Bad fire at Michigan marina

Dutch320

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2020/12/04/large-fire-burns-at-safe-harbor-toledo-beach-in-monroe-county/

LaRea

Hate to see that.  And I would not have put myself that close to a burning building full of exploding boats!  

TonyG13

"Hammond said the biggest issue they face has been getting water to put out the fire because marinas like this one are meant for getting boats in the water, not for large trucks."

They are right on one of the largest bodies of water in the world and they had a problem getting water?! Looking at the video it looks like they just didn't have enough equipment. I would think Toledo would have fire boats that could have pumped water from the lake to shore to supply the engines.

Liberty44140

That was a main heated building. Just heard that a friend of mines dads boat was in there, a 56’ sea Ray bridge. Sucks! Helicopter video from this morning shows everything in the building is completely gone. 

Dutch320

I think the new and pre owned boat market is gonna be a lot tighter in southern Michigan next year. Usually all the racks are full and all the floor space gets  filled with the boats that are to big to put on racks.

goalie59

Don't mean to be a smart **** but what is the advantage of inside storage. I wonder what the insurance industry is going to say about this moving forward 

Aqua_Aura

Inside storage is heated and out of the weather. And if it's not heated atleast it is protected from the weather. 

goalie59

I was being sarcastic, I will take my outside not protected storage any day.  

Aqua_Aura

Oh....well then 🤨. I remember when I worked at Sears you couldn't even bring a lawnmower inside with a drop of gas in it. 

Liberty44140

Inside is a no brainer for me. $200 more than outside with shrink wrap and while not heated is far warmer than being outside. I can comfortably work on the boat all winter. Boat is dry all winter, no moisture of snow and rain and no shrink wrap to work as a terrarium of enclosed moisture. My damp rid buckets get a few ounces of water at most. 

Black_Diamond

Mine stores at 55F all winter.  No winterizing. No sub-zero temp issues. Compared to outside, wrapping, winterizing...I’m at most $200 more inside too.  Best $200 going. lol

goalie59

I understand the benefits of storing indoors, it is a no brainer until there is a fire. Sure if there was a fire in an outdoor yard may take out several boats but not as many. I do wonder if all our insurance renewals are on their way up.I have had boats stored outside for over 20 years and had no issue to speak of. There are benefits of both. I feel sorry for all those lost boats and their owners.Sad day if you love boats. 

Ian

In the end each method has it’s advantages and disadvantages and like the others, I would not give up my indoor storage either.

mattie

We had an almost identical fire up our way Dec 21 2011. About an hour from Toledo Beach.
The fall out was interesting because of being a border town - there were both Canadian & US boats in storage.

Insurance companies had a field day, the claims were weird - owners made claims with their boats stored in a different country, etc. Also owners with “agreed value” insurance made out like bandits. (boat market was kinda crappy at the time) Market value boats didn’t make out so good. Some with no insurance. It was a cluster bleep.

Cause was a light fixture at the top of the bldg, it popped & lit some canvas on a boat stored high in the racks...

That said, it might be a good idea to look closer at your “agreed value” insurance. With the increase prices of new & used boats, might be super hard to replace your current boat if it is gone.

Black_Diamond

Several years ago a guy who outside stored tied his tarp off to the jackstands...big wind storm and the tarp pulled the jackstands and it was like dominoes with the boats to the side it fell. 🤣. 

Will be interesting to see if my marina cracks down on people leaving their boats plugged in with battery chargers on all the time. 

With hundreds of boats presto gone in the Det area might drive up used boat prices. 

Liberty44140

We are not allowed to leave boats plugged in after we leave for the night and we have to sign something saying we disconnected the batteries or we have to pay them to disconnect. But of course people leave their boats plugged in all the time. Generally if I get there and I see a boat plugged in but no one is aboard I yank the plug. 

TonyG13

Just wondering what the difference is between leaving the boat plugged in while in the water versus on the hard? Depending on the circumstances you could actually have more boats in closer proximity to you on the water.

Liberty44140

Every indoor storage facility I’ve been in has boats far closer together than in docks in the water. Where I am there is a boats anchor hanging over my swim platform and I’ve got 2 feet on each side. At marine Max heated it’s ridiculous, your boats stern is super low and bow super high and your neighbors anchor is hanging over your cockpit almost kissing your radar arch. It’s insane how tight they are packed. But moreover you have residual wind blowing through dispersing fumes outside in a dock or outside winter storage and indoors there is no wind to disperse anything. Much higher risk if there is a spark. 

TonyG13

Didn't think about the fume dispersal. Good point.

Used to be stored in sardine storage like you described and would have "conversations" with the owner asking him to explain how he basically gets double rent for charging for overlapping square footage from two different customers. 

The place I'm in now I have my own bay with about six feet clear on either side between boats - and it's way cheaper.