Chopstick
06-02-2005, 11:11 AM
<font color="blue">I picked this up in the Florida Sportsman Magazine fishing forum. </font color>
I just talked to a friend who took an obviously inexperienced buddy fishing this weekend. They went to the marina (via water) to fill up the tank. The boat owner gave the credit card to the dockmaster who gave the pump to the buddy who put the pump in the rod holder and pumped away. Unbelievable. Anyway, not having any friends quite that moronic I told him I would ask around what to do. He has already pumped and drained water into and out of the bilge. I also told him he should leave all access hatches open to let it air out. Any other ideas, besides not letting that guy on the boat again?
<font color="blue">Everyone thought it must be a hoax until this guy responded </font color>
Unforetunately it isn't a hoax the boat the blew up was in Pompano Beach at the 14th street ramp. A couple of inexperienced boaters in a borrowed boat filled a rod holder and gas which went into the bilge. It blew up after launch, both men burned pretty badly, boat a total loss. This happens more than you would think. I work in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Response field, at least 3 times in the last year we have be called out to remove fuel from the bilge of a boat on a trailer where fuel was either pumped into a rod holder or some other non fuel related area. This doesn't include any on the water incidents. Never underestimate man's ability to do those things we all assume everyone knows NOT to do. Last fall I responded to a 45' twin Mercruiser powered yacht on the ICW in Hollowood where the gas tank/s leaked into the bilge and the owner blew out all the windows and burned himself pretty good by using a shop vac to clean up the leaked fuel. Their are lots of people who do stupid things for no apparent reason. People need to think about what they are doing when handling gasoline it can be deadly. Gasoline is very flammable, Gasoline Vapors are very explosive.
<font color="blue">A shop vac to suck out the gas??? </font color> http://floridasportsman.com/art/eek3.gif
I just talked to a friend who took an obviously inexperienced buddy fishing this weekend. They went to the marina (via water) to fill up the tank. The boat owner gave the credit card to the dockmaster who gave the pump to the buddy who put the pump in the rod holder and pumped away. Unbelievable. Anyway, not having any friends quite that moronic I told him I would ask around what to do. He has already pumped and drained water into and out of the bilge. I also told him he should leave all access hatches open to let it air out. Any other ideas, besides not letting that guy on the boat again?
<font color="blue">Everyone thought it must be a hoax until this guy responded </font color>
Unforetunately it isn't a hoax the boat the blew up was in Pompano Beach at the 14th street ramp. A couple of inexperienced boaters in a borrowed boat filled a rod holder and gas which went into the bilge. It blew up after launch, both men burned pretty badly, boat a total loss. This happens more than you would think. I work in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Response field, at least 3 times in the last year we have be called out to remove fuel from the bilge of a boat on a trailer where fuel was either pumped into a rod holder or some other non fuel related area. This doesn't include any on the water incidents. Never underestimate man's ability to do those things we all assume everyone knows NOT to do. Last fall I responded to a 45' twin Mercruiser powered yacht on the ICW in Hollowood where the gas tank/s leaked into the bilge and the owner blew out all the windows and burned himself pretty good by using a shop vac to clean up the leaked fuel. Their are lots of people who do stupid things for no apparent reason. People need to think about what they are doing when handling gasoline it can be deadly. Gasoline is very flammable, Gasoline Vapors are very explosive.
<font color="blue">A shop vac to suck out the gas??? </font color> http://floridasportsman.com/art/eek3.gif