Ben Dockrell 22
New member
he was possibly answering the wrong post of his
We discovered the diamond pattern was integral to the grp and can be seen on the deck so its not asbestos.
GRP And Fire ?
- Thread starter Ben Dockrell 22
- Start date
We discovered the diamond pattern was integral to the grp and can be seen on the deck so its not asbestos.
neilf39
Active member
Looks like you have a load of painted polystyrene sheet attached which has been attacked by age and the odd bit of solvent and/or heat. Is it lining the engine compartment as sound proofing? How solid is it?
Ben Dockrell 22
New member
Hello Neil
1 cm thick around engine compartment.
1 cm thick around engine compartment.
Ben Dockrell 22
New member
What you see in the photos of the engine compartment is about the worst part of it.
sailorman
Well-known member
is polystyrene good for fire stopping then
tom_sail
New member
Completely off thread
may I ask what stearing at goats involves? As said in your signature?
I'm intrigued?
may I ask what stearing at goats involves? As said in your signature?
I'm intrigued
?
Last edited:
prv
Well-known member
prv
Well-known member
Well, exactly.
It's a phrase my mother used to use when somebody suddenly said something that had nothing whatsoever to do with the subject of conversation.
I pointed out that you had a water trap, not an oil bottle. You replied to that specific post to say that you had more pictures on the way. The one thing has nothing whatsoever to do with the other - do you see?
If you had made a general reply to the thread, or a reply to someone else's post asking for more pictures, it would have made sense. As a reply to my post about water traps, it was a complete non-sequiteur.
Pete
Tranona
Well-known member
That charred bit does not look like GRP. The pattern might just be incidental. Suspect it is some form of insulation. Seems like you are clearing out the engine bay - so just remove the offending material.
William_H
Well-known member
Polystyrene
As I understand it Polystyrene can burn and gives off very poisonous gasses if it does so.
Fibreglass when it burns leaves a very characteristic glass fibre remains. Especially obvious if glass cloth has been used. As said from the photos I think it is the sound insulation polystyrene that has become discoloured and generally manky with age and should be removed.
The unsightly fibreglass under the cockpit floor of course is the rough side of a fibreglass layup. This is sometimes painted with a flow coat to make it look better but his is not necessary in un exposed places so quite normal. If it worries you paint with flow coat. good luck olewill
As I understand it Polystyrene can burn and gives off very poisonous gasses if it does so.
Fibreglass when it burns leaves a very characteristic glass fibre remains. Especially obvious if glass cloth has been used. As said from the photos I think it is the sound insulation polystyrene that has become discoloured and generally manky with age and should be removed.
The unsightly fibreglass under the cockpit floor of course is the rough side of a fibreglass layup. This is sometimes painted with a flow coat to make it look better but his is not necessary in un exposed places so quite normal. If it worries you paint with flow coat. good luck olewill
neilf39
Active member
When I said how solid, I meant if you poked it with a finger is it spongy or solid, rather than how thick. 1cm is not much for sound proofing but possibly, depending on location, for insulating against condensation.
If it yeilded to moderate finger pressure then it wouldn't be fibreglass and more likely some sort of foam to act as insulator/sound proofing. If it feels warm to touch then it is definitiely an insulating layer of some sort.
Hard to know what sort of foam it is from the picture but if it is not fire-retardant, and polystyrene certainly isn't (nasty in fire; melts, fumes), and it is round the engine bay, then rip it out and replace with the proper sound proofing/insulating sheet.
If it is elsewhere such as on the hull sides then it may be as an insulator against condensation.
1cm is not much for sound proofing but possibly, depending on location, for insulating against condensation.If it yeilded to moderate finger pressure then it wouldn't be fibreglass and more likely some sort of foam to act as insulator/sound proofing. If it feels warm to touch then it is definitiely an insulating layer of some sort.
