Boating – May 2018

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44 | BOATINGMAG.COM | MAY 2018

BOAT DOCTOR ///BOAT DOC SPECIAL

According to both the U.S. Coast Guard and

insurance-company claim statistics, a huge

proportion of boat fires start in the engine space.

FIXED FIRE

EXTINGUISHERS

Does your boat need a fi xed fi re-extinguishing system?

Electrical systems and

batteries are respon-

sible for triggering

52 percent of those

blazes, fuel systems get

5 percent of the blame,

and fl ammable items

coming into contact

with an overheat-

ed exhaust system

accounts for another

20 percent. That means

Class A fi res (combus-

tible materials that

leave ash), Class B fi res

(fl ammable liquids) and

Class C fi res (electrical)

are all possibilities in

the engine room. The

net result? Boats with

engine rooms need a

fi xed, automatic fi re-

extinguishing system

that can handle all three.

SIZE MATTERS

The volume of your

engine room or engine

compartment is what

determines the size of

the system you need.

“Get more than the

minimum, because the

minimum is often not

enough and more is

always better,” says Bob

Daley, a 26-year veteran

captain (retired) of the

Montgomery County

Fire Rescue. Daley’s

own boat is equipped

with three times the re-

quired extinguishers.

To fi gure out what

size system you need,

measure the length,

width and height of

your engine room and

calculate the cubic

feet. Fixed systems

are rated by cubic feet

of  coverage.

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Fixed marine fi re-

extinguishing systems

commonly contain

HFC-227 or FM-200

fi re suppressants, which

are less environmen-

tally harmful replace-

ments for old-school

Halon (which is no

longer sold). A newer

option is Novec 1230, a

3M product claimed to

be even less impactful

on the environment,

which is stored in liquid

form but discharged

as a gas. All of these

options are considered

equally ef ective at

squelching fl ames.

These systems trigger

automatically via a

temperature sensor,

and many can also be

triggered with a manual

release. It’s important

to remember, how-

ever, that if a fi xed

system triggers while

underway, you need to

react quickly to shut

of engines, blowers,

generators and other

equipment, or they may

need fresh oxygen to

restart while expelling

fi re suppressant from

the intake system.

INSTALL IT RIGHT

Fixed fi re-extinguishing

systems are usually

easy to install because

they consist of just

a few main compo-

nents: the extinguish-

er cylinder (which

usually includes the

temperature-sensitive

automatic trigger in

its nozzle) and, when

equipped with manual

abilities, the manual

discharge trigger and

the cable connecting

it to the cylinder. Here

are some key installa-

tion details:

The nozzle and

trigger should be

positioned as close to

the overhead, center-

line, and as far away as

possible from air intake

vents and blowers.

The cylinder must be

securely mounted.

Engine, generator

and ventilation-system

automatic-relay

shutdowns should

be installed and are

necessary on diesel

boats in order to ensure

ABYC compliance.

—Lenny Rudow

PHOTO: COURTESY SEA-FIRE

Fixed fi re-extinguishing

systems can be fi tted to

yachts and in the engine

space of a runabout.

QUICK TIP

When possible, choose a fi xed system over installing a port

(into which you jam the nozzle of a portable extinguisher);

ports can allow additional air into the engine compartment,

which only helps the fi re burn, and obviously, they can’t be

triggered automatically if you’re asleep or off the boat.

If your boat currently has a

portable fire extinguisher

made by Kidde between

January 1, 1973, and August

15, 2017, you need to check

immediately to make sure

it isn’t on the list of some

37.8 million plastic-handled

extinguishers recently

recalled. The affected

extinguishers can become

clogged or require excessive

force to discharge and may

fail. Visit kidde.com to learn

more or get a replacement.

PROBLEMATIC

PORTABLES