30' Velocity Bilge Redo...
#1
30' Velocity Bilge Redo...
Haven't wanted to post anything until insurance was complete and we had a plan moving forward, but over Memorial Day, we had a small fire in the bilge and we are now in the process of pulling everything apart and getting the boat repaired.
Coming back from a gorgeous day at the sandbar, I heard a sound change in the exhaust note and when I turned back to look, I could smell the burning rubber and see the white smoke coming from the bilge vents. I immediately backed off the throttles and shut the port motor down. We idled for a bit and I slowly cracked the hatch as I suspected a minor burn through on the rubber exhaust hose. As we idled along I quickly noticed the smoke was not diminishing and the starboard motor was now beginning to choke on the smoke. I shut the 2nd motor down and began to flag down a friend close by. At that point the smoke went from white to black and it was then I knew we had a fire. I made the decision to get the family in the water and away from the boat as I wasn't sure how much time we had before it spread or caught a fuel line. By now, my friend was turned around and heading for us, and I quickly grabbed a second life jacket and followed the rest of my family in the water. All this time, I knew the boat was equipped with a Halon suppression tank, but wasn't sure at what point it would release. After about 15 seconds in the water, the Halon tank released and the fire quickly went out.
The entire event probably lasted about 3-4 minutes, and it's something I never want to experience again. Thankfully, we were in the channel and had friends nearby. There was no other boat traffic, and the weather was still nice. Both my kids had jackets on, and no one was hurt. For a bad situation, we had the best case scenario of events that followed after the initial fire.
Since then, I was able to get the boat on the trailer and back to the house safely. My first call was to the insurance company and my second was to Kenny Hohwiesner w/ LTB Performance. Kenny picked up the boat from me last week, and it's now at the shop being torn down. I went out Saturday and he and I pulled the rear hatch off, the motors are coming out today. Some of the initial pictures are below, along with some from Saturday.
Best I can tell, the starboard manifold on the port motor was starved from water. The paint on the manifold is completely blistered and there is no rubber hose left to the tips. The port side exhaust looks normal, so I am fairly certain the motor did not overheat. I never had an overheat alarm, and I don't remember seeing a high temp on the gauge. Since then, both motors have fired off, so I don't believe they are hurt other than some wiring.
Plan is to redo the bilge in all white epoxy, and replace any of the damaged wiring. The transom assemblies are being replaced with new XR transoms, and the motors...well, those are up in the air...hopefully, there will be a little more HP going back in once complete. Drives are off and are in the back of my truck. They will go down to Craig Colabella for a once over and paint. Props will be going to Rich Junker for a little tune up also, once we know what power is going back in.
Once we got it back on the trailer...
Coming back from a gorgeous day at the sandbar, I heard a sound change in the exhaust note and when I turned back to look, I could smell the burning rubber and see the white smoke coming from the bilge vents. I immediately backed off the throttles and shut the port motor down. We idled for a bit and I slowly cracked the hatch as I suspected a minor burn through on the rubber exhaust hose. As we idled along I quickly noticed the smoke was not diminishing and the starboard motor was now beginning to choke on the smoke. I shut the 2nd motor down and began to flag down a friend close by. At that point the smoke went from white to black and it was then I knew we had a fire. I made the decision to get the family in the water and away from the boat as I wasn't sure how much time we had before it spread or caught a fuel line. By now, my friend was turned around and heading for us, and I quickly grabbed a second life jacket and followed the rest of my family in the water. All this time, I knew the boat was equipped with a Halon suppression tank, but wasn't sure at what point it would release. After about 15 seconds in the water, the Halon tank released and the fire quickly went out.
The entire event probably lasted about 3-4 minutes, and it's something I never want to experience again. Thankfully, we were in the channel and had friends nearby. There was no other boat traffic, and the weather was still nice. Both my kids had jackets on, and no one was hurt. For a bad situation, we had the best case scenario of events that followed after the initial fire.
Since then, I was able to get the boat on the trailer and back to the house safely. My first call was to the insurance company and my second was to Kenny Hohwiesner w/ LTB Performance. Kenny picked up the boat from me last week, and it's now at the shop being torn down. I went out Saturday and he and I pulled the rear hatch off, the motors are coming out today. Some of the initial pictures are below, along with some from Saturday.
Best I can tell, the starboard manifold on the port motor was starved from water. The paint on the manifold is completely blistered and there is no rubber hose left to the tips. The port side exhaust looks normal, so I am fairly certain the motor did not overheat. I never had an overheat alarm, and I don't remember seeing a high temp on the gauge. Since then, both motors have fired off, so I don't believe they are hurt other than some wiring.
Plan is to redo the bilge in all white epoxy, and replace any of the damaged wiring. The transom assemblies are being replaced with new XR transoms, and the motors...well, those are up in the air...hopefully, there will be a little more HP going back in once complete. Drives are off and are in the back of my truck. They will go down to Craig Colabella for a once over and paint. Props will be going to Rich Junker for a little tune up also, once we know what power is going back in.
Once we got it back on the trailer...
Last edited by ziemer; 06-15-2015 at 02:46 PM.
#3
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Location: England
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Sorry to hear of your experience and Im glad you all got out safely and no one was hurt.
It sounds like the boat is in safe hands now and I look forward to seeing the progress in photos.
Jon
It sounds like the boat is in safe hands now and I look forward to seeing the progress in photos.
Jon
#4
Registered
Sorry about the fire but sounds like you will soon have it as good or better then before the fire and no one was hurt.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Padraig
Good luck and keep us posted.
Padraig
Last edited by Padraig; 06-15-2015 at 05:11 PM.
#6
Motors are out and breakdown of bilge and transom assemblies will be done tomorrow. Believe the water fitting on the transon assembly was the root cause as it was almost completely blocked. I'll post some pics shortly. Btw, I will have a pair of 502 MPI's for sale. Complete drop in minus exhaust.