suposition/gossip etc.

I dunno if I should tell you 'apparently' why it went 'down hill' but I heard it from a number of sources so it cant come back to any one person...
The coast guard boat came out, didnt stop at the boat on fire, returned and got some fire-fighters, went back out to the boat. The fire brigade air tanks were empty. The fire brigade/coast guard water pump did not work. The crew had been using extinguishers into a very small hole in the panel and lack of oxygen allowed no flame but there was a lot of heat. The fire brigade used a fire axe to chop into the panel. Air got in. Flame ignited. No fire fighting could occur as no air, no water.

Remember This is all second hand info/suposition/gossip etc.

The Coast Guard station is less than half a nm from the boat.

I think the crew did very, very well.

Lucky they wernt at sea.

[boatman61]

In the 90's I became friends of a German couple with a 17m Jongert.. built to their cruise/race spec's... the electrical panel was like nothing you've seen... it took up an 8'x4' section of the inner bulkhead along the corridor to the fore cabin..
She had everything from press button furling and lift keel to a full laundry and Jacuzzi...
He had considered an inmast main but considered the extra 1/2 million asked was over the top...
Awesome boat...

[mbianka]

Mark

Thanks for the update. Electrical fires can be nasty. Don't blame the firefighters I would not want to be fighting fire in an enclosed space without air pac. The "lot's of heat" after containment has me thinking battery failure even more. Look forward to more info as it becomes available. Do feel for the owner who must be pondering over the what if's that might have saved his boat. Crew was wise at least saving his passport unfortunate about the wallet. Makes me think one should have a personal ditch bag ready even while at anchor.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Panope

Mine is in an area that is all metal (3/16 aluminum) except for the door. After seeing this thread I kinda wish I had also made the door out of metal.

The Lexan window is held with small screws that will easily give way to the butt of a fire extinguisher if quick access is needed.

Steve

The aluminium will just burn anyway , wouldn't sweat it

Dave

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Teknav

This looks like a fire due to the electrical wiring being overheated; too much wattage was being drawn from unfused (jerry-rigged) circuits. So sad to see a nice boat go down like that.

Mauritz

How could you draw that conclusion from 2 photos ???

Dave

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by The Garbone

Only one sail and no Haylon system installed... What were they thinking? Wait.. I may be in the wrong thread...

Halon is illegal in most places now and many insurance companies make u remove it on this side of the pond

Dave

[colemj]

I think he was probably using the term "halon" in the generic sense. While halon is no longer produced or legal, it has been replaced with halotron and other agents with similar properties. We carry these as a first line of action because the common dry agent extinguishers cause so much damage and make such a mess.

Mark

[Teknav]

Hi Dave! You keep asking how could I have drawn such a conclusion from just a few photos? I am an Electrical Engineer with Forensics background. Some circumstances that I considered by looking at the sequences of photos shown; time of fire, place of fire, effect of localized heat generation, the extent of fire propagation, final look at the boat's burned skin, among other factors. While every incident is unique, investigators do not have to re-invent the wheel every time there is an incident; there are patterns that stand out and point to your findings.

Mauritz

[colemj]

Yes, the crew and skipper said the fire started in the electrical panel. What people are questioning is your knowledge that the fire was due to "too much wattage was being drawn from unfused (jerry-rigged) circuits".

It is unlikely that a brand new $5 million boat had unfused jerry-rigged circuits.

It is more unlikely that even your trained eye could detect the remains of those unfused jerry-rigged circuits from the pictures on hand.

Mark