Fire Sinks Our Hans Christian

[Seahunter]

My thoughts, the minimum USCG requirements are solely a shade shy of reality. We have triple the requirement; now we're doubling what we have. As my father, now long past used to say; __it Happens.

[NorthPacific]

Not to steal a thread but I have a small 25ft 30 year old boat. Blue water soon, finding it difficult to find insurance Any Ideas? This thread could have been me. Same logic, same beef for the every increasing premiums with tighter clauses.

Sorry for your loss it shook me up to hear about it.

[MikeTurner]

I read this post about a month ago, and just yesterday had a similar incident, fortunately not with such tragic results.

Engine was hard-starting so had to crank a bit to get it going. Went below for routine post-start check, could smell electrical overheating and had wisps of smoke at the starter. Was unable to stop engine with fuel cut-off - suspect starter was keeping the engine turning over when I cut the fuel and then re-engaging. Finally was able to stop engine by turning off battery selector switch and then using fuel cut-off. Starter was smoking quite a bit by the time I got her shut down.

I have a separate thread on this running on the engine section of the website.

Post-incident examination showed that the wire coming from the key start to the solenoid, had melted thru and shorted out against the positive post on the solenoid. So, the solenoid was always getting juice, so the starter stayed engaged. I think I was moments away from a fire when I cut the electric. I wouldn't have thought to do it, but for reading this thread.

The starter was too hot to touch, laser thermometer showed starter body heat of 215 degrees about five minutes after shut down.

I've pulled the starter and will be taking it to a shop tomorrow to see if it can be repaired or is too far gone. Will be replacing the cable from the battery switch to the starter, as it shows some corrosion at the starter end and I think may have been a contributing factor to my hard-starting problem and also to the starter positive post heating up, melting the key cable and leading to the short. Also will be replacing a bit of the end of the key cable to replace the damaged section.

One question I have - if I take this opportunity to install a dedicated switch for the starter - I understand I'd leave this switch in the "Off" position when not running the engine. But would I also turn the switch to "Off" once the engine had started, also to prevent any unintended starter engagement once the engine is running? Or leave the switch "On"?

Many thanks to the original poster - sorry for your loss, but your lesson I think may have saved my boat.

[delmarrey]

I'll just say congrats on the save and goto the other thread. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...uit-74781.html

But to add I've seen starters where the armature shaft was so rusty that the bendex gear had stuck engaged and cooked the starter mechanically.

[bazzer]

Wow, you were lucky, but this could have been avoided if your electrical system had been inspected for old and chaffed wiring. Exposed electrical studs can be coated with liquid electrical tape. I just found some exposed wires on one of my 110v outlets. The tip of my speargun was very close to it.
You might have ruined your starter and even the ring on the flywheel. Only switching the battery off saved your boat IMHO. You might consider the installation of a manual fuel cutoff
Let us know what happens

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by MikeTurner

One question I have - if I take this opportunity to install a dedicated switch for the starter - I understand I'd leave this switch in the "Off" position when not running the engine. But would I also turn the switch to "Off" once the engine had started, also to prevent any unintended starter engagement once the engine is running? Or leave the switch "On"?

I don't see why the starter needs any current from the battery once the diesel engine is started up. I actually just installed two on/off switches in addition to the typical "1/2/off/both" switch.

[SV.Maverick]

Dolphins,
I am very sorry for your loss and i'm glad that you and Jennifer are going to get another boat. Many women would be done after that. I also share your love of the Hans Christian 44 pilot house and think it would be one of the best world cruisers. I think if you got Jennifer inside one she would change her tune!