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Fire on board

Fire is the loss that gives you the fewest minutes. On a plastic boat, with diesel, gas and electricity in a small space, the first thirty seconds decide the whole vessel.

A fire extinguisher on the bulkhead beside a yacht's companionway

Where it starts

Nearly always in three places: in the galley at the gas or the cooker, in the engine space at fuel and hot parts, and in the wiring at poor or aged connections. Shore power and chargers expressly belong on that list.

What puts it out

A dry powder extinguisher on deck or by the companionway, reachable without walking through the fire. For the engine space a discharge port, so the compartment need not be opened: air is exactly what the fire would then get. Plus a fire blanket in the galley.

The order in an emergency

Wake everyone and get them on deck, lifejackets on. Shut off gas and shore power, main battery switch off. Only then fight it, and if you can aim low into the flame, not at the smoke. Make the distress call in parallel, not afterwards.

Beforehand

Gas bottle in a locker that drains overboard, hoses dated and renewed every few years, extinguishers serviced and not buried behind the stowage. And once a year go through with everyone on board who shuts off what.

Sailing manoeuvres and deck work All five topics Blue water cover

What this has to do with insurance

Fire is covered under hull insurance, and the effort is still worth it: after a fire a boat is usually a total loss, and what is replaced is the value, not the boat with its history. Check as well whether your agreed value still matches today's replacement cost, because that is exactly when it applies.

Norman Nammert Stefan Heinz Josy Olivia Jäkel

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