Boat totally in flames . . .

[Expidia]

Last night I was coming off the ramp on Route 90 in Albany and saw huge plumes of smoke.

A boat being towed was completely engulfed in flames.

Sad when you see this happen.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

What the.. how does that even happen? ..Maybe he got a flat and figured this would be a theft deterrent while he went for a tire

 

[Expidia]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

What the.. how does that even happen? ..Maybe he got a flat and figured this would be a theft deterrent while he went for a tire

For those of you who might trailer without a cover, when an inconsiderate smokers (aren't they all?) flick their cigs out the window and it can lodge at the back of an open rig. As the wind fans the butt to super hot and it burns right through a gas line.

At night you see the trails of sparks when the cigs are flying. I've had many bounce off my windshield. I always use a trailerable cover.

I see many truckers doing this. One would think especially truckers would know better because those cigs cause fires in the tinder along the side of the highway. But where I am there are a lot of Canadian truckers passing through on the Adirondack Northway and they seem to be the worst offenders.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

I can tell you one way this kind of thing can happen. I had my own SHT. I had pulled the engine, and when I replaced it, I left the positive battery cable hanging too loose over the flywheel. It wound up touching the top of the flywheel. After a couple of hours of running, there was no insulation left on the cable. I was running the boat and I opened the hatch to check the idle speed adjustment and saw a shower of sparks flying out.

If I had trailered the boat like that, the positive cable would have been bouncing up and down and shorting to ground all the way home. That, combined with fumes from the carb, could easily have caused a similar fire.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

I guess the cause of the flames really does not matter ........ the results are obvious.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

I guess the cause of the flames really does not matter ........ the results are obvious.

The cause is important to those of us who don't want their boats to resemble that one

 

[Zeeter]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

Had a freind had that happen to him. He had just filled up his six gallon tank and forgot to put the cap on tight. A while down the road, he flicks out a butt and guess where it landed?
A few minutes later, he was towing an inferno. He got it unhooked but within a couple minutes it was a pile of molten aluminum.

 

[LongLine]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

Yeah, sad....Saw a guy on the X-way towing boat the other morning. (5AM) His safety chains dragging the pavement & throwing sparks all over the place. Looked like a sparkler. Don't know how he couldn't hear it. Got up next to him, honked & pointed. Guess which finger he pointed back at me?

Tom B.
(LongLine)

 

[Numlaar]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

WOW!

I hope it was insured...

thats definitely a bad day!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

WOW!

I hope it was insured...

thats definitely a bad day!

Or a good day, if this is what the owner had wanted to happen!

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

At least most of the boat season is over...If hes got insurance he may be in the water again before labor day yet.

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

Yes but did he have a good day boating? Thats what I want to know
Well maybe he blew the engine and its an insurance job, ever thought of that?? There Are people who do things like that ya know!!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

That's what I was implying in my post above Waven

 

[oursanity]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

Another possibility could be they had wing nuts on there battery terminals. From what I understand, wing nuts are never recommended to be used on battery terminals because hand tight can sometimes not be good enough and they can vibrate loose while trailering the boat. A little spark with the fumes already in the bilge could cause a problem.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

A sad sight but not as sad as it may have been if it happened on the water.

 

[jakebrake]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

it'll be on ebay real cheap. or on craigslist as a "needs t.l.c." ad.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

it'll be on ebay real cheap. or on craigslist as a "needs t.l.c." ad.

HAHAHAHA!!! You know it's true!

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

Reminds me of the thread "I bought a boat and it busted" or was that "Roasted"?

I always install a battery selector switch and make sure it is in the off position prior to towing. After having the outdrive mysteriously lower one time while towing was reason enough to install one. The switch was cheaper than the fix on the outdrive.

Speculation on what caused it, would be hard to say. Did the owner do his own maintenance? Did he over fill or spill fuel prior to going to the ramp? Did he have a tire or wheel bearing go bad and go to get parts while someone torched his boat? Did he burn the impeller up and loaded an extremely overheated engine in his boat back on the trailer?

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

I saw a boat in flame on the side of a highway on a hot summer afternoon too. My first thought was a cig. butt landed on the boat, but it could be lot of things. When I used to smoke, ash and butts go into the ashtray when towing, everyone must obey or walk. I don't smoke anymore but the rule still stands. I had a friend in college that showed up on campus on move-in day with half of his stuffs burned up. His sister flicked a butt out the window and it landed in the back of the truck.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat totally in flames . . .

For those of you who might trailer without a cover, when an inconsiderate smokers (aren't they all?)

Inconsiderate smoker...I think that is redundant!