Safety Tips to Share

[a64pilot]

I've been trying to figure out how to put running lights on a dinghy. Used to be you could buy them at Walmart that looked like a flashlight but haven't seen those for years.
How do you guys rig running lights?


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[Greenhand]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I've been trying to figure out how to put running lights on a dinghy. Used to be you could buy them at Walmart that looked like a flashlight but haven't seen those for years.
How do you guys rig running lights?


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Look for Attwood. If your local Walmart doesn't have them, Amazon does.

[Doug Brown]

Always carry at leat one LARGE fire extinguisher.

By large, I mean a 10 or 20-lb dry chemical or a 15 to 20-lb CO2. They can easily be stowed in a cockpit locker or mounted on a bulkhead below decks. These are professional grade pieces of fire fighting equipment and can be bought 2nd hand at a fire extinguisher re-charging shop for about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of a new unit.

My second definition of "large" is two or more 5-lb dry chemicals, but you really want +10-lbs.

If you have a large below deck fire, or a large cockpit fire from spilled fuel, you will need the extra size to deal with it.

While dry chemical is the fastest acting of all fire extinguishing agents (Purple-K being the fastest), it must be applied directly onto the fire - not into the general area or the smoke.

The larger C02 extinguishers can be used for a "total flooding" application where the agent can be directed into the general area (direct application is still the best) and it will creep into lockers, bilge spaces, etc.

The only fault with total flooding is that you can die from lack of oxygen if you enter a "flooded" area.

All of the Halon off shoots (Halatrons etc) and the "old" Halons 1211 & 1301 can also be used for total flooding with a slightly higher degree of safety - but still pose significant hazards.

People always complain about the mess dry chem makes, but do you want a burned up boat and end up floating around in a liferaft, or do you want to put the fire out? Dry chem is easily cleaned up with a vaccum cleaner.

Other big complains are the size. One of the attached pictures shows a 2, 2-3/4, 5 and 10-lb dry chem extinguisher. There isn't that much of a size difference for so much more fire protection.

The other pictures show a 2-1/2-lb Purple-K extinguisher and a 5-lb ABC extinguisher dealing with the same fire. Each extinguisher put out the same fire at least twice before running out of powder - so there is a 100% safety factor.

No matter what extinguisher you use, you will always need to use water at some point in time to help reduce the fire size, or to completely extinguish any remaining smoldering embers. So have a bucket with a lanyard ready for use!

You can use water on any electrical fire dealing with 32-volts or less with complete safety. You may destroy the electronics (the fire will probably have already done that!), but you will extinguish the burning matter.

With any electrical fire, you MUST always shut off the power or disconnect the batteries to insure total extinguishment.

AND, you must practice using fire fighting equipment! While fire extinguishers are simple to use, extinguishing a fire with them is NOT always the case! They only last about 12-seconds, so you have to know what you are doing and what the extinguisher can do BEFORE you use it on a fire.

[gcaptain]

Originally Posted by Doug Brown

The larger C02 extinguishers can be used for a "total flooding" application where the agent can be directed into the general area (direct application is still the best) and it will creep into lockers, bilge spaces, etc.

The only fault with total flooding is that you can die from lack of oxygen if you enter a "flooded" area.


)

I agree with your advice to up size your fire extinguisher... And I carry both a large dry chem and a large co2.

That said there is one other fault of CO2: CO2 (like dry chem) does not cool the fire but it is also the most "mobile" of the extinguishing agents... an open hatch and a gentle breeze is enough to blow the co2 out of the cabin causing a reflash.

Most ships we use co2 as the primary means of extinguishing engine room fires and the uscg recommends sealing the space prior to flooding the engine room.... Then waiting at least 24 hours before reentry.

For these reasons (co2 not being compatible with life AND high risk of a reflash) I consider Dry Chem to be my primary extinguisher and I will only ever use the co2 for impossible to reach places (most probably, an oil fire in the bilge).

P.S. There is one other use for co2... A shot in the engine intake will stop your engine cold.



John Konrad

[Arthur Garfield]

Read a few weeks ago of Trailing 2 (aft port and starboard) 100 foot knoted
1/2 inch lines with attached trip lines to auto-pilot while cruising offshore.
My thinking- Why Not!

