Is it just me or this is a terrible idea?

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Scorpius99eh

All VW rear-engined cars, including Beetles, used to have their gas tanks right up front. I know because mine caught fire when I T-boned a guy who ran a stop sign in front of me. Exciting!

happens sometimes
Just ask a pinto owner.

[DeepFrz]

Originally Posted by newhaul

nope the fuel tanks in vehicles are not normally in the front due to lack of space due to the engine being there. Most tanks are located towards the rear ( where most collisions impact first.)

For every/almost all rear end collisions there is a vehicle that crunched the front end first. However, the old Volkswagen had front gas tanks because the engine was in the rear. When the Volkswagen ran into something they crunched the front end first often ripping open the gas tank. Interesting thing is in colder climes there was also a gasoline powered heater located in the same area. Recipe for disaster. Besides that they tipped over easily. More on topic I personally don't think that a propane tank should be located in the same locker as the windlass motor and steel chain.

[Mike Banks]

Gas bottles under the deck and right next to a source of possible electrical sparks? Are you folks kidding me? That is a TERRIBLE idea. Gas bottles should never be below decks, and using the drained anchor well as a vented locker for the bottles is just stupid.

But hey--what the hell would I know? I like to have my gas bottles above deck at the rear of the vessel where I can attend to them easily.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

For every/almost all rear end collisions there is a vehicle that crunched the front end first. However, the old Volkswagen had front gas tanks because the engine was in the rear. When the Volkswagen ran into something they crunched the front end first often ripping open the gas tank. Interesting thing is in colder climes there was also a gasoline powered heater located in the same area. Recipe for disaster. Besides that they tipped over easily. More on topic I personally don't think that a propane tank should be located in the same locker as the windlass motor and steel chain.

the gasoline heater in the beetle looked a lot like the diesel forced air units many of us have installed.
Now the windlass is not in the same compartment as the tanks . Secondly the chain would be of little concern to me . Going into the locker it is wet and definitely not prone to sparking.

[Nikki S]

I like to turn gas off at the bottle while at sea and just turn it on for cooking. There are plenty of conditions where I would not like to go on foredeck and open chain locker before and after cooking dinner.
I also like that The bottles look much more snug in our LPG locker too.

[shane.h012]

Have they tried filling the locker with gas for a few hours and turning on the windless, because I bet the windless is not gas save from sparks in the motor..... boom!!!!!!!!

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by shane.h012

Have they tried filling the locker with gas for a few hours and turning on the windless, because I bet the windless is not gas save from sparks in the motor..... boom!!!!!!!!

look again at the picture the windlass is not mounted in the anchor locker. It is in a separate compartment.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Mike Banks

That is a TERRIBLE idea. Gas bottles should never be below decks, and using the drained anchor well as a vented locker for the bottles is just stupid.

Is this a personal opinion or from some sort of regulation? I think most of the European yachts built in the last few decades have a gas locker below deck level, often in an isolated cockpit locker which then vents over the side or stern.

What do you believe is wrong with this approach.

Pete

[ottow]

FWIW, Najad, Halberg-Rassy, Malö, Maxi and most (all?) other Scandinavian boats from 80s-90s have a gas installation similar to the OPs picture.
Gas explosions are not unheard of on these boats off course, as with any other make but to my knowledge the cause has never been determined to be this type of bottle installation.

Bar any PO/O modifications to make it less so, this installation is pretty safe.
I personally had a regulator fail on one of my gas cylinders this summer, the entire tank drained inside the anchor locker and safely out the drain. No problem at all.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by NahanniV

Can't figure out your math ?

Wouldn't at least one vehicle need to be going backwards for "MOST collisions impact (rear) first" to be true ?

Traffic engineer here, who crunches a lot of crash data.

Rear-End crashes are by far the most common type of crash. The vast majority do not include a vehicle backing up but a vehicle striking the rear of the vehicle ahead.

It's the standard terminology in the industry.

Only thing I don't care for is putting the propane that far forward means you have a very long run to get propane from the tank to the stove. In the stern is typically much closer and shorter runs are better.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Nikki S

I like to turn gas off at the bottle while at sea and just turn it on for cooking. There are plenty of conditions where I would not like to go on foredeck and open chain locker before and after cooking dinner.
I also like that The bottles look much more snug in our LPG locker too.

Perhaps part of the reason why a solenoid valve,located at the bottle,in the propane locker & operated by a switch near the appliance, is mandatory in a ABYC & BSS approved installation.

Turn the solenoid off when aboard & not cooking.
Turn the solenoid & bottle valve off when not aboard.
http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/Safe%...stallation.htm

https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/med...de%20chap7.pdf

Len

[Don C L]

I don’t see the imminent disaster others do here. It is a locker with a drain. Slamming from going upwind? Well I’d probably be sure the bottles were securely strapped in, but IME the slamming occurs elsewhere in flatter hulled boat. Collision? Well I haven’t yet run my own boat into a concrete wall or side of a freighter yet that hard so will have to get back on that one. Sparks from the windlass? Huh?
Corrosion greater up there? I’d definitely agree there. I’d probably soak them in wd-40 and wrap them in plastic! The part I don’t care for on the face of it is the windlass mount, and where is the cleat or post? The structural integrity of the whole foredeck to be able to hold the weight of the boat being thrown back in a storm is more important to me. I presume Najad has worked that out, but still I don’t care for the look of it. And then the gas line going back to the galley, is it all hidden behind a liner or cabinets? I chartered a boat once that had a leak in a fitting behind cabinetry. There was no disaster, but I found it disturbing. And as someone said, this set-up does not lend itself well to those who like to manually shut off the valve at the tank. Just my .02.

[zeehag]

if folks are slamming the bows that hard the boat will break before the propane lights. pounding can be eliminated by point of sail and by adjusting the weight carried on board so bow does not pound the seas.
boats that pound are most uncomfortable sailing.

[Woodland Hills]

What with RVs and boats and BBQs over more than 40 years, I've never had a propane tank leak and I am sure I've had hundreds. Has anyone else ever had one leak? Not heard about it happening to someone else, but had their own tank or their exchange tank leak?

[sestina]

Lots of Scandanavian boat have their LPG cylinders mounted in the anchor locker. Only real problem is the fact that those Camping Gaz cyliders rust like buggery, as there's lots of salt water up there. Also it's usually a long run of pipework back to the galley. Recently, I had to replace the pipework in a Maxi where it had gone porous in the conduit. Right PITA job!