Boat explosion in Connelley

Dan, That would be for all boats!

Pete, I have to agree, theres a lot going on in the used boat market right now.
 
Hey, I just found another way to sink a boat...

Or at least it would sink it if I didn't intervene. I removed all my hoses from the motor, and set about replacing them, then stopped for the night. The next morning I was wondering where all the water was coming from. Then I noticed my dripless shaft hoses, which run from the raw water side of the heat exchanger down to the shaft boxes. Well, they don't drip, but when the rest of the hoses are disconnected they sure let in a lot of water. You see, there's a seacock on the raw water intakes, but NOTHING on the dripless shaft hoses. So if one of those breaks you'd better have a good bilge pump. Maybe they figure that the diameter of the hole is small enough that the pump can deal with the flooding until someone notices it...

Ah, we live and learn. Is there anything un-kosher about me finding some sort of brass fitting in a plumbing supply store that will fit these small hoses? I haven't found a marine part that's small enough. Any other suggestions???
 
"Is there anything un-kosher about me finding some sort of brass fitting in a plumbing supply store that will fit these small hoses? I haven't found a marine part that's small enough. Any other suggestions???"

Pete - I've been taught that there is a difference between 'brass' and 'bronze', and brass is much more subject to electrolysis or galvanic corrossion than bronze. Silicon bronze is more resistant. I'd try for bronze.
 
brass shoudl not be used below water line... it will corrode away, you need to use bronze or marelon if there are no forces being applied on the fiting.

problem is that some bronze parts are nearly impossible to find.

a few months ago, I was cleaning my AC strainer when the thing litteraly broke off the seacock. no big deal.. i was there and the 2000gph rule kept up with the flow.

turned out that there was a male/male brass nipple that was completly corroded. not sure how old it was, certainly not original. problem is that I can't find a true bronze male male nipple... only brass. even in special plumbing type of places...

so i put another brass fitting in there knowing that it's one thing i need to replace every year... unless i relocate the strainer with flexible hose so that i can use bronze hose fittings.
 
"but when the rest of the hoses are disconnected they sure let in a lot of water. You see, there's a seacock on the raw water intakes, but NOTHING on the dripless shaft hoses. So if one of those breaks you'd better have a good bilge pump."

Pete, please start a thread on ATC about this. Wider readership... Tks.
 
And what about PVC of an appropriate schedule (thickness)?
 
Pete, I'm not familiar with the dripless hose but would it be worth putting in a loop above the waterline? Also, would this need an anti-siphon device?
 
Pete, I was thinking the same thing about mine earlier this season, I just had them installed this year. Chris, the dripless shaft seals require a raw water feed from the engine which goes into the shaft seal to cool it. So there's a connection right at the shaft (below the water line), a loop wouldn't do anything unless the break was close to the engine. It's a fairly small hose so I'm not too concerned, and realistically I don't shut all my thru-hulls when I leave the boat anyway. When I do I usually forget to open them... But it is the only thing underwater that doesn't have a shutoff.
 
Exactly. Even putting a loop in the system wouldn't solve much because you're still reliant on that damn rubber hose. Its the only thing standing between you and a sunken boat. Which seems pretty stupid to me, now that I realize how the damn thing is put together...

I was excited last year when I found out I had these dripless things. Now I've come to appreciate my old boat, which lasted 30 plus years without them...

I'll take Bill's advice and go over to ATC...
 
I am so glad that I came across this site in my search. Our family boat was the Mea Lare and it was a beautiful,well-loved boat. My husband took great care of her. Two years ago we had the engines replaced with rebuilt ones and had extensive work done over the past two years due to problems with the engines. We had put on the blowers before we started that day. the engine had just stalled briefly before my husband restarted it. the other engine was running. the explosion happened in the front of the boat were fumes had accumulated , so even if the blowers were on -they would have only ventilated the back where we were. If the explosion had happened where the tanks and engines were, my family would not be here. We had many wonderful adventures on the Mea LAre - through Lake Champlain, the Chambly canal, the St. Lawrence, the Rideau Canal, the thousand Islands and were excited about going on the Erie. The boaters on the river that day were so brave and kind to us - I wish I knew the name of the man who helped me swim to a boat and get on as I had no skin left on my hands. The people on the shore/docks and the EMT's were remarkable and my family will always be grateful for all of their assistance. We are all doing well and healing. We mourn the loss of the Mea Lare.
 
Wow, Laura, so cool of you to check in. I saw posters of support at RYB when we stayed there this August. Sorry to hear about the loss of your boat but glad to hear you and your family are healing. Your story is a sobering reminder of just how dangerous trapped fuel can be.

Keep us posted on your progress.
 
Thank you! The prayers and support of the community have truly helped us through this horrific time.
 
Hi Laura,

I wish we met under different circumstances. We are in Freedom on the dock outside of where you were and a little upstream.
We are happy to hear you and your family are recovering. Hopefully it will be a complete recovery. That's the most important thing. I guess at this point you folks are still wondering what hit you as are all of us.

I'll ask around and see if there is a name I can come up with for you, but Cheryl may have a lead have you spoken with her about the folks that were around that day?
 
Glad to hear that you are all alive and healing.

Just remember that a boat can always be replaced, your family cannot.

Good luck with the recovery, hoping the best for you and your family.

Jonathan
 
"If the explosion had happened where the tanks and engines were, my family would not be here."

And how... That was my first thought seeing the picture in the Freeman - it must have been so surreal, sitting in the boat one minute and the next having it blow up all around you and there is still no fire. I am so sorry you had to endure that horror...

