Originally Posted by RichardV6
Originally Posted by Paul F
Originally Posted by Peter J
The way that fire spread so quickly does make me wonder if there was some "accelerant" involved.


Fibreglass burns rather well.

In the 70’s, my parents bought a 16’ cabin cruiser to see if canals and boating could be the family holiday and hobby. It was soon apparent that:
1) We all enjoyed canals, rivers and boating
2) A 16’ cabin cruiser was way too small for a mainly of five

The next step was to sell the plastic boat and use the cash (plus some) to buy a 40’ steel narrow boat hull. We sold the cabin cruiser locally and the new owner kept it at the same place. Soon afterwards, it was stolen and taken 200 yards up the cut and set alight. All that remained was the stainless steel sink - the fibreglass hull just burnt to nothing very quickly - including the parts below the water line.

The next day, we viewed the sad remains and my mother (always the tactful member of the family) announced in a very loud voice “The idiot didn’t have it insured”. There was silence. Of 30+ boats at Longwood boat club (including some nice 50’ narrow boats), ours was the only one that was insured.

Insurance for IW boats mandatory now if only to obtain mandatory licence. This applies to boats in marinas as well.


That is good news.

There were all sorts of horror stories in the 70's.

Including the one about the old boy with a BCN tug equipped with a single cylinder Bolinder. He sailed merrily into a winding hole to turn round one day and there was something in fibreglass tied to the end of the winding hole. He wound it down a notch and selected reverse ( on a Bolinder, which is a 6 litre single cylinder 2 stroke diesel, reverse is achieved by changing the timing and the engine stops, bounces off TDC and restarts in the other direction). Being a Bolinder, this was one of the times when it didn't reverse. Our hero failed to notice this fact and wound it up to full chat. The fibreglass thing was cleaved in two. Our hero, lacking insurance, made a speedy getaway. It is possible that some ale had been consumed.

Last edited by Paul F; 30/05/22 05:28 PM. Reason: Auto correct failure spotted

Paul
Costock, UK
Plus Four 75th - Furka Rouge - Pip
Disco 5
Teddy - 17h1 Irish Draught cross