Hard to know what sort of foam it is from the picture but if it is not fire-retardant, and polystyrene certainly isn't (nasty in fire; melts, fumes), and it is round the engine bay, then rip it out and replace with the proper sound proofing/insulating sheet.
If it is elsewhere such as on the hull sides then it may be as an insulator against condensation.
Ben Dockrell 22
New member
No Neil its solid to the touch,in the engine compartment.
The only spongy areas on the boat is the inner cabin padding which at times i have been grateful to the boats previous owners for.
Very windy and rainy day today at times so not that much done except tracing leaks and tidying around and eating !
The only spongy areas on the boat is the inner cabin padding which at times i have been grateful to the boats previous owners for.
Very windy and rainy day today at times so not that much done except tracing leaks and tidying around and eating !
Bobobolinsky
New member
From the photo's, it looks to me as though the water trap and pipe work has failed in the past and the exhaust gas has blackened the walls of the engine room. That would be why there is a vetus watertrap in there
KellysEye
Active member
We saw an American GRP boat burn in Bonaire. The first thing we saw was smoke and flames burn though the hatches. After about 15 minutes the mast fell down and another thirty minutes it was burnt completly to the water line. The gas explosion was amazing Strangely it didn't sink and was towed out to become a dive wreck. There was a cat on deck that was rescued but the owner and wife were diving. Their sole posessions when they got back was the dignhy and outboard, dive gear and towels. Money, passports clothes etc etc all gone. There was a whipround to allow them to get clothes, passport food etc. Nobody knows what started the fire.
We also saw a German yacht catch fire in Antigua Sailing Week while racing. Apparently it started in wiring in a locker. When the boat called race control to say they were on fire control said ''we assume you are retiring''. Since we were racing ahead of them we didn't see the details of what hapened to the boat but we heard later the boat was burnt to the waterline, yachts stopped to rescue them and again there was a whipround. One funny thing was a boat that rescued one of the Germans said they were going to keep racing and he promptly jumped back into the water.
We also saw a German yacht catch fire in Antigua Sailing Week while racing. Apparently it started in wiring in a locker. When the boat called race control to say they were on fire control said ''we assume you are retiring''. Since we were racing ahead of them we didn't see the details of what hapened to the boat but we heard later the boat was burnt to the waterline, yachts stopped to rescue them and again there was a whipround. One funny thing was a boat that rescued one of the Germans said they were going to keep racing and he promptly jumped back into the water.
oldharry
Well-known member
Definitely not fire damage. The cement/asbestos/ polysterene cladding is almost certainly a crude attempt at sound insulation - a bit of a lost cause in a 22 footer! I certainly would not polystyrene foam anywhere near an engine as it burns very nicely - giving off very toxic fumes, as someone else has pointed out. The blackening is almost certainly soot from a leaky exhaust at some point in the boats life. The 'oil can' is almost certainly a waterlock - they can quite 'oily' inside even on a decent engine, as the soot accumulates. clean it out with e.g. caustic, and if the plastic is in good condition, it will be perfectly useable.
Quite a bit of work there, but if the rest of the boat is good, it will be worth it! Good luck!
Quite a bit of work there, but if the rest of the boat is good, it will be worth it! Good luck!
rbcoomer
Active member
Ben Dockrell 22
New member
prv
Well-known member
Did nobody attempt to put it out in 45 minutes?
How?
Anchored (I assume) off a Caribbean island which probably doesn't have a real fire brigade. You're down to whatever helpful yotties might be able to throw at it - and not many yachts carry a fire pump and nozzle. Knowing that the gas cylinders could go up at any moment, it's not surprising people would keep their distance once they knew nobody was on board (I guess checking that may have been how the cat got rescued).
Pete
rbcoomer
Active member
Perhaps, but all that water and seemingly other vessels around and you'd like to think that folk would do something before it was reduced to flotsam!
Hoolie
Well-known member
But if it's seriously on fire, what could you save from the wreck? Anything like passports and other docs would have gone up in smoke and the burnt-out hull?
Not worth the risk.
