Explosion Rips Apart Sailboat Sends Sailor to Hospital

[ranchero76]

This man was very talented to be able make nice explosion. In fact, there must be CERTAIN amount of propane in the air, no less, no more. There's famous video when guys purposely tried destroy the boat, and it actually was very hard task.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxm3uMy6MPI

And here's another article about propane explosion.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-ri...tank-exploding

So unless one is completely dumb (or let's call him "talented") and/or careless, propane is perfectly safe.

[appick]

This reminds me of a recent wanted ad in the classifieds on here. The poster was looking for a harbour freight camp stove that looked very nice and similar to those used in rv's. The same type that many people use below decks, however right in the directions they state do not use indoors, or underneath anything within 15ft.

Yes heater can be the cause but let's not forget there are many that like to use camp stoves too.

[Hoodsail]

Jim, curious if you recall the size of your CNG tanks? I have 2, each is about 37" tall (from top of valve) and 24" in diameter. Havent cooked much as yet, but hope to use the methane frequently this summer.
thnks

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by carlheintz

Propane is safe? I think not. .

You "think not"?

Well, it is approved by all the regulatory agencies providing the appliances are approved and the installation is according to their specifications.

So, it is safe when installed and used properly. The problem comes when someone disregards the safety standards.


Boating forums (including this one) are full of posts from guys bragging about how they don't bother with safety devices or standards and have gotten away with it for X number of years. Post #11 above is one example.

[Teknishn]

Will be replacing the alcohol stove with propane for cooking and heating on my boat in a couple of months when I return to the States (Bought the boat but haven't actually been onboard..and before anyone asks, it was surveyed prior to purchase). Planning for liveaboard coastal cruising on the US East Coast for the following 6-9 months.

Minimizing the risk of leaks or worse, an explosion, have been forefront in my planning the installation.

Have purchased online the major components for my designed installation: Automatic shut-off valve, 12-VDC shut-off valve, regulator and hose (plus spare),propane sniffer to be mounted at deck level in the Galley/Cabin area, brass cut-off valves to be mounted on the aft bulkhead for selecting stove or heating appliances, and fittings and bilge blower (@ S/V Alchemy...old habits die hard, so do I ).

Building a dedicated locker for the tank is going to be a challenge unless I decide to hang the tank on the pushpit (ugly, but functional, and more importantly...safer). Additionally, all propane hoses installed internal to the boat will be ran through 3/4-inch poly piping which will be vented overboard aft (if you see an old plastic classic shooting flames out its aft....that's me having a bad day ).

Probably won't met ABYC requirements on some points, or may exceed them others. Common sense is the most important factor here when dealing with any combustible gas and understanding the risks involved and knowing how to mitigate said risks.

In the planned installation, the only weak point that I see is that I will be using a cheap indoor certified stovetop unit for the first couple of weeks while I install the system (along with other work onboard getting the boat outfitted). This is because I don't know the dimensions of the currently installed alcohol stove, prefer not to guess, and therefore won't purchase a proper stovetop unit until I'm actually onboard. So, unless it's raining, I'll be cooking in the cockpit. Ahh the adventures of owning a boat!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Hoodsail

Jim, curious if you recall the size of your CNG tanks? I have 2, each is about 37" tall (from top of valve) and 24" in diameter. Havent cooked much as yet, but hope to use the methane frequently this summer.
thnks

Sheesh... that was 34 years ago! But my memory is that they looked very much like my 72 cf steel dive tanks... I kinda thought they were repurposed dive tanks, but never verified that opinion.

Sorry I can't be more specific.

Jim

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Delancey

Boat has three strand rope for lifelines...

And the jib sheets look like Home Depot clothes line. A few sort cuts?

[Gene Neill]

His teak sure looked good! LOL

[Suijin]

Pulled into the anchorage at Wrightsville Beach for a short layover on my way north and did a double take as looked around for a spot:



Covered with tarps. There was no mention as I recall of the severity of his burns, but clearly he's not back on board. I hope he recovers well. Given the force of the explosion, blowing the coachroof off, I would expect he has some other injuries as well.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by thinwater

And the jib sheets look like Home Depot clothes line. A few sort cuts?

Why nit pick? The man is injured his boat is torn apart. If you can see the sheets your eye sight is pretty good. Have some empathy.

[LEOCAT66]

Propane is never allowed onboard our boat below deck, never, under any circumstances. On deck we have a bbq and a small single Sea Swing single burner, on the stern rail, both running on small bottle gas containers. Even those two items scare me. A good friend, Bubby Hartson, had one go off in his hand while attempting to install it into its device. He was crewing in the Pensacola to Isla race. He was air lifted and totally recovered minus some scaring. The negative consequences of propane issues far out weigh the convenience positives, IMHO.

[F10]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Wrightsville Beach is having lows mid 30F to low 50F at night right now. This reads like he was either anchored or moored. This also reads suspiciously like a propane heater that was having some issues getting lit. I've seen many folks turn them on and ('click', 'click',. 'click) with the lighter until it finally lights. Wait long enough and it lights a bit more than expected.

25 years ago I had a propane water heater in my house. I was having problems with the pilot flame and main flame going out. Household water heaters have a safety valve where if the pilot flame goes out, a thermal valve shuts off the main propane supply. It takes a minute or so for the thermal valve to close after the pilot flame goes out. Well the pilot flame and main flame went out and I went to relight the pilot flame. Since the water heater was calling for more hot water the main propane flame valve was full open. The pilot was out, but had just gone out so the thermal valve had not closed to stop the flow of propane to the main burner. I went to light the pilot and at the same time I heard the main flow of the propane to the main burner (it must have been flowing for 15 seconds or so). So it was one of those cases when after you have done it, you realized you did something stupid. I lit the pilot and kaboom, I had a face full of flame. Just be careful with this stuff and don't mess around with the safeties.

[fgd3]

Leoat66's tag line: "Slightest Puff Is All It Takes And We Are Gone, Over The Horizon, To Whatever Lies Beyond, Sailing, Sailing On"

Seems really fitting for the discussion on the dangers of propane.

Fabbian