Fire extinguisher locations? New owner and first question

[DarthOccam]

Hello!  My wife and I are now the proud owners of C34 #1703, docked in Channel Islands, CA.  The first couple of weeks have gone by in a blur, as we get to know the boat and set things to right.  The forum has already answered quite a few of the questions that have come up, but here's one for which I would like to "ask the audience."

The PO didn't use the boat much and purchased a lot of equipment that was never actually installed.  One of the smaller items is the fire extinguishers.  I have four and have already mounted one under the companionway stairs.  I was thinking of trying to mount the remaining ones in the forward and aft cabins and in the cockpit.  

My question to the group is: where did you mount yours, and how?  I'm reluctant to screw into the bulkhead panels as they feel like they don't have a solid core.  I'd also like to meet the mutually exclusive objectives of having them visually out of the way but easily accessible.  What has worked well?

Thanks,

Michael

[Stu Jackson]

Michael, Congratulations and Welcome.

There is no problem screwing into the interior fiberglass.  I'd use through bolts and acorn nuts on the wood bulkheads.

The choice is yours.  Many have them:  under the nav station "desk." Other places that come to mind is the bulkhead in the aft cabin behind the galley, over the engine shelf in the aft cabin, in the head (really!) and to starboard on the sole as you enter the V berth.  

The possibilities are endless.  I hadn't ever thought of under the stairs, thought it would get in the way of engine access.  A cockpit mounted one should most likely be inside the port locker.

I've modified your subject title to reflect your question, similar to the topic titles that most folks use so we understand what the question is from the original post.

We look froward to seeing you around regularly.  Enjoy your boat, we know you will.

[sailaway]

Michael Welcome. I store my fire ext. In the hanging locker at the bottom of the companion way steps. They are in the front of the locker easy to get. We also put our flares and life jackets in there. We call it the safety locker.  34 Catalina are the  most comfortable boats around.  Also a good  sailing boats.  Charlie

[Ted Pounds]

Good idea putting one in the aft cabin.  My surveyor said you should have one in every cabin that has only one exit (so you can fire-fight your way out).   That means putting one in the head also.

[Ron Hill]

Michael : I also mounted a large extinguisher under the second step from the top.  It has easily accessable and no interference in getting at the engine.
I also have a small extinguisher in the open storage behind the refridge/stove, because that's one of the most likely places to have a fire (on the stove).
I mounted another medium extinguisher inside the aft wall of the port side fire, so I could have an extinguisher for the cockpit.
I also mounted a medium extinguisher under a book shelf (I added) near the Vberth.

Here's another thought for you is adding a smoke alarm.  I installed one inside the salon overhead by the hand hold.  I wrote a Mainsheet article in which I recommended that that smoke alarm also have a light that comes ON with the audio alarm.  Nothing more confusing than to have an alarm come on at night!!
I also mounted a CO detector under the bottom step.

The 1st Mate left an empty pan on the stove -- that smoke alarm let us know the burner was still ON and paid for itself in that one incident.  I never have to use the "press to test", all I do is make some toast on the stove and the alarm lets me know it's working!!

A few safety thoughts.    

[Roger Blake]

I have 2 mounted on the helm pedestal...thinking I'm usually behind the wheel and in command...I can grab one or both to run to the fire.  I have another down below...in the locker in front of the nav station for anyone down below.

[waterdog]

We have a little different philosophy in that we don't try to have them out of the way.   

1) in companionway above the grab handle - accessible from cockpit & good for galley fires (we don't want to reach over the stove)
2) in the vberth port side under the deck
3) aft cabin - a large one on the bulkhead by the galley - also in the aft cabin we keep an ax

[Ken Juul]

Having them out in the open also means the pressure guage gets checked everytime you are on the boat.  I've got 4, aft cabin outboard forward bulkhead, on the sofa side of the bulkhead that seperates the navsta from the sliding shelves and stbd side salon side of the forward bulkhead.  The 4th is the last of the original extinguishers, pressure is not in the green any more. It's on the top shelf of the Vee berth hanging locker.  I know from training with the other old ones that it will still work, so it will either be used in the next training excercise or be a backup.

[pablosgirl]

Hi Michael,

We carry three.  One under the nav table right near the edge, one in the forward cabin above the cabnet on the starboard bulkhead common to the main salon, and on in the aft cabin on the bulkhead common with the stove.  All are through bolted with acorn nuts.  The dials are visable for checking the charge.  Ron's idea of a lighted smoke protector and a CO2 detector is a good ideal.  I am going to add those to the boat as well.

[Ken Juul]

I think this has been posted before, but bears repeating.  When you add Smoke or CO detectors make sure they are powered by their own internal batteries.  Several dockmates have boats from a different OEM.  They come from the factory with the detectors wired unswitched directly to the battery.  If the boat sits for much longer than a week between battery charges the annoying low voltage beeping starts and continues until the batteries die.  Because they are considered safety items, modifying or disabling them can void the boat warranty.  So most of them just leave their boats plugged into shore power if they are going to be away for more than a week.

[DarthOccam]

Thanks for all the great feedback.  I'll have to go down to the boat and experiment with the placement using some of these ideas.  I do want to be able to see the gauges so I can routinely check the pressure.  Also, thanks for the confirmation that screws wouldn't be enough for the wood bulkheads--I'll get some through bolts and acorn nuts.

The PO had put combination smoke/CO detectors on the boat (aft cabin and saloon), but one has come down as he used double-sided tape, so I still need to fix that.