[C320-list] Mast water leak.

[Doug Treff]

On 2014-09-04 13:03, wflowe3 at aim.com wrote:
> My way of drying the bilge is to use a small wet/dry shop vacuum that
> I have modified the suction end of the hose;

I hate to be alarmist, but you are taking a big chance vacuuming your 
bilge with a shop vac. While it's true that diesel vapors are pretty 
hard to ignite, remember that propane is heavier than air and we all 
have propane on our C320's unless they have been refitted with another 
stove fuel source. Any propane that is leaking on the boat will settle 
in the lowest point if the bilge. EXACTLY where you're putting that 
vacuum. And shop-vacs are not spark-protected devices.

And if you've got an outboard or a generator on your boat, there's 
always a small possibility that there could be gasoline fumes down there 
depending on where you store your fuel.

Be VERY CAREFUL! At the very minimum, please run your engine blower for 
10 minutes before you attempt this.

I know it's messy, but you really should put on a pair of rubber gloves 
and sponge out what the bilge pump won't get. Its the safest way.

---
Doug Treff
doug at treff.us