Scott Vernon wrote:

Would several small ones, placed strategically around the boat, be better
than one (or 2) big one?

Depends on the boat. Where are people going to be when a fire
breaks out? On Lady Kate, the two likely places for a fire
outbreak are the motor/fuel store, and (tops) the galley. The
four most likely places for people to be are the cockpit (which
is small on Lady Kate), the galley, the forward saloon or the
sleeping quarters below the cockpit. I carry two 2.5kg
extinguishers: one is at the galley, easily accessible from the
cockpit and by anyone fleeing up the companionway ladder out of
the galley. It would not be reachable by someone in the forward
saloon, so that's where the other unit is carried. Because i'm
singlehanding usually, the stern sleeping quarters aren't
regularly used: I should really have a small unit in there too.

The motor is outboard and the fuel is in a free-draining well
outside the watertight envelope: the galley extinguisher serves
as first attack there too.

Kay Cottee ('First Lady') carried four in a 37' 6'11" beam boat,
but that was for six months round the world non-stop. Size isn't
specified, the one visible in a photo in the book looks like a
2-2.5kg and I'd be surprised if they were only 1kg.

Now, design your own.



Does it make a difference if they are hung horizontally, as far as the
caking?


Not really, just cakes horizontally so it doesn't flow cleanly.

And a really bad idea is to hang upside down, cos then it cakes
and jams the nozzle/release!


Scotty, the main problem with the 1kg weenies is they just don't
squirt for very long, and there's a tendency in an emergency to
anxiously hold the trigger open until it runs out. Then if
there's a flareup, there's nothing left. (In a lot of respects,
the old, forbidden BCF was a much better extinguisher for
enclosed and semi-enclosed places, provided you remembered not to
die of asphyxiation--fire it and shut the lid!) A 1kg will do for
a small car provided it's not asked to do too much, but for a
boat the size everyone here claims to have, especially for those
who leave maked flames untended, no doubt under the deep frier


Scotty

"Flying Tadpole" wrote in message
...


wrote:

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 08:53:32 +0930, Flying Tadpole

wrote:



This is a device that may be called upon to save your boat, your life,
or the
lives of others. If you need to hit it with a hammer, it is way past due
for
replacement, regardless of what the 3 cent gauge says, or what you hear
flowing.
A new extinguisher is about $20-$30. Jeez. Stick to insipid verse.
You're
extremely no good at this.

BB


You're an even bigger fool than your repartee would suggest, and
you can't read either. What hammer? WHat hit? Throw away good
extinguishers because the powder has caked slightly? My
extinguishers come in at about $150 each, which is what you pay
for size and ruggedness (say, $US70). You want to play with weeny
toys and bet your life on them, go right ahead. I'm sure you
could find some 1/4lb extinguishers on ebay, secondhand, for $5
if you looked hard enough.

For other readers: 6 months is enough for the powder to cake
significantly, even with a bit of a shake from time to time. The
how-to given IN FULL in my original post is straight out of
commercial (and professional) practice.

--
SSO (ret'd) Flying Tadpole, BFSA(lapsed!)

-------------------------
Break Away, Sail Away and putz away
now at http://music.download.com/internetopera

--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Break Away, Sail Away and putz away
now at http://music.download.com/internetopera