Examination results day
by Hal Brown
FINDING A GAS leak isn’t normally a cause for celebration, but boat safety examiner Eddie Freeman looks happy. “Today is your lucky day,” he says to me, slapping a warning notice onto the gas locker. I ponder the potential consequences of a leak and it doesn’t feel like my lucky day.
However I’m at Whilton Marina to learn about boat safety exams, so the more faults the better – and with 78 safety incidents in 2007 (71 fires or explosions and seven carbon monoxide leaks) plus 50 so far this year, safety is clearly a key issue. “Look at that horrible thing, I’ve never seen one like it,” he says, as we step down into the saloon. The rusty, doorless solid fuel stove, with its loose flue dangerously touching a curtain, has just made his day.
It’s not all bad news though (or good news, depending on how you look at it), as the boat gets a fair number of passes on the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) checklist. Eddie works his way through the list meticulously, ticking off each item under the eight main headings, tackling the biggest – and messiest – task first.
Permanently installed fuel and fixed engines
First off, he checks the fuel filling point: it’s correctly located on the outside of the stern to ensure fuel overflow won’t find its way onto the deck. The fuel point’s diameter is the required minimum of 31.5mm, but Eddie doesn’t get a ruler out – after nine years of doing this he can tell it’s the right size.
The fuel tank vent outlet (that thin pipe poking up at the back of the stern behind the tiller) is fine too; it’s properly fitted with a thin gauze to extinguish flames caused by tank gas escaping and catching alight.
After inspecting the fuel tank connections – “hunky dory”– and checking the ‘fuel cock below’ sign is visible, Eddie opens the engine hatch.
The exhaust pipes on the engine are correctly covered in a thick lagging to protect against heat (unlike a fast-moving car, there is nowhere for the heat to go on a boat).
He offers a useful tip here: cut up old fire blankets to use as lagging material.
It’s when the engine is switched on, though, that events take a turn for the worse.
“It’s vibrating like hell,” he says, as the engine rattles into life and keeps on rattling, hitting the exhaust pipes in the process.
In fact, the pipes are jolted so much by the vibrations that part of the exhaust pipe has broken, causing fumes to leak through – proven by the black film coating Eddie’s palms as he feels for the break in the pipe.
Unsurprisingly, the engine installation item on the checklist is failed. “It’s now down to someone else to mend it,” our examiner says, leaning across to look at the batteries.
He always checks batteries carefully, with good reason: he once managed to turn one into a small bomb.
“In a garage I dropped a spanner which landed on a battery’s terminals,” he recalls. “It created a spark which ignited the hydrogen that was escaping and it exploded.” I lean in for a closer look at the battery inspection – double checking that it’s a pen in his hand and not actually a spanner.
Electrical systems
The batteries are given a pass for being – as stated on the checklist – ‘ventilated to prevent risk of explosion through hydrogen accumulation’ (which is a relief), but they also get two fails: the terminals aren’t protected by wood or a rubber matt across the top (that rogue spanner again) and the batteries are not secured on the shelf. The cables are all “heavy, good, thick cables and the same size”. However, when he climbs out of the engine hatch and peers into a side locker on the deck, Eddie spots two other cables that cause concern.
The loose end of an orange cable is worn away, revealing a tangle of frayed, exposed wiring. It’s held up to the light so I can see it better. No explanation is necessary – this is clearly not good.
A black cable runs out of a drill hole at the top corner of the locker, disappearing through the bottom corner. Apart from not knowing where it goes, Eddie’s worried because it’s a 240 volt cable – if it wears thin against the edges of the drill hole it could “make the whole boat live”. Again, not a good situation, to put it mildly.
He recommends that the orange cable is removed. “It’s not just about what’s happening now, but what could happen,” he says – sensible advice for all aspects of boat safety.
Inside, the rest of the electrics fare much better: the ‘two wires system’ is in place throughout (meaning a live feed going out and an earth feed coming back to the battery, as opposed to what happens in a car, which itself acts as the earth return – if that was the case in a boat “the corrosion would be phenomenal”); fuses and circuit breakers are up to scratch; and there are no unsightly, dangling wires in any of the cupboards. Eddie stresses that all 240v wires should be round, not the flat, rigid type, which could snap.
So, with the electrics done (“whether they work or not is academic”), we move on to the fire extinguishers – two of which you really wouldn’t want to grab hold of in the middle of the night to put out a fire.
Fire Extinguishers and Escape
A boat this size (40ft) should have three fire extinguishers; and it does. The advice is to check the rating which is marked clearly at the top. Don’t worry if you don’t understand what it means – all you need to know is that the minimum rating should be 5A 34B. The first one we check has a good rating of 8A 55B and the kite mark shows it meets the standard. The arrow on the gauge is in the green zone, so it hasn’t run low. It’s also worth checking for an expiry date, our examiner warns.
The arrow on the gauge on the second model, however, is in the red. It’s also located too near the first one at the stern, rather than in the middle of the boat – another fail.
The gauge on the third shows it is virtually empty. It’s also in the wrong place; it should be nearer the bow to ensure there is an even spread of extinguishers.
The fire blanket, which should be easily accessible on a wall in the galley, is nowhere to be seen. (Another tip here: for a small chip pan fire it’s probably best to use a wet tea towel because fire blankets are often heavy and cumbersome).
The good news, though, is that there are more than enough escape routes (stern and bow doors and side hatch) – just as well, given the next discovery in the gas locker.
Liquid Petroleum Gas
(LPG) systems
“This is one of the most important aspects of the boat,” says Eddie. “Half of my entire instruction book is devoted to the gas.”
The ‘gas isolation valve’ sign has come off the lid of the gas locker at the bow – not a good start. Things look up, though, when he sees the drain holes at the bottom of the locker, on both sides. “Gas is heavier than air,” Eddie explains, “so it falls to the bottom of the locker. The drain holes must be at the lowest possible point to allow gas to escape.” The locker should also be clear of metal items which could cause a spark; and this locker is.
The pipework in the locker, though, is failed for being too loose. Moreover, the two gas bottles are not secure; a small chain fastening them together and attached to the inside of the locker would do it. And, importantly, there isn’t a non-return valve fitted. It’s a useful bit of kit because it stops gas escaping from the pipes if one of the bottles is removed for changing. "The husband might take one of the empty bottles out, then go off somewhere,” Eddie explains, “then the wife might turn the gas back on, but without the valve, gas will come pouring out through the unattached pipe, directly into the locker.” Quite a serious oversight then.
The major issue with the gas, though, is the leak. Eddie finds the gas leak bubble tester in the locker (it’s a small red button fitted to the pipes, which you press and hold for thirty seconds – you can buy one from a chandlery for around £30) and the bubbles in the glass window indicate that there is a leak. “End of story,” he says, switching off the gas.
There’s more where that came from, though, he tells me, as he has already spotted problems with the appliances in the galley and saloon.
Appliances and Flues
No nasty yellow flames rise from the cooker’s burners (which would indicate potentially lethal carbon monoxide) and flames don’t “lift-off” (escaping gas), but the cooker itself isn’t secure; again, a small chain is enough.
The less said about the stove the better.
(It isn’t even four inches away from the wall). He recommends it’s taken out and scrapped
– good riddance is about all you can say.
Ventilation, though, is good throughout. There should be around 60sq in of ventilation for a boat this size, equally divided between the upper and lower half (50sq in are required for the four berths, 3sq in for the 5kw stove and 1sq in for each person). It’s all adequately provided by grills in the doors and vents in the ceiling. (A word of warning: make sure you can see daylight behind each slot in the grills; Eddie has seen grills stuck over just a few small holes). Understandably, he has strong feelings about this aspect of boat safety.
“Lack of ventilation is one of the biggest killers,” he says, “yet there’s no regulation that says you must have it. We can advise that it’s inadequate, but we can still issue a safety certificate. It’s crazy. Some people say it’s up to them and they’re not hurting anyone, but they might be hurting their friends or family on board the boat.”
I put this point to Boat Safety Scheme Communications Manager Rob McLean.
He clarifies the situation, saying that in 2001 the navigation authorities decided not to regulate private boats where the risk is to people within the boat’s boundaries. He also confirms that a Boat Safety Certificate (BSC) can be issued if the ventilation check is failed, “but if there’s a significant problem a warning notice is issued and we offer advice and remedies”. He adds: “It’s a fine line between being the nanny state and letting people take responsibility for their own health.” Is that one of the reasons why the BSS supports having a full survey done before buying a boat? “Absolutely,” he says. “A survey is crucial when spending that much money. You need to know if the trim is right and that the gearbox works properly.”
So, you must have a BSC to get afloat, but if you’re buying a boat you should get a full survey done to be sure about the areas not covered by the BSC. (The cost of the BSC – £135 – is included in the survey).
Pollution Prevention Systems
The final check is for a drip tray (built-in under the engine on most narrowboats) to prevent oil leaking into the canal (pass) and that the boat doesn’t have an old-fashioned toilet that releases waste directly into the channel (also a pass).
Despite this final flourish, there have been far too many fails so there is no chance of a BSC being issued today. Eddie plans to continue working for a few more hours to complete a full survey, which has been paid for by the customer (involving inspecting the hull using an ultra sonic testing kit), but after nearly three hours the BSS part of the examination is over. When the faults are sorted out, he’ll return to re-examine them, only charging £25 for petrol money.
Over a well-earned tea break in the marina café, he tells me about a particular examination that stuck in his memory.
“This liveaboard hadn’t had a BSC for some time. British Waterways caught up with the man and contacted me. In the boat, there was a roaring solid fuel fire going, but there were no doors on the stove.
“I did a gas test and found a horrendous leak. Unbelievably, the gas cylinders were on the well-deck, with a pipe running down into the boat. There were two more gas bottles on the other deck, again with pipes going inside.
“I disconnected the whole lot, put warning labels on the cylinders and went to examine another boat. When I returned a little while later I couldn’t believe it. He had reconnected it all, leaving the stove on with its doors still open and gone off to do some shopping!
I genuinely thought the boat would explode.”
I glance across the marina at the boat we just examined and suddenly it doesn’t seem so bad after all.
