Gas odor in bow of boat

[PiratePast40]

For the past few seasons, have gotten a whiff of gas once in awhile, when starting out the day on the lake, usually with a full gas tank. I tow it to the lake uncovered and it's about an hour trip, so that should have taken care of any fumes from sitting with the cover on. Getting it ready for this year and again noticed a gas smell up near the dash. Son in law helping couldn't smell any gas, but he didn't get in the boat.

Boat is a 1976 Fiberform closed bow runabout. Tank is located in the bow compartment. There is a bulkhead across that area but there is also a space at the top that's about 8" tall across the width of the bulkhead so there is an area for fumes to escape, but not much of one.

Had the wife pressurize the tank via the vent by putting the air nozzle into a plastic jar and then over the vent. Used soapy water to try to look for leaks around all the tank fittings but didn't find any leaks or hear any hissing sounds (tank about 1/4 full). Next I injected air through the fill connection to make sure the vent was working and it seemed to be.

Tank is a Moeller 19 gallon poly tank, installed about 4 years ago. All fittings, clamps, and fuel lines were replaced at that time also.

The vapors seem to be minor and no one else seems to smell them. Any idea where else to look?

Here are some pictures to show the layout of the boat:

 

[rbh]

Re: Gas odor in bow of boat

Either you got some gas on your hands shoes or clothes and you are just getting a wiff of them, or your tanks venting back into your boat because of the wind direction and the heavyer gas is sinking to the deck/sole.

my 02c

 

[airshot]

Re: Gas odor in bow of boat

If you have checked for leaks and sure the vent is proper then my guess is that while trailering the fumes are being carried forward and trapped under the dash. If the odor were great, I would consider another set of vents for ventalating under the dash.

Airshot

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Gas odor in bow of boat

In 2011 the EPA mandated LOW PERMEABLE fuel tanks.

There may be nothing wrong at all... Or NOT!

Check the Information Label Molded into the tank near the filler port for the model and date.
Moeller should be able to tell you if if you have an earlier "Smelly" Tank.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Gas odor in bow of boat

In 2011 the EPA mandated LOW PERMEABLE fuel tanks.

There may be nothing wrong at all... Or NOT!

Check the Information Label Molded into the tank near the filler port for the model and date.
Moeller should be able to tell you if if you have an earlier "Smelly" Tank.

Now that you mention it, the tank was in a different section of the web site and marked down considerably. It looked just exactly the same and had the same specs as the regular priced tanks. I bought it in April of May of 2009.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Gas odor in bow of boat

In 2011 the EPA mandated LOW PERMEABLE fuel tanks.

There may be nothing wrong at all... Or NOT!

I was going to mention that. The 1999 24' Chris Craft I owned before the Four Winns, had a slight odor. All the hoses were brand new, no leaks... but you could often get just a whiff of gasoline.

If you google something like 'plastic fuel tank permeability' you'll find plenty of mention of vapor odor from them, depending on age and material. If you're certain that all the hoses and fittings are in good shape, you should only need to replace the tank if it makes you nervous. Your call.

My .02

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Gas odor in bow of boat

Is this a new recent issue or has it been going on all along?

Thing that seem to have changed for no reason are often the first warning of things to come. :blue: