Alan Gomes
Sustaining Partner
Apropos of Whatever, I have walked the dock, the next morning after a propane explosion on a 36 foot sloop. The entire deck was peeled back and, at 180 degrees, was laying over the headwalk in front of the the moored boat. Kind of like the attached lid on a can that had a can opener applied to it. No fire, just a mighty explosion. Occupants lived, but suffered great injuries when the cabin sole (under which had accumulated the escaped propane gas) lifted straight up in the first millisecond of the blast.
While everyone "knows" the precautions to be observed with propane on a boat, seeing the result is memorable and sobering.
Alcohol? Yeah, it has some dangers too. Friend of mine was on another boat up in Puget Sound when the crew of a sailboat had to all jump over the side due to an uncontrolled galley fire caused by a a leak in their pressured galley stove.
While all fuels have dangers, I find that the small amount of common sense needed to use the no-pressure Origo stove puts it at the near-zero risk end of the scale. (We liked the propane system on our prior boat, but kept a vigilant and wary eye on the whole system of remote shut-off and the propane sensor & alarm. Tested it regularly.
We do have some rum on board.... medicinal purposes, be assured![]()
Apropos of your apropos of Whatever: https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/crash-test-boat-gas-explosion-29779