Pro Angler 14 Fire after ORC

I made it back home to the Tri Cities Wa after attending the 2014 ORC, which by the way was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.  Thanks to all for the great experience.  When I arrived back home I had my kayak on the Yakima rack on top of my truck as I was towing my camp trailer.  I was unloading my trailer and I looked up on top of my truck and there was smoke poring out of my kayak.  I still had all of my tiedowns on the kayak.  I had my pocket knife and I cut off the ratchet straps and bow tiedowns  and got the kayak off my truck in a hurry.  It's amazing how fast you can move when you see your kayak going up in smoke.  What I found when I got it off the roof of my truck was that I Had left my fish finder battery plugged in under the front hatch and that the wires had shorted out and caught fire.  I immediately put the fire out.  There was only minimal damage.  I would recommend to always take your batteries out during transport.  I got really lucky, I could have lost my truck and kayak.

Wow! That's crazy! Glad to hear you didn't lose your kayak or worse.
One word solution: Fuse.

We need to book mark this for all those guys that keep saying they don't need a fuse on their ff lol.  Imagine if that happened on the water.

Holy crap Mike!! Good to hear the damage was minimal! Did you have a fuse on that thing!?!

Good to hear that things seem like they'll be ok.  Would love to see some pics of what actually happened!

-Allen

Mike - was great fishing with you at ORC.  Also, appreciate the carpooling to the launch and back that day - seemed to work out quite well.

Must have been quite the shock with the fire/smoke coming from the PA.  Glad to hear no significant damage.  As others have mentioned, this could be a nice educational thread - include pictures/details if you can...

-Sam

Just having a fuse installed may or may not prevent this issue.

It is also placement of said fuse.

The fuse needs to be as close to the battery as possible to eliminate crossed wires from shorting each other in the event that there is any length of wire before the fuse. 

Removing the battery during transit is an even better idea.  Wires can't short if they are not attached to the battery.  The battery terminals can't short if stored in a safe container. 

Wow, good reminder to remove battery and have fuse.  Those 12V batteries certainly have enough juice to start a fire, if the conditions are right.

The unusual/freakish shorting issue smokyangler  experienced most likely would never happen if he had used the Hobie battery, installed in the battery holder designed specifically for it.
For my PA-14, I bought the Hobie fish finder installation kit III....used the aft-round hatch and when the cover is closed, the battery is captive and does not move....plus the leads are "sealed to the battery terminals".
The power leads were easy to "fish in side the hull" if you use a 1/2" wide tape measure as the "fish".....and I installed a 2 amp inline fuse just for good measure.

I have another bit of advice... don't pick a username that might become an ill-fated self-fulfilled prophesy.

I have another bit of advice... don't pick a username that might become an ill-fated self-fulfilled prophesy.

You don't know how bad I wanted to mention that but bit my finger. 

I have another bit of advice... don't pick a username that might become an ill-fated self-fulfilled prophesy.

BWAHAHAAHAHAAHA!    That's the funniest thing I've seen on NWKA in a long time!!!

... after calming myself down...

I am glad that the situation was not worse - thank you for sharing your ordeal so we can all learn.

I have another bit of advice... don't pick a username that might become an ill-fated self-fulfilled prophesy.

BWAHAHAAHAHAAHA!    That's the funniest thing I've seen on NWKA in a long time!!!

... after calming myself down...

I am glad that the situation was not worse - thank you for sharing your ordeal so we can all learn.

My first thought was that Insayn better watch out...   

Jim

My first thought was that Insayn better watch out...   

Jim

No, that username is simply descriptive.   

i'm glad my username is giving everyone a good laugh.  I had my fish finder  battery mounted in a Hobie battery holder that fits under the front hatch and clamps to the sailing mast.  The battery was secure in the holder.  I had added a 12v  extension cord with cigarette lighter plug to charge my phone.  The plug is what shorted out and caught on fire.  There was nothing plugged in.  I didn't have an inline fuse installed.  The plug was laying on the footwell.  It just blackened the plastic a bit.  I was lucky and learned a good lesson.  I will install a fuse and remove the battery when transporting the kayak from now on.   I didn't take any pictures when this happened.