Boat Exploded near Ocean Isle, NC

[Rred]

Not fun. A burn ward is one of the places where I really hope I'll never need to be.

One can't help wonder if the boaters were drunk at the time. Fuel filler caps usually say GAS or FUEL or DIESEL right on them, and they're always ATTACHED to the filler hole. It is never simply a "hole in the gunwhale" that you randomly pour fuel into.

But then again, two gasoline stations in the US explode ever year, from folks who just HAD to light a cigarette while they were fueling.

 

[herman]

There isn't just a "hole in the gunwale " that you randomly put fuel in, it's a port with a screw on cap, however, once you have removed the cap and have climbed down off the boat it is very easy to get off a few inches and put the gas nozzle into the wrong hole. Careless yes but still an easy mistake to make when you are in a hurry to get to the boat ramp.

 

[Bubblesong]

I wondered if it was a rented boat and they just didn't know procedures, disconnecting spark-causing lines first etc. So here are two images of what they could have looked like:

 

[wgw04024]

The kind of boat would be nice to know. I have had 4 boats now from bow riders to walk around fishing boats. I guess I can see how you might do it, but to not realize it after 27 gallons is beyond me.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Around here the marina staff handles the fuel hose and filling of tanks to avoid spills, and possibly accidents like this.

 

[Joneill]

The kind of boat would be nice to know. I have had 4 boats now from bow riders to walk around fishing boats. I guess I can see how you might do it, but to not realize it after 27 gallons is beyond me.

I think anyone who owns a boat realizes how careless this was and that it should never happen if one is paying attention but, for whatever reason, it did in this case.

My boat has identical ports/screw covers for fuel, water and pump out - all are marked differently and fuel and water tank covers have chains to prevent loss.

However, if one is distracted or a visitor is "helping", I can see how it could happen and not be noticed for a while as the only clue might be a stronger gasoline odor.

I am perplexed by futzing with battery cables in this situation? I would have shut off the main battery switch, gotten off the boat and called emergency services - there is no way I would have stayed on a boat with that much fuel in the bilge.

Hopefully, more details will emerge so folks can learn from this and, as previously stated, all involved recover with no serious, long-lasting impacts!

 

[Altamira]

Around here the marina staff handles the fuel hose and filling of tanks to avoid spills, and possibly accidents like this.

Same here. I don't know how it is in NC, but here in TX you can be the dumbest cretin on the planet and still buy and operate the fastest Cigarette boat on the water. Operator license, training, or a brain is not required. From what I have seen of boat operators on our lake, if I was a marina operator, I would not let a boater touch the fueling equipment.

 

[KeithG]

A naive question: do boat tank fills have a whistle?

Up this way many houses utilize oil furnaces (actually it is just colored diesel fuel). Industry standard is to put a whistle in the filler. The tank is not vented so as fuel goes in air comes out the filler and you can hear the whistle.

No whistle means you stop pumping before you full somebody's basement full of diesel.

 

[DiverDownD3]

Sometimes just because you can afford expensive toys don't mean you should have them. I've been on plenty boats, owned a few. This was pure negligence that got people hurt

 

[FinnMom]

Very easily.
Many boats have the fill port along the gunwale (side top edge of the boat) and often times there are rod holder (basically holes in the gunwale) located very close to the gas fill port and often are the same basic shape, esp when viewed from above eye level. They are open to the boat bilge. On a large boat that has the gunwale above your head, it is easy to get the wrong one. I witnessed the exact same thing happen, the owner has pumped a good bit of gas into his boat in the manner described above...he realized it when the bulge pumps came on and started pumping gas into the parking lot. Luckily for all of us, it did not ignite.

Esp. if you consider how many people rent boats instead of owning them, or happen to help with gassing up the boat even though they are just a guest/friend/ some kid hired to help out at the marina. Smart people do dumb things all the time, esp. when their minds are occupied by stress, which is exactly when many of us love to take some time off and spend it on the water. Intelligent design can often help make mistakes less likely.

It's always good when you can find new, realistically implementable ways to improve safety, and this might be one of those opportunities. One or several of us should write to the boat makers/their reps and suggest this as one way they could make a better product and implement changes worthy of positive advertising.