And so it begins

[jibes138]

Joe,
The secret to the hose is boiling water. First you boil some water. Then while the water is boiling you go install the hoses. Kind of like a lady having a baby, the mans job is to go boil some water.
All kidding aside, you dip the end of the hose in boiling water, it softens right up and will easily slide over the barbs, when it cools you can't get it off without using a razer blade to peel it off. Works great. I suppose you could use a heat gun but the boiling water works great.

 

[25yearslater]

From our other contributors we have the soapy water. Thanks bria that is another nontoxic solution to the lube problem. Jibes has it with just water which also lubes the assembly. Thank you jibes. Between these three methods a slight warming and one of the three lube methods should help with hose installation. One other thing to note is the 27 water tank was never strapped into it's box. It is now using the 850 lb breaking strength strapping I used on the fuel tank.

 

[jibes138]

Hey 25. The best of both worlds, use the boiling SOAPY water. What I do is take the boiling soapy water right to the job site, dip the hose in the now no longer boiling but very hot Soapy water in the pan and let it sit for maybe a minute, then it slides right on the hose barb so easy you won't believe it. Only trouble with soap is I think it tends to provide a breeding ground for mold (just like all other boat surfaces) after it all dries out so you want to flush off the outside of the hose to remove the residue.
Regarding your plastic straps I was down in my locker working on my exhaust system last week and trying to stop the profuse bleeding from my knee where the hot water heater sheet metal warning tag sliced me open like a razor blade when I noticed that my fuel tank is also held in place with the black plastic straps. Good news, raw water loop is now working again and I can go sailing, once my knee heals :>)

 

[25yearslater]

Weekend Update: The water test. A garden hose works quite well when a full force nozzle is attached and you crank up the well pump pressure. Turn it back down after though. I am happy to report YOT is water tight as long as one removes the shipping plastic from the opening ports in the head. This allows the lens to seat against the gasket. Other than that she is tight as a; well insert your own analogy...

 

[25yearslater]

Perhaps some may have assumed I've sailed away, NOT. The little things are being tended to at this point. One of these are bees and other nasties accessing the cabin via cowl vents. A mini louver from McMaster-Carr should do the trick. Silicone it into the 3 inch opening in the Sea Dog Line cowl from Sailboatowners.com/store and bugs be excluded.

 

[Boatsail1]

Yep. It's me again

You're not a new guy- I am.
Boatsail

 

[Boatsail1]

New owner of 28 O day. Looking forward to conversation and ideas. Some work needed, though nothing I see as critical. Much to explore. Must take time to learn workings of Net.

 

[Panta Rei]

One of these are bees and other nasties accessing the cabin via cowl vents.

I'm on my second can of wasp spray. I'm very careful to tap and look before putting my hand in any recess.

Welcome boatsail

 

[25yearslater]

Welcome aboard Boatsail. Enjoy our merry band of recyclers/restorers and general all around good folks. Still more to come from 25 that would be me. Not much but some. And the grand finale being getting it in the water and see if it was all for naught. I prefer screaming like a little girl at bees Todd. It doesn't help but it makes me feel better.

 

[Indysailor]

I used to landscape and have run into my share of yellow jacket nests. I understand very well the "screaming like a little girl" strategy as well as my own personal innovation, the "strip off your pants in the customer's backyard because they are in there too" technique.
Carry on.

 

[25yearslater]

S'more nice stuff and gotta haves. Gas tank with SBO Store fuel hose, thanks Phil, that meets ABCLMNOP and Roids of Rundun (Lloyd's Register) for ethanol compatability. Grounding from filler neck to tank and to ship's ground. I saw the aftermath of a boat explosion once and that was sufficient to convince me get it right. Double clamps of stainless steel and vent hose, thanks again Phil. Also shown fancy dandy white bases under chainplate covers. Don't understand the nonskid under this area so I ground it out and filled with white gelcoat. Pretty snazzy huh?

 

[jibes138]

Fual tank woes

Entered the boat on Tuesday and was greated by strong diesel odor. Bilge contaminated and all the oil pads were soaked. Looks like the tank has turned into swiss cheese. Tank is behind engine, no way to remove it with out either pulling the engine or cutting it up in place (very dangerous proposition). Since I use about 10 gallons a year and the tank is 30 gallons I am going to install a small tank in the locker with about 10 gallons or so and if in the future I ever have to pull the engine I'll pull the big tank then. Meanwhile just pumped 23 gallons of diesel out of the old tank plus some bilge water oil mixture. Know anyone that wants some diesel fuel?
Every time I try to go sailing I end up with a major project. I felt good when I was 27 years old (age of the boat) how come the boat isn't just in its' prime?

