Big Boats Burn in Broward

Kinda looks like the Hindenburg
Sad

When boat building FR (fire retarding} polly resin is only2 or 3 cents a pound more.

The burn rate of oak is 100, the rate of cheap polly resin 500, FR brings the burn rate down to 100.

With additives the rate can be brought down to 10.

Large Charter boats and most commercial users require FR resin .

Every industry learns the hard way about fire. Space, flight, buildings, etc. Boats pretty far down the list.

Safety regulations are written in blood...

What is the burn rate of steel plate? Even steel boats burn......... Fire resistant resin is not the answer.

Steel hulls generally won't burn, but given enough other flammable stuff to get a hot fire going, they can melt. Aluminum is more likely to get burned away.

FR resin won't necessarily save the boat, but the slower the hull (and ideally the stuff in it) burns, the more easily a fire can be fought before the boat is destroyed or starts catching stuff around it on fire.

FR resin may not be THE answer but as already pointed out all it has to do is slow the burn and the spreading rate and that could be a life saver, a property saver and the on fire boat saver.

If you really study even our building regulations the build is not fire proof but resistant so the rate of burn and the spread rates are slower. Nothing is fire proof under the right circumstances.

One thing I would be cautious about with FR resin is to use an additive that does not cause the trouble that Uniflite ran into. THat FR resin, which ever it was, destroyed their business. They may have gone under due to business problems but that resin sealed their fate.

"Fire resistant resin is not the answer."


Fire Retarding resin could be your boats salvation IF the boat in the next slip is burning.

Once there is fuel buring in the water, everything it touches will get scorched. I guess it depends on whether you are talking about repairable or a constructive loss.

If one boat burns next to another, even on stands, on the hard, the radiant heat will destroy the strength of the resins on the side with the fire and probably destroy the neighboring boats.

F.R. resin is a good thing but is it the answer ? No.. If every boat built from here forward was with F.R. resin it would be many years before they could make an impact, maybe never.

What we need now is better understanding of boat fires and we need to address the problems. Overheated electrical systems, poor breakers, poor refueling policy at some marinas. How do you address the "idiot factor"? Smoking in bed, drinking and driving, etc.
Then we could look at a local level of fire fighting or suppression. I think most marinas have a decent portable fire extinguisher at the fueling station but little if anything at each finger dock. Seriously, what good is a 10 pound fire extinguisher 100 feet from a boat?

Personally, my boat is overstocked with good fire extinguishers but I am aware that most would quickly become inaccessible in the event of a real fire on board. Maybe I could help a neighbor if I happen to be around.

I think every marina should have some high quality, high quantity portable fire fighting equipment accessible

pete

On 25 June 1966, the Navy had a wood hulled minesweeper (about 170 feet long and 950 tons) have a fire in the machinery space in San Juan Puerto Rico.
The crew fought the fire for 9 hours before it capsized and sank at the pier.
Build cost about 9M in 1954 dollars.
She was raised but too severely damaged and scrapped.
I was stationed on a sweep on the West Coast.
We were always alert for the potential of a fire; oil soaked oak will burn very hot and fast.

Billr2019 said:

On 25 June 1966, the Navy had a wood hulled minesweeper (about 170 feet long and 950 tons) have a fire in the machinery space in San Juan Puerto Rico.
The crew fought the fire for 9 hours before it capsized and sank at the pier.
Build cost about 9M in 1954 dollars.
She was raised but too severely damaged and scrapped.
I was stationed on a sweep on the West Coast.
We were always alert for the potential of a fire; oil soaked oak will burn very hot and fast.

Click to expand...

As I recall, they were little bitty boats too. These days the mine sweeps are longer than a 1944 destroyer.

950 tons and 170 feet is small and they were slow; 15 knots max and with 4 V-12 diesels they were thirsty too!
Sweeps these days are actually mine countermeasures and not just sweeps.
Also glassed over the hull.