Fire got to within 4 boats of my friend.
Shorepower connection defect is suspected as cause of fire.
Just another example of how destructive electrical equipment can be.
Lew
A few years ago, a couple of Maine teen-agers broke into the boat shed at a marina in the dark of night. Their plan was to steal some radios from the moored boats.
Half-way through their escapade, they noticed the video cameras. Nothing for it but to burn down the whole building!
Of course the recording device was up the hill at the marina's office. It took the local cops about two minutes to identify the culprits. The 17-year old was sentenced to five years probation (after restitution).
The Secret Service got involved with the 16-year old. Seems as if one of the boats damaged by the fire belonged to George H.W. Bush. The younger miscreant was found to be a delinquent after having been charged with an act of terrorism.
He's incarcerated at the only maximum security juvenile center (somewhere in Pennsylvania) until he's twenty-one and has to reckon with a few hundred drunken Indians.
Oh well.
See...there is always a use for drunken Indians
"Lew Hodgett" wrote
Perhaps the electric was part of the cause, but I'll bet someone had a propane fueled heater aboard the first one to go up, as there were reports of explosions.
You gotta use CNG, or the fuel vapors gather in the hull and then all that is needed is an electrical spark of other source of ignition.
--------------------------------- Not a live aboard sailor I see.
The in the water boats were in for the winter.
Translation:
Bubblers or "ice-eater" props rotating to keep water from freezing around hull.
Those living aboard for the winter would be using electric for heat and cooking.
Diesel fired hydronic (hot water) heaters on larger boats.
Quite common to have multiple 120V, 30 amp services on live aboard vessels.
In any case, open flame heaters in a small space like a boat interior would at best be suicidal.
Carbon monoxide poisoning would be a real possibility.
As far as CNG is concerned for recreational marine applications, was tried and died a slow death more than 30 years ago for two reasons.
Here in the USA, there were simply not enough refueling stations to make it feasible.
Outside the USA, liquid petroleum, propane, kerosene and diesel are the readily available fuel sources, not CNG.
Gasoline is limited to outboards and small stink boats that stay tied up to the dock.
Electrical shore power connections are notorious for failing under load in the marine environment, especially when salt air is involved.
Propane tanks are either kept in propane lockers with a bottom vent or lashed on deck in the open air.
In either case a certified electrically operated propane safety valve is installed next to the low side of the pressure regulator which is connected directly to the tank on the high pressure side.
Exploding tanks (propane or gasoline) can most likely be attributed to being overheated by burning materials near a tank.
Fortunately there was no loss of life.
Property can be replaced.
We'll just have to wait for the reports.
Lew
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