schlepper
John m. Harrison
This past weekend was our first on the boat in it's new Marina home, Snead Island Boat Yard at the mouth of the Manatee River in Palmetto, FL. I was all excited when i got there on Friday afternoon after a grueling week at work. Not long after I got there, the bilge kicked on, and ran for it's 5 seconds as is typical. I was headed to the car to get the rest of my stuff and smelled raw diesel.
I saw a sheen on the water, figured it was from my bilge and opened the floor panel to peer down in there. Sure enough, there was a red, off road diesel floating around in there... I started looking for a likely source... Racor filter under sink, dry. drain hole in forward part of bilge from under tank and mast, dry. I pulled up the tank gauge inspection panel, all appeared dry. I looked on engine, and the parts of the hoses I could see, all dry. Hmm.... I then thought the small plastic cashew tub I keep some diesel in under the sink may have gotten knocked over and drained out so I righted it, noting it was dry though... hmmmm....
So I got out my small suction tank (like what is used to change oil), pumped it up and started draining the bilge of all residual water and diesel. There wasn't much in there, but it doesn't take much. I poured that all in a bucket and went and disposed of it. Poured Dawn soap and several buckets of freshwater down in the bilge and let it sit for about 2 hours (had the float switch off)... mopped all of that up with paper towels and forgot about the problem...
Curiosity got the best of me and yesterday, I took out the drawer under the forward facing seating of the salon and started looking at where the fill hose and vent hose, return lines and fuel line all come in there... i noticed there was a considerable amount of 'grime' under the fill hose and all underneath there. It is amazing how much dirt, hair, debris collects in the floor cracks of a boat... so I commenced trying to get all of this out. I noticed that there is about a 4"-6" wide detent in the molded fiberglass area where the hoses sweep down from above and to the metal tank cover and fittings. The grime previously mentioned was moist with fuel..I think I found my culprit, or at least part of the problem anyway. The fuel fill hose looks like original equipment. There is no cutout in the cabinetry to access the deck fill hose clamps... I cleaned it all up as best I could but I am still confused... is it the hose, is it the tank elbow or the plastic flare fitting the hose clamps to? It's not leaking now... I assume it leaked when I filled it up last weekend and had fuel coming out of the transom vent... the high volume diesel pump in Clearwater did a number on me, despite my trying to be very easy on the handle.... given the pressure on the tank top, I am concerned my tank gasket might have been compromised. If nothing else, getting things cleaned under there should further help with odors in the salon... fixing the wood rot in the anchor locker and sealing that off has helped immensely, the mast step is dry as a bone now...
I saw a sheen on the water, figured it was from my bilge and opened the floor panel to peer down in there. Sure enough, there was a red, off road diesel floating around in there... I started looking for a likely source... Racor filter under sink, dry. drain hole in forward part of bilge from under tank and mast, dry. I pulled up the tank gauge inspection panel, all appeared dry. I looked on engine, and the parts of the hoses I could see, all dry. Hmm.... I then thought the small plastic cashew tub I keep some diesel in under the sink may have gotten knocked over and drained out so I righted it, noting it was dry though... hmmmm....
So I got out my small suction tank (like what is used to change oil), pumped it up and started draining the bilge of all residual water and diesel. There wasn't much in there, but it doesn't take much. I poured that all in a bucket and went and disposed of it. Poured Dawn soap and several buckets of freshwater down in the bilge and let it sit for about 2 hours (had the float switch off)... mopped all of that up with paper towels and forgot about the problem...
Curiosity got the best of me and yesterday, I took out the drawer under the forward facing seating of the salon and started looking at where the fill hose and vent hose, return lines and fuel line all come in there... i noticed there was a considerable amount of 'grime' under the fill hose and all underneath there. It is amazing how much dirt, hair, debris collects in the floor cracks of a boat... so I commenced trying to get all of this out. I noticed that there is about a 4"-6" wide detent in the molded fiberglass area where the hoses sweep down from above and to the metal tank cover and fittings. The grime previously mentioned was moist with fuel..I think I found my culprit, or at least part of the problem anyway. The fuel fill hose looks like original equipment. There is no cutout in the cabinetry to access the deck fill hose clamps... I cleaned it all up as best I could but I am still confused... is it the hose, is it the tank elbow or the plastic flare fitting the hose clamps to? It's not leaking now... I assume it leaked when I filled it up last weekend and had fuel coming out of the transom vent... the high volume diesel pump in Clearwater did a number on me, despite my trying to be very easy on the handle.... given the pressure on the tank top, I am concerned my tank gasket might have been compromised. If nothing else, getting things cleaned under there should further help with odors in the salon... fixing the wood rot in the anchor locker and sealing that off has helped immensely, the mast step is dry as a bone now...