Boat Fire

[sailaway]

Just to let you know we had a Catalina 34 on Lake Erie a couple weeks ago burn to the water line. Taking the boat out for sea trials, the instrument panel caught on fire. 4 people in the water survived but had hypothermia. Don't know but am guessing the Glow plug button. Big wires that come straight from the battery. Charlie

[Stu Jackson]

We've been warning people about this for decades, n Mainsheet magazine well before the nternet.

https://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5078.msg35943.html#msg35943

Some folks just aren't curious enough to find out more about their purchases.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : More likely it was a C34 that did not have Trailer Plug (wiring harness) modification!!!  I say that  Because ALL of the alternator output goes up to the key switch and then back down to the batteries (on some small gage wire)!!!

This fire is a perfect reason of why you should have a fire extinguisher inside the port side locker.  I have 4 FXs onboard - a small one behind the stove, a large one under the middle step. another medium size on the bulkhead wall by the nav station, and one on the aft wall inside the portside locker!!
 
Down below on the cabin ceiling I have a smoke detector W/light. There is a CO detector on the underside of the bottom step!! 

A few thoughts

[KWKloeber]

Even if the engine space gummy bear is eliminated the one behind the panel is oftentimes forgotten about. And even if both gummys are eliminated, oftentimes the harness is forgotten about and so it remains un-fuzed.

Out of sight = out of mind.  Until she sinks or buns up.

[KeelsonGraham]

Was this issue fixed in the MkII?

[Breakin Away]

Was this issue fixed in the MkII?

Yes.

[KWKloeber]

Was this issue fixed in the MkII?

@KG

No.
Yes.
It depends on what you are referring to.

To this day, Westerbeke/Universal STILL uses RV plugs on its engines and will probably never do away with them.  There are other harness issues not as serious on the current Westerbele/Universal harnesses.

When CTY revised the engine panels in the '80s to eliminate the ammeter it also changed the charging scheme, but the harnesses were not changed significantly and the power to the cockpit panel was not fused. There are thousands of Catalinas out there with dangerous, unfused harnesses. 
This is not new info -- I have ranted about this for years.


When Westerbeke bought Universal Motors and produced the "A" engines (eg, M-25XPA) it
changed the charging and harness schemes.  The harness is fused (circuit breaker) on "A" and "B" engines (eg, m-25XPA, m-25XPB, etc.)

If anyone doesn't know how their harness is run, or what's on it, or if it is fused then they don't know very basic things about their boat and they should before they step foot on the water.

[KWKloeber]

Charlie

Was this the Toledo incident? 
Was it confirmed to be a C34?  I heard that it was a 27-foot craft.

Thx
Ken

[Phil Spicer]

The fire was just off of Catawba Island. It was a 34 out of the same marina I wintered in this past year. When the  marina crew  put me in they said it was a really nice 1989 C 34.