September 8, 2026

By John Gullick 

Recently I received a very interesting account from a boater who is a long-standing senior member of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. 

He says: “I came across an article describing a sailboat fire on the U.S. West coast which resulted in an air evac. and total loss of the vessel.  It seems the crew attempted to suppress the fire with extinguishers but were unsuccessful.  The ignition source was a lithium-ion battery connected to a portable drill.  The vessel had been in heavy seas and apparently the drill and battery was subjected to being tossed around quite a bit and damaging the battery.”

Below is some information taken from Battery University on Li-Ion batteries for your information.  In our boating activities we are often in heavy weather and should be aware of hidden hazards. 

Lithium-Ion battery Safety: 

Incorrect uses of all batteries are excessive vibration, elevated heat and charging Li-ion below freezing. Li-ion and lead acid batteries cannot be fully discharged and must be stored with a remaining charge. While nickel-based batteries can be stored in a fully discharged state with no apparent side effect, Li-ion must not dip below 2V/cell for any length of time. Copper shunts form inside the cells that can lead to elevated self-discharge or a partial electrical short. If recharged, the cells might become unstable, causing excessive heat or showing other anomalies. 

Heat combined with a full charge is said to induce more stress to Li-ion than regular cycling. Keep the battery and a device away from sun exposure and store in a cool place at a partial charge. Exceeding the recommended charge current by ultra-fast changing also harms Li-ion. Nickel-cadmium is the only chemistry that accepts ultra-fast charging with minimal stress.  

Li-ion batteries that have been exposed to stresses may function normally but they become more sensitive to mechanical abuse. The liability for a failed battery goes to the manufacturer even if the fault may have been caused by improper use and handling. This worries the battery manufacturers and they go the extra mile to make their products safe. Treat the battery as if it were a living organism by preventing excess stress.  

With more than a billion mobile phones and computers used in the world every day, the number of accidents is small. By comparison, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that your chance of being struck by lightning in the course of a lifetime is about 1 in 13,000. Lithium-ion batteries have a failure rate that is less than one in a million. The failure rate of a quality Li-ion cell is better than 1 in 10 million. 

Industrial batteries, such as those used for power tools, are generally more rugged than those in consumer products. Besides solid construction, power tool batteries are maximized for power delivery and less on energy for long runtimes. Power Cells have a lower Ah rating than Energy Cells and are in general more tolerant and safer if abused. 

Quoted from Battery University. 

By John Gullick, currently CanBoat’s Manager of Government and Special Programs and has been an active recreational marine specialist and writer for over 50 years. 

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All articles are free for use to promote boating and water safety. Credit must be provided to CanBoat / NautiSavoir and author John Gullick.