Fire extinguisher replacement

[Carduelis]

The extinguishers on my boat are 10ys old and have no evidence of having been serviced by the DPOs. As it seems to be as cheap to replace them as to have them refilled/serviced I'm going to buy new ones.

As the boat is supposedly CAT A., I'm assuming that there is a stipulation as to how many/how big they should be. Can anyone tell me how I find this out?

 

[William_H]

No one seems to be replying. If Cat A is the top ocean racing category then the number required will be specified by the UK racing authority.

Here in oz it is all specified in the Racing Rules of Sailing known as the Blue Book. For the top ocean racing category it requires 2 extinguishers of a rating " 10 BE' i don't know what 10BE means except that for smaller boats a rating of 5BE is acceptable. This applies to both CO2 and dry powder extinguishers. Presumably 10BE is a bigger extinguisher than 5BE.
They must be tested/ serviced yearly. good luck olewill

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
If Cat A is the top ocean racing category

[/ QUOTE ] Category A as defined in the "Recreational Craft Directive" Another bit of bureaucratic over legislation forced upon us by the European Union I think you will find Will.
[ QUOTE ]
Category A - Ocean: Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8 (Beaufort scale)
and significant wave heights of 4m and above but excluding abnormal conditions, and vessels largely self-sufficient.
Category B - Offshore: Designed for offshore voyages where conditions up to, and including, wind force 8 and
significant wave heights up to, and including, 4m may be experienced.
Category C - Inshore: Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and rivers where
conditions up to, and including, wind force 6 and significant wave heights up to, and including, 2m may be
experienced.
Category D - Sheltered: Designed for voyages on sheltered coastal waters, small bays, small lakes, rivers and
canals where conditions up to, and including, wind force 4 and significant wave heights up to, and including, 0.3m
may be experienced, with occasional waves of 0.5m maximum height, for example from passing vessels.

[/ QUOTE ]

It does cover firefighting equipment but I have not managed to find the details.

A.5.6.2 Fire-fighting equipment
Doc ID : 9094-1:2003 Doc Status: EN ISO
Fire protection - Craft with hull length of up to and including 15 m

A.5.6.2 Fire-fighting equipment
Doc ID : 9094-2:2002 Doc Status: EN ISO
Fire protection - Craft with hull length of over 15m and up to 24 m

Are the relevant sections. They each cost £106 to buy

If Naybr has a spare week or so he can easily wade through it all and find the answer for himself but I guess he is hoping someone can point him in the right direction. **

The RYA should be able to answer the question!. Well worth the annual subs!

**Actually i have come to the conclusion you either have to buy the documents or pay an annual subscription in excess of £400 in order to down load them

I have sneaking suspicion it then says "appropriate firefighting equipment"

 

[Nigel_Ward]

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/07/17321/22385

This Scottish Fire service notice gives the number and rating they recommend.

The extinguishers have to add up to the total fire rating given.

 

[Carduelis]

Wow - complicated isn't it? So my conclusion is that 3 x 1kg dry powder extinguishers are the minimum requirement for my 11m Bene - as long as I sail in Scotland that is ...

Actually, I think I'll go for 2 x 2kg and a 1kg one in the forepeak. I seem to recall a reg. about having one in each cabin. Don't know where, but it seems a sound idea.

Anyway, thanks as ever for the info.

 

[VicS]

The Scottish thing makes no reference to the RCD categories One is based on length the other on conditions.

Heavens knows what the fire ratings of the extinguishers are.

All this bullshit and nowhere can you find clearly stated how many extinguishers you should have or what size they should be, nor it seems can you read what the RCD actually says without parting with shed loads of dosh.

I reckon you should ask the RYA directly. They have masses of stuff on-line that tells you bu§§er all that's useful as far as I can see. Afterall
"The Department of Trade and Industry has confirmed the appointment of the RYA as a Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) Notified Body for the UK. "
they tell us

 

[theforeman]

unless your yacht is coded for commercial use ( and since you are asking this question, i`m assuming it isn`t ) and leaving aside any insurance considerations, i believe there are are only recommendations for the the carriage of fire fighting equipment on private yachts. these can be found in the rya booklet " boat safety handbook ". the version i have is c8/02 - there may be a more up to date edition.
basically for a vessel in cat a the recommendations are ( or were )

3 multi purpose extinguishers, min rating 5a/34b for a yacht fitted with either a galley OR carrying fuel for an engine.

for vessels fitted with both the above - an additional extinguisher of same minimum rating.

with an engine of more than 25hp - an automatic or semi automatic fire fighting system installed so as to discharge in the engine compartment.

additionally, for all vessels, at least one multi purpose extinguisher of min rating 113a/113b.

it is also recommended that a fire blanket is carried.

your idea of having them near the cabin doors is of course also recommended.

hth.

 

[peterb]

[ QUOTE ]
Heavens knows what the fire ratings of the extinguishers are.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you mean that you don't know what ratings are required, or that you don't know what the ratings mean?

 

[VicS]

Nigel wards link gave a table of required ratings but did not know what the ratings meant.
I have since found out!

 

[Tranona]

Your best source is the MCA standards for coding charter boats, which from memory are similar to the RYA recommendations.