[C320-list] Bilge Diesel

[Jeff Hare]

Hi Brian,

The problem with this approach is that the drainage isn't directly to the
bilge.  It will flow in front of the fuel tank and into the compartment
where the aft water tank sits below the bunk.  Only when enough pools in
there to rise to the hole where the water line joins into tank will it spill
out and into the area where the prop shaft sits.  From there, it leads under
the engine pan through a small drain hole.  Once under the engine pan area,
this won't directly drain to the bilge cleanly since only if the boat is
tilted forward will that space drain into the bilge.  Depending on how they
finished the compartment holding the water tank, the fuel may bypass the
prop shaft area and go directly below the engine pan once enough pools under
the tank. So, my advice is not to do this as the result won't be great and
it'll take quite a few rough sailing adventures to fully flush the stuff
under the engine area out into the bilge for cleanup.

Instead you could consider some of these options:

- just use simple green on paper towels to wipe down the tank and as much of
the area in front of the tank as you can reach.  This won't take care of
cleaning the pool of diesel that the aft water tank may be sitting in.  That
may eventually permeate the water tank, and if nothing else, keep your aft
cabin smelling like a truck stop.  Not the best choice, but far better than
trying to wash down the tank and collect the runoff in the bilge.

Best choice:
- remove the aft water tank and you'll be able to fully clean up the mess.
It's not all that difficult and could do it in an afternoon with a helper. 
  * To do this, drain the aft water tank (easy)
  * Disconnect the water line leading out of the tank which is right near
the raw water strainer.  (easy)
  * Disconnect the water tank Fill hose and water tank vent line from the
deck fill fitting and the overboard vent so that these ends are free.
(moderately easy)
  * Remove the two white wooden braces that hold the water tank down. (easy)
  * With a large wrench, unscrew the threaded fittings that connect the
fill/vent hoses to the back of the water tank.  It's more difficult to
remove the hoses from these fittings than it is to just unscrew them from
the tank, while your assistant twists the hoses along with you from the area
by the rudder post.  (bit of a pain in the neck, but not hard.  I did it by
myself, and chose to replace the fill and vent hoses once I saw what they
looked like).
  * At this point, the water tank will simply lift out and you can fully
clean the area under the water tank (and the water tank itself) of diesel.
  * I used simple green full strength on wads of paper towels to mop up and
clean out the area under the tank and just put them in plastic trash bag.

The net result here is that you'll end up being able to clean up the mold
and mildew from under the aft cabin bunk at the same time.  I have pictures
of before/after in ours.  

I'll also point out that our fuel tank ALSO showed signs of leaking out the
fuel sender seal.  I was sure it was just the seal and people on this list
convinced me to take a closer look before drawing this conclusion.  While
this was indeed happening, there was a half-dime sized patch of corrosion
that didn't even show when the tank was in place which was where the real
leak was coming from.  It was leaking at a rate of about a tablespoon a
week...sometimes.  Once I pulled the fuel tank, and put a flashlight on the
corrosion spot outside the tank and looked inside the tank, I could see that
the metal was extremely thin and could see the glowing of the flashlight.
Eventually it would have started gushing.  

It was confusing was that it didn't leak consistently.  At one point I had
what seemed like a lot of fuel that had leaked, but then it appeared to stop
which made me also think it was only leaking when the tank was full to the
top.  

Your hull number is only 12 away from mine.  Many boats with much earlier
hull numbers have already had corrosion leaks and I'd bet that most of them
also showed wetness to some degree at the top of the tank around the cork
seal for the sender.  Also, remember that it only takes a tiny errant piece
of metal to roll under the tank and make contact  and you'll develop a
galvanic corrosion leak after some time in a place you cannot inspect.

Ezell can deliver a new direct replacement tank pretty quickly (a week or
so) for about $425 that is made of significantly thicker metal and has a
more high-tech sender and nice valves.  So it's worth considering.
Especially if you pull the old tank you'll be able to really clean up all
traces of diesel.  

To drain our diesel tank (which was full) I simply used a cheap "drill pump"
from Home Depot that I put in my electric drill.  I disconnected the hose
where it connects into the fuel filter and just pumped the fuel into some
diesel fuel jugs.  Took about 20 min and the tank was really quite empty and
lightweight at that point.  I don't know whether this little rotary pump was
"diesel fuel" safe, but I had no problems with it whatsoever.

Good Luck Brian!
-Jeff Hare 
#809


-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
Of Amiraults Family
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 4:30 PM
To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Bilge Diesel

All:

 

HOLY CRAP it is hard for a 250 pound old fart to enter and shift into useful
positions in the stern lockers. But I digress.

 

I emptied the stern lockers today, and in the process discovered my
emergency tiller. I was also able to remove the outboard half of the shelf,
and loosen the inboard half to view and access the fuel tank. I discovered
that there is evidence of fuel on the top of the tank. There is a disc with
wires connected on the top of the tank port side forward. This appears to
have a rubber gasket and is secured to the tank by a half-dozen or so
screws. Diesel seems to have come from here and flowed forward to dribble
down the front face of the tank.

 

The plan is to clean the area, tighten the screws, and apply a sealer.
Simple Green makes a purple degreaser/cleaner which the local service
provider swears by and so I will use this for the cleaning. The cleaning
plan is to remove with paper towels what can be before using a light
pressure sprayer to apply the product where diesel can be seen and using the
attached wand to spray into areas which cannot be accessed. Before this
dries I will pour water on the tank at the point of the leak to allow it to
flow towards the bilge - hopefully following the same path as the fuel did.
As the bilge fills, I will pump this out of the bilge and into a bucket
through a hose attached where the bilge water exits the boat. When this is
finished the last thing to do will be to scrub the bilge itself.

 

Question - what is a sound way to dispose of the mixture of water, Simple
Green, and a couple of cups of diesel?

 

Thanks again for the strategies for investigating the problem, making a
repair, and restoring the boat afterwards.

 

Brian Amirault

797 Waltzing Bear, too    



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