Laura, you have friends in a LOT of places! My friend and colleague Mike Lowell told me his wife Kathleen works (worked?) with you at some point in the teaching industry. Also, I belong to the South Hudson Tres Dias, a Christian organization, and you and your family have been on our prayer list as somebody within the organization (sorry I don't know who) knows you there as well. So you have been in my (and a lot of people's) prayers...

Your boat was so beautiful. My family and I were admiring it just a few days before it was lost. Having spent my life and livelihood keeping old boats myself I could just imagine the blood sweat and tears that went into her, and sadly there are only tears and memories left now...

I hope you and your family recovers fully and can return to boating at some point. From your explanation it sounds like you did everything right and still got caught by some unseen failure or chain of failures that led to catastrophe...

If its too painful to talk about, please don't feel pressured to, but I'm sure my fellow ROs would be interested in hearing some details about what the probable cause of the incident was and how the situation developed. We'd certainly like to learn something and perhaps your experience, tough as it might be, can be of value in avoiding future mishaps on other boats...

I was also curious as to the disposition of the boat. They cut the superstructure off and shrinkwrapped it, so I assume it went somewhere other than a scrap yard. Was that for insurance purposes? It was interesting that on occasion people would be seen investigating some part or another on the boat. I assume that was because they were trying to determine the cause of the accident. Anyway, sorry if I'm being too nosy - just thought there might be something of value for us to learn there...

Regardless, welcome to BoaterEd, Laura. I hope you and your family get back on the Rondout real soon, and that we get to meet you someday...
 
I am so grateful to all of you and your warm, caring responses and all of your prayers. I am not sure where they took the Mea Lare. My in-laws were able to get some of our personal effects from the boat, and the insurance company has not informed us of where she is now. We have not settled with them yet as they offered us far less than the value that our premiums were based on ( we had had a survey done before we bought her and they based their charges on that). My husband and I went to see her as I needed some closure ( he had been to the marina before I was released from the hospital) and she was not there which was heartbreaking for me. We have not received the report from the police/fire investigation. I am interested in what they have to say. we are puzzled as to why the explosion happened in the front. We are focusing on getting better physically and mentally. The kids are phenomenal for what they have been through. Hannah will get to go to Geneseo in January. Matt is back to work and enjoying high school. Wyatt is on the set crew for the musical Grease at Van Wyck. Thank you for welcoming me and if I can answer any questions, feel free to ask. I find it better to talk about it and am interested in any theories anyone might have. It was educational to read all the previous comments. We hope to be back on the water soon.I would also like to thank all that were on the creek that day. I will try to get ahold of Cheryl to find out the names and addresses of the "angels" that saved my family so that I can personally thank them.
 
In regard to the "angels" that so far have been nameless, I hope you track them down. However, I guarantee they helped because it was "the right thing" to do. A friend ran aground a couple of years back. At first he called Sea Tow thinking it was no big deal. When he realized he was taking on water, he put out a "mayday" just in case. Several private boaters responded and took his wife on board while SeaTow was indeed the first professional to arrive followed by local police and the USCG. The boat was a total loss but his story is comforting in knowing when poop hits the fan, fellow boaters will respond!! It reminds me of a lottery commercial (I think) in where they tried to compare the friendly wave of a boater to a friendly wave of a fellow motorist....it just doesn't happen....unless of course you're riding a Harley...but that's a different story!!
 
How true, Chris!!!

Laura, its great to hear that your family is recovering from the incident, especially the kids. Perhaps you should consider yourself lucky not to have seen the boat again - it was very depressing. The wood still shown brightly, but the upperworks was all knocked askew, and yet there was no evidence at all of fire damage. It was a very, very strange sight...

That seems odd that the boat was just taken away like that - did Certified know where it went or who took it??? Do they have authority to take it away without your knowledge. The boat was shrinkwrapped and its upperworks removed before it was transported, so it didn't look like they just haphazardly hauled it away...

Regarding possible causes, we were discussing some early on in this thread. Not knowing you (and you seem like a knowledgeable, experienced boater!) we took stabs at possibilities ranging from owner negligence to various defects/malfunctions...

Did you have a propane system onboard? Or portable gas grill tanks somewhere? Perhaps that system leaked and was ignited by a spark. Another thought was that, given the location of the fuel lines (pretty much right under where you were sitting near the cabin bulkhead) it seems possible that leaking gas vapors traveled "downhill" under the cabin sole and ignited there. My old Carver had no bulkhead dividing the engine room and the bilge spaces under the cabin, so fumes could conceivably have traveled there. My newer boat notably has that bulkhead in place, to separate the two areas...

Of course, even with the leak we still need an ignition source. Do you have any comment about the authorities' assertion that the alternators were not ignition protected (marine grade) units??? Again, not knowing you we thought that perhaps on a recent overhaul you might have replaced them with automotive units not realizing the threat of a spark igniting bilge vapors. I'll admit that news of your mishap prompted me to go check my own alternators, since I had bought the boat last year and frankly had no clue as to what the previous owner had done in that regard...

If in fact these were automotive alternators, perhaps you have a case against whoever sold them to you, if you were under the impression they were marine grade. Just a thought...

I remember another possible source was mentioned as a loose coil wire. That would be a shame, as it is so preventable, but it is also quite common and can happen easily. If we're smart we have all checked our own engines after the news of your mishap...

Regardless, I hope you get an amicable insurance settlement and get back on the water again when the time is right. Meanwhile, Godspeed and good health, and I hope the kids have great years in school!!!
 
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