I’m going to start out by saying – this post may cause some serious blow-back from “experienced” boaters. You need to read ALL of what I have to say and not just jump to some conclusion based on the age-old saying you’ve been repeating for decades.

I welcome your feedback, but only after you’ve read ALL of the following.

My comment – and what I teach people – is this.

Do NOT run the blower before starting the engine and expect it to save your life.

Now, read the rest before you have a meltdown and call me an idiot.

I just came back from a quick vacation in South Florida, and a pretty horrific accident happened while I was there. While, or immediately after, fueling up with gasoline, a boat sitting at a local fuel dock exploded, killing one and injuring several others.

I’m including a link below, but if you are sensitive to things like this, I recommend skipping it. There is no direct shot of anyone being injured, but it doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

I want to address the incredible number of comments I’ve heard and the misinformation this, the second explosion in the Lauderdale area in a few months, has generated.

The comment I hear way too often is that running the blower will prevent an accident or explosion like the one in the video.

This is absolutely NOT true.

Of course, I was not there when this happened, and I don’t have all the details. However, after 40 years of experience in the marine industry, I am fairly certain I can guess what happened, and no matter how long the blower had been run before this explosion, it very likely would have happened anyway.

Click below to see what happened, and then read on. Or, just read on.

There are witness accounts that the boat exploded when the driver hit the ignition key. This is a common concern due to the amount of electric current and amperage that comes into play at that time. There is also current actively traveling through plug wires and any loose connection in the bilge can become the source of an open spark.

Sparks and fuel fumes in an enclosed area lead to bad things.

Remember – the following is speculation, but call it experienced professional speculation. It is not meant to point a finger or lay blame on anyone involved, it is intended to make a point that will hopefully help others stay safe.

First, a little scene-building and education for anyone who doesn’t have a great understanding of the topic at hand.

We’re talking about gasoline throughout this post because gas fumes and gas itself will ignite and/or burn much more easily than diesel fuel. However, diesel is still highly flammable and the safety issues are the same. The last thing you want is a leak in the system causing ANY kind of fuel to lay in the bilge.

If you watched the video, you can see just how incredibly violent the explosion was. That is not the result of some fuel fumes settling into the bilge while fueling the boat. I have seen this kind of accident happen in person which was determined to be caused by a small leak from a loose fitting in the fuel system. In that case, the explosion was much, much less violent, although the resulting fire still caused the boat to burn to the waterline.

As I said, I do not believe an explosion of that magnitude was caused by fuel fumes in the bilge. If that was the case, the engine hatch would have been blown upward – not the entire cap, or upper structure, of the boat.

You can see the force and flames instantly shooting all the way forward and blowing the top half of the boat off. If you asked me to guess, I would tell you that this explosion was caused by five or more gallons of fuel lying in the bottom of that boat, not the accumulation of fumes.

How would five gallons of fuel find its way into the bilge?

This was probably caused by either a very serious leak in the fuel system or a mistake by the boat’s owner or the fuel dock staff.

Something may have failed. A worn, chafed, or aging fuel fill hose may have developed a fairly big leak, or the fuel tank vent hose could have become cracked or chafed. The gasket on the top of the fuel tank itself that seals the fuel level sender may have begun to leak. Or, someone may have installed a new water-separating fuel filter and missed a crucial consideration.

Fuel water separators look like oil filters and have the same rubber gaskets on the top. If you pull one off and don’t notice, the old gasket can stick to the filter adaptor. Thread a new filter on, and you end up with two gaskets – which will leak like crazy. This could lead to a substantial accumulation of fuel in the bilge while the boat was running.

Any one of a dozen failure points could have resulted in the accident above.

The other possibility is a mistake made by the boater or the fuel dock staff. Again – not pointing fingers or laying blame at anyone’s feet.

Far too many boaters are inexperienced, and far more don’t always pay attention. People get easily distracted by friends, family, and other attention grabbers. Very often, a fuel dock’s staff is made up of people with little to no experience working a summer job or filling a temp position for the holiday season.

