[C320-list] New member/basic question

[Jeff Hare]

Hi Jack,

I suspect your fuel tank leaks.  When you say no diesel near the Engine Pan, water tank/stuffing box area, that hints at the tank.

The Fuel tank is positioned such that a leak will flow into the bay where the aft water tank lives.  There is a hole where the water hose exits the aft water tank that is drilled through that wall separating the water tank from the prop shaft area.  That wall is not a single layer! It's actually a double wall with a gap, like an interior wall in a house where there are two drywall surfaces and a gap between. Any water/fuel that would collect under the fuel tank would flow through the hole in the inner wall and down into the bilge, not all the way through to the prop shaft area. 

That's why diesel in the bilge is usually the sign of a fuel tank leak.

A new fuel tank (stock size) is a pretty quick project, but if you tackle that, there are a couple other good things to do at the same time that will be well worth the effort.  
1) pull the aft water tank (because you'll want to clean out the remaining diesel under the water tank anyway.
2) while the aft water tank is out, replace and reroute water tank fill and vent hoses.  (they'll be totally gross.)
3) get rid of the dryer vent hoses that were there to handle the bilge blower and are totally useless and unnecessary.
4) clean the aft storage area where the fuel tank goes and apply a quick coat of white BilgeKote paint either before or after installing the new fuel tank.

The whole place will look great and be easier to keep clean which will help the boat not smell.  I did the same thing to the bilge sump areas as well.  Jon Vez turned me on to a product by Zep called "Clear Shell" that's a water based spray with some kind of powdered crab shell mixture that seems to prevent the growth of mold/mildew.  So I spray the area with that a few times a year and it seems to work pretty well.

Cheers!
-Jeff Hare

PS: If you are doing more long range cruising, you could opt to use the larger tank design I made.  It's also available from the same company that makes the stock tank and holds a little over 23 gallons instead of 19 gallons. It fits through the same aft cabin opening as the stock tank.  It requires removing 2 of the 3 wooden cleats that hold the fuel tank in place and installing 2 new ones to account for the larger footprint.  It's not a lot of fun but not the hardest project either.  If you don't need the extra fuel, the stock tank is an easy replacement project.  The new tanks have a much thicker aluminum than the tanks on the earlier model C320s.

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Jack Brennan
Sent: Thursday, August 2, 2018 2:45 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] New member/basic question

Well, after several hours of crawling around, cleaning everything and running the diesel, I've come to the conclusion that someone changed the fuel filter, dumped some diesel in the bilge and never cleaned it up.

The diesel soaked into absorbent pads under the engine and continually tainted the bilge water from the stuffing box as it passed through on the way to the bilge pump.

There was no diesel near the water tank or in the little collection pond for the stuffing box. Fuel filter, fuel pump and all lines are good. I can't see any other path for diesel from a leaking tank to make it to the bilge pump. 
Am I missing something?

Also, anyone know what kind of fuel filter that is?

Thanks again for all of the help.

Jack Brennan
1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.




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