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Cut the Chances
You and Your Boat Will Be a Victim of Fire
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Key areas to prevent fire on your
boat
- Do you maintain your boat in a seaworthy condition at
all times? For example, do you have marine-grade wiring
used whenever electrical repairs or additions are needed?
- Do you regularly inspect connections, hoses and cables,
replacing them if any wear is evident?
- Are walking surfaces covered with slip-resistant material?
- Do you have fire extinguishers located in easily accessible
areas and are they rated for marine use?
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What can you do to minimize your chances of being the cause or
victim of a fire? We'll tell you how.
Get dispassionate
First, forget everything else about your boat — why you bought
it, why you love it, all the great times you've had on it. Look
at your boat with a dispassionate eye. Focus on each area. Go through
a mental checklist of its condition, asking yourself whether your
boat can pass tough scrutiny for fire safety.
Make these steps part of your boating routine
- Never use extension cords anywhere on your boat. Never string
them from your boat through the marina.
- Never leave battery chargers on and unattended.
- Never use any portable heater, including electric ceramic heaters,
to protect your boat during winter lay-up. Portable electric heaters
are one of the leading causes of marina and boat fires and should
never be used on a boat.
- Never leave a light bulb burning on your boat in your absence.
This is very dangerous because it creates the possibility of explosion
as vapor builds up in the boat. It also presents a wiring overheat
hazard.
- Always top off gas tanks before winter lay-up periods to help
prevent build-up of highly volatile gas vapors.
- Always remove other volatile explosives, such as propane tanks,
from boats during lay-up.
- Never use hibachis or grills inside marinas or boats. Instead,
use grills normally provided by the marina at picnic sites, or
grills made specifically for use on a boat and then only in strict
accordance with manufacturer’s directions.
- Never smoke in marina sheds or in boats where vapors may accumulate.
- Never smoke in your bunk.
- Never store or transport gasoline on boats in other than permanently
installed fuel tanks.
- When refueling dockside, always run blowers per the manufacturer’s
directions. Before starting the engine, check for vapor build-up.
Use your nose! Do not rely solely on vapor detectives. Better
take the extra time now and let the boat in line behind you wait
for another minute or two. They will appreciate your safety consideration.
- Remove lead-acid type batteries for storage and recharging,
or use adequate ventilation and follow manufacturer’s directions
for recharging onboard. Again, never leave battery charger on
and unattended. (If your batteries need constant charging, you
need new batteries!)
Electric Heaters
Remember that electric service on a dock is not reliable so do
not depend on an electric heater to protect your boat. When properly
winterized, your boat will not need dangerous and often unreliable
half-measures such as heaters and light bulbs burning in your absence.
Improper use of electric heaters is one of the leading causes of
boat fires. And once your boat is burning, it will likely spread
to other boats in your shed or storage yard, and can quite possibly
burn down the entire marina, resulting in loss of life and significant
property damage.
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