Add in alcohol, marijuana, a boat full of festive holiday guests, conversation, etc., etc., etc., and you have a bunch of potential distractions during the act of fueling a boat.

The boat’s owner or the fuel dock staff could have very easily opened the cap to the waste or water tank instead of the fuel fill and stuck the nozzle in the wrong hole. The caps are labeled, but if you are not paying attention – well, yah. Bad things.

Fill the waste tank with fuel, and you run the risk of back-feeding through the waste tank and up through the toilet. Guess where that fuel is going. I’ve seen this happen, so I know it’s possible.

I’ve even seen people stick the fuel nozzle in a rod holder. If that had been the case with the boat in this video, the fuel would probably have gone all over the back deck so I doubt that’s what happened. It’s hard to miss several gallons of fuel sloshing around at your feet.

Again – speculation, but more than likely, there was a major fuel leak in the boat. Fuel probably accumulated in the bilge as they drove but there were no “loose” sparks in the bilge at that time. Once they stopped and had to start back up, a spark from somewhere in the boat, and not necessarily in the bilge, ignited the fuel.

As I said, running the blower would have done nothing to prevent five gallons, or even one gallon, of fuel from igniting, but this could still have been avoided.

If you jump in a boat and hit the blower switch, letting it run for 5 minutes while you load up and prepare, yes – you may have removed all fuel fumes from the bilge.

But, here’s the thing. There should never be fuel fumes in the bilge in the first place. If fuel fumes are accumulating in the bilge, something is very wrong. Personally, I want to know that problem exists RIGHT FREAKING NOW.

If you run the blower and evacuate the fumes before starting the engine, how do you know there’s a leak? How do you know a seriously unsafe condition exists?

You don’t.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying, “Don’t run the blower.” I’m saying, check the bilge for the existence of fuel odors, and THEN run the blower.

You need to regularly check the engine oil and fluid levels and look for other problems like high water and loose debris in the bilge. You should be popping the engine hatch and checking things out every time you get ready to leave the dock.

While you are in there, also pay very close attention to what you smell. If there is a fuel leak, you’ll be far more likely to avoid a catastrophe by catching it before it leads to disaster.

Even if you had your nose in the bilge 15 minutes earlier, you also need to pop the engine hatch and stick your face in the bilge IMMEDIATELY after fueling the boat and long before you hit the ignition key. Even if you checked your engine oil 5 minutes earlier, don’t leave your safety and that of your passengers to chance.

Filling the tank will take fuel to high levels, where gasoline might leak out of the fuel level indicator gasket or the vent fitting or hose. Filling the tank will also flood fuel down the fill hose, where a hose clamp may have failed, or a chafed spot on the hose finally cut all the way through.

If a situation occurs like the one I described above and a canister filter is leaking, the fuel that runs into the bilge may not ignite until the starter comes to life or a connection wiggles loose somewhere in the boat. In any of these situations, opening the hatch and putting your face in the bilge should alert you to the dangers.

Again, all of this is speculation, but the bottom line is –

BE THE BLOWER.

Do not rely on an inanimate item to protect you; rely on your senses. Inspect the bilge, and I also recommend inspecting the cabin, looking for any smell of gasoline or diesel before touching the ignition key or activating any electrical or electronic item.

Check the bilge for the smell of gas, even a faint smell. If you think there is even a faint smell, stop everything. If you believe it is safe, THEN hit the blower and let it run for five minutes. THEN hit the key.

Would this have prevented the explosion in the video above? I cannot, of course, guarantee it would have kept those people safe. However, in my honest opinion, the outcome seen in the video above probably would have been avoided.

Again – I am not saying, “Don’t Run your Blower.” I’m saying “Be the blower.” Carefully and religiously check for problems first. If none exist, then run the blower.

It only takes a split second for things to go very, very wrong on the water. Be careful, be safe, don’t take chances, and stay alert whether you are on the water, in the slip, or at the dock.