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FIRE!!!

prgrod01prgrod01 Member Posts: 53 ✭✭
in Rinker Express Cruisers Forum

We had a late first run for us this last weekend, as we are usually early May but with my winter transom replacement and covid it slipped into late June. Everything went well, engine and boat ran smooth and we were all smiles and ready to put the boat in the slip for the summer. Once we returned home to the driveway however things took a turn for the worse, I cleaned up, plugged in shore power and went inside the house… 15-20 min later there was a knock on my door and a panic neighbor telling me there was a fire in my boat! What a way to ruin an otherwise wonderful day.

By the time I got there I seen a large plume of black smoke coming from the engine bay hatch and all the vents, grabbed the smoke extinguisher and opened the hatch, once all the smoke had cleared it seemed that the fire was essentially out, only a single small flame was lingering on a pile of melted plastic.

After investigating and ripping all the charred wires out, I am 99% sure it was the shore power supply to my battery charger. The charger itself seemed fine other than heat and smoke damage, not to say it didn’t fail to cause the issue. A 3’ section of wires were burned down to the bare wires and two of the factory quick disconnects were melted together.  There were a few other wires in the same plastic wire bundle; a factory quick disconnect acting as a wire splice to the HW Tank but that breaker was turned off, fuel level and galley pump… all running along my main fuel line and transom shower hoses.

Insult to injury was the noise insulating foam on the firewall of the engine bay seems to be flammable and was charred form gunnel to gunnel. It makes a sticky, stinky mess that is going to need attention later this fall.

Got all the wiring and fuel hoses replaced (short of a new battery charger on order, just in case old one was partially at fault) cleaned up as much as possible, the stink from the smoke damage in the engine bay is the worst part, and we are ready once again to put the boat in the slip. The pictures are my attempt at the CSI style investigation of the fire on my work bench laid out as close to actual to see where the damage was. Breaker wiring is a house style solid copper 4 wire 12 gauge, battery charger was 3 wire 16 gauge. The breaker in the boat is working and did isolate the charger circuit eventually.

But I do give thanks if I was going to experience a fire that it wasn’t on the water with the family and it was relatively minor as far as damage went.


2001 Rinker 242
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