Additionally practice man overboard procedures with crew.

[Doug Brown]

Thought I would add a bit about water delivery systems for fire fighting on board.

When you have a confined fire in a locker/space, or are doing your overhaul to extinguish smoldering ambers, you can use your "garden sprayer" bottle. It is excellent for dealing with embers as you can use a fine mist that won't flood everything like a bucket might.

You can also use it to help cool a small engine compartment fire. There are a couple of attached pictures of using the sprayer on a wood/gasoline fire - same fire that the dry chemical extinguishers were used on.

While the water spray will not extinguish the burning gasoline, it can be used to extinguish the fire in the overhead and bulkheads surrounding the fire area. It both keeps them cool and helps to prevent the fire from spreading.

If you carry AFFF foam extinguishers, do NOT directly apply the foam to the burning flammable liquid. Spray it on the the engine block, the overhead or a bulkhead so that it runs/rains down onto the burning surface. Foam likes to be applied gently! You also need to stop applying foam after about 10-seconds to let it flow/float across the burning surface. If more is needed, try and discharge it on a surface that is closer to the area that is still burning.

As a side note, at Texas A&M fire school we were doing a tank fire that was located below deck, but had one opening to the deck. We applied over 600-gallons of foam into the opening before one of the instructors took pity on us and said "Shut the nozzle off". We did, the foam flowed over the entire surface, and 10-seconds later the fire was out!!!

You can also use foam and dry chemical together on a fire. The dry chem gives you rapid knock down, while the foam secures the flammable liquid from re-ignition and cools off Class A materials.

[Doug Brown]

And a couple of more foam fire fighting pictures. As mentioned, try and let the foam fall down into any burning flammable liquids (there is a container of burning gasoline inside the structure in these photos). The foam will also extinguish any fire on bulkheads, ceilings, etc.

For big fires that may be encountered in an anchorage (and many of our readers have come across these) carrying a portable water pump gives you big fire fighting capability.

The pump pictured is a 1-inch Honda pump that discharges a measure 30-gpm at a 3-ft lift. The discharge stream thru a 3/8" smoothbore nozzle is 40-feet. This pump will deal with a really good size fire, and can also be used for de-watering if flooding is occurring.

[JPA Cate]

Somebody asked if the dinghy run down by a power boat in the Caribbean that I posted about was lit. I am sorry, but I don't know, only recently learned of the injuries.

However, I would like to add that even if your dinghy has a good tricolor, mounted high, its visibility partially depends on how much of, and what color, the background lights are. Even a properly lit runabout can be hard to see at night against the background of city lights.

Prudence demands that one keep a close lookout, and keep checking astern. It's easy to do, but lots of people only look where they're going and never check in back, even if they hear engines approaching.

Ann

[Sunnyside]

We had 2 boat fires in 2 months. Remember to practice fire prevention and encourage your boat neighbors.

[gnuinecruise]

Be wary about the weather and always have your emergency kits ready.

[sestina]

SWMBO and I usually sail double handed. We use RORC's rules for when to clip on: Alone on deck, at night, when reefed, wind above 25kts, and when the visibility is below a mile.

We also rig all our leashes: The treble clip ones go on the jackstays; then there are two at the forward end of the cockpit, two more at the aft end and one right on the stern for adjusting the vane gear/having a pee.

This means we are never unclipped when moving around the boat. Also, the jackstays are doubled ie: a pair on each sidedeck, each attached to a different point. A large shackle rides on both jackstays and we clip on the the shackle, it doesn't hang up as you move up and down the sidedeck.

Though not really a safety tip, a chamois leather is very useful thing to have onboard, drying hands, polishing specs, mopping up, etc, and it never runs out of drying ability!

[boden36]

If you wear spectacles, have a retaining strap on them. (esp if like me you are blind as a bat without them!)

Regards,
Richard.

[Hydra]

If you need spectacles, have a spare pair stowed in a safe place. Even with a safety strap, the pair you use could be broken. I remember the occasion when my spectacles case fell out of my pocket and a sailor stepped on it.

Alain

[JPA Cate]

Carry suppositories to stop vomiting from seasickness. The one who is throwing up cannot keep by mouth medicines down.

Ann

[melleman]

Stay sober.