Oh No/Gas in the bilge

[5th Tuition]

As you know; I just got the boat back from getting new three sided enclosure. I parked it in the yard so I could paint the bottom and wax it before putting it in the wet slip. I did the bottom and waxed the sides and noticed the grass on the yard was dead and discolored.
My first thought was some bilge water had run out and ran over the wet bottom paint and the chemicals in the paint killed the grass.
I stuck my finger in the plug hole and smelled gas. Oh No!
I hooked the boat up to the truck and drove it around the block and pulled it in front of the house (on a 30 degree hill). When I pulled the plug, two gallons of raw gas spilled out. (censored, censored, censored)
It's as if the tank holds half a tank, but anything above half spills out. I was hoping it was a hose, so I took up the floor covering and looked at the hoses. I can't see anything wrong with them, so it may be the tank. It's aluminum and 9 yrs old.
Headed to have it evaluated on Monday. Wish me luck.
5th (Marty)

[mlag]

Dang Marty.......that stinks. Good Luck man. Hope it's not too costly....................Mark

[Stinkbait]

Marty,
I wish you luck. The same thing happened to me a few years back. Major PIA.

Long story, call me you if you want to hear it all. But, my aluminum tank ended up having a small pin hole that would clog/unclog occasionally, pain to figger out. It was near the top of the tank and caused by a stringer in the hull rubbing it over many years.

Jim

[Skip]

Saltwater Sportman just had a good story about fuel tanks.
Most alumimun ones last between 10 to 15 years.

Sounds like you have a seam ( weld ) that is leaking since you lose gas when over 1/2 full.
If it only happened near full - then it could be the fill on even the guage seal.

E-10 fuel caused some gasket materials to dissolve - guys fearing a bad tank were relieved to find just a new gasket fixed the trouble.

Gas vapors are very dangerous.

One thing to try if you are handy. You'll need an air compressor and an old car/truck inner tube.

Far away from the boat - run the compressor to fill the tank. Wheel it near the boat. Cut the valve stem from the inner tube - leaving roughly a 5-6 inch circle of rubber. Remove the fill cap and place the rubber over it and add some air. The idea is to GENTLY put positive pressure in the tank to hopefully hear / see the leak. You might need to plug the vent.

You might get lucky and it be the guage gasket or a split hose at the tank.
Losing a few gallons going around the block sounds like a split seam though.

If it is the tank - sorry to say - major mess. You'll need to remove the gas and then the tank.

At 9 years old - IMHO - better to replace then repair it.

[Skip]

Saltwater Sportman just had a good story about fuel tanks.
Most alumimun ones last between 10 to 15 years.

Sounds like you have a seam ( weld ) that is leaking since you lose gas when over 1/2 full.
If it only happened near full - then it could be the fill or even the guage seal.

E-10 fuel caused some gasket materials to dissolve - guys fearing a bad tank were relieved to find just a new gasket fixed the trouble.

Gas vapors are very dangerous.

One thing to try if you are handy. You'll need an air compressor and an old car/truck inner tube.

Far away from the boat - run the compressor to fill the tank. Wheel it near the boat. Cut the valve stem from the inner tube - leaving roughly a 5-6 inch circle of rubber. Remove the fill cap and place the rubber over it and add some air. The idea is to GENTLY put positive pressure in the tank to hopefully hear / see the leak. You might need to plug the vent.

You might get lucky and it be the guage gasket or a split hose at the tank.
Losing a few gallons going around the block sounds like a split seam though.

If it is the tank - sorry to say - major mess. You'll need to remove the gas and then the tank.

At 9 years old - IMHO - better to replace then repair it.

[Slayer]

This really isn't related but it's a pretty interesting tidbit. I can remember my dad finding a leak in an metal fuel tank in the boat. It was right before a fishing trip and he didn't want to cancel. He took a bar of ivory soap and rubbed it repeatedly over the leak. That thing did not leak at all for the next few days and he said it would hold forever if he let it.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

[5th Tuition]

Headed out tomorrow morning to get someone to look at it and get their opinion. I'll keep you guys informed.
5th (Marty)

[garlien]

Good luck...Had to get my tank replaced a couple of years ago....Wish you better luck than me....

Originally Posted by 5th Tuition

As you know; I just got the boat back from getting new three sided enclosure. I parked it in the yard so I could paint the bottom and wax it before putting it in the wet slip. I did the bottom and waxed the sides and noticed the grass on the yard was dead and discolored.
My first thought was some bilge water had run out and ran over the wet bottom paint and the chemicals in the paint killed the grass.
I stuck my finger in the plug hole and smelled gas. Oh No!
I hooked the boat up to the truck and drove it around the block and pulled it in front of the house (on a 30 degree hill). When I pulled the plug, two gallons of raw gas spilled out. (censored, censored, censored)
It's as if the tank holds half a tank, but anything above half spills out. I was hoping it was a hose, so I took up the floor covering and looked at the hoses. I can't see anything wrong with them, so it may be the tank. It's aluminum and 9 yrs old.
Headed to have it evaluated on Monday. Wish me luck.
5th (Marty)

[5th Tuition]

Well; I took the boat to Judge Yachts for Bill to take a look at the situation. I figured if I could get a plastic (polypropalene?) fuel tank to fit my boat; then I wouldn't have to worry about it again. I also figured if Bill needed to "fabricate" anything, who better to have work on your boat.
The plan is to first Pressure Test the tank and go from there. Wish me luck, I hope to be back on the water shortly. With the spot taking so long to get here in any numbers, maybe I'll hit their migration at just the right time.
5th (Marty)

[Bend-Lure]

I replaced a the fuel tank on my old boat years ago. I will spare you the gorey details, and just wish you luck.