Sorry to hijack the thread 25 I know how much you care. Any advice is welcome. I take it you have an atomic 4 with gasoline? I saw a boat blow up once in Lake Sunapee, burned right to the waterline, people were on board but all dove off safely and were picked up, very spectacular and quite impactful on a young person known as value programming.

 

[JonnyQuest]

We Afourians love the thrill of danger, that's why we keep the engine. Sure, they blow up all the time causing general mayhem in harbors across the country-- not really, I just couldn't resist

Maintenance on the fuel system and regular checks make them safe and venting is important. Joe certainly has done some fine work on that new tank install and can certainly offer the rest of us some special fuel system reno tips. Right Joe?

 

[jibes138]

I looked all over the web for tanks but only found 12 gallons and up with fairly large footprints at the usual marine supply places. I then found an outfit in Rhode Island called Ocean Link that offers a 7 gallon tank with all fittings (made by special order from Moeller). I called and they estimate two weeks for delivery but I bought it anyway. Footprint is 12 x 12 x 12 plus a few inches for the fill fitting on the height. This should be perfect for the installation location and give me about 20 or 30 miles of range. In a full week trip to Nantucket from Mystic I only burned 15 gallons so this size should keep the fuel very fresh and the small size will allow easy removal for cleaning. I'll try to post a pic or two when I do the installation. I'm sure I'll need 500 bucks of hoses and clamps and tie down straps and neoprene pads, etc. Hope no storms hit before I install it. Looks like it is getting active down south on the NOAA web site.

 

[jibes138]

Hey 25 how did you install such a short piece of fill hose? I can't picture any way you could get that on the fill fittings? Do they actually sell it in less than a foot increments?

 

[25yearslater]

Let's start at the beginning. Sorry to hear about you tank situation jibes. SailingCal has a oday 34 that he had to replace his tank. Hehad it custom made so he would be an excellent source. I was fortunate enough to find Mirax in business making the same tanks. They are within 1/4 inch of the original so I didn't have to recut the fuel fill hole. The tank did measure about 1 inch shorter so a new bottom support and blocking was made. The hose install was 1.5 inch ID on an aluminum hose barb 1.5 X 1.5 NPT screwed into the aluminum deck fill. The 4 inch hose was an easy measurement. Set the assembled fill and barb on the cockpit floor and measure the length from tank top to top of hose barb. To assemble install the hose on the tank and caulk the deck fitting. This is then pushed down into the hose. Secure the fill with screws into the predrilled holes and tighten the hose clamps. Remember to slide all 4 clamps on the hose first or you get to take them apart and restart 'em. Now to Jonny. You got it right about us gas burners. Creating all sorts of drama around marinas. Actually gasoline has been successfully used for boats for most of the twentieth century with a very good safety record. What we are running in to is aging boats with antiquated fuel systems. While we may not like ethanol blends it is the way it is and we are going to have to adjust to insure we are not going to ruin a great safety record. I am grateful to the many who post on this thread as it was their contribution that prompted me to inspect my tank and fuel hoses while access was available. This is our thread so it can't be hijacked. I'm just the nut who started it and followed through with techniques and advise provided by a wide variety of sources. And by the way jibes SBO Store sells by the foot. Email Phil and he can set you up. He might be willing to sell less than a foot but it is pretty cheap. I have 8 inches leftover if you want it.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Since you mentioned ethanol...
Joe, we've probably already discussed it even in this ongoing thread: even though I have replaced all my lines etc with ethanol compatible materials, I still only put ethanol free gas in ALL my engines (boat, lawn mower, weed eater, and our cars). I believe it minimizes the water content in the fuel and appears to be a break even in cost-- the added fuel cost is offset by a roughly 10% increase in fuel efficiency. And I still add stabilizer by the way.

Ps- there's an app for that one: Pure Gas. It's an iPhone app that shows eth free stations around you. Maybe has a droid version too.

 

[25yearslater]

Thanks Jonny. I will look for it in my area. Sounds like you have a good method to prevent water in the fuel and ready if you need to fill with ethanol.

 

[bria46]

althought I have a Westerbele 10-2 in my O'Day 272 I was able to find straight diesel fuel - marine diesel not truck diesel which is loaded with additives just like gas is. I was able to find it at my marina fuel dock. At the end of rhe season I completely drain my ten gallon aluminum tank, using a tempo two and a half pump and then burn the old diesel fuel in my diesel auto. Once all the diesel fuel is removed from the boats ten gallon tank I then completely top off the tank with marine diesel add sea-foam and that's it for winter storage. Does this proceedure sound OK to you guys?

 

[jibes138]

Good plan Bria

Diesel will still run your engine after sitting for a long time, the problem is stuff grows in the diesel and sinks to the bottom and along with any water that separates out creates an acidic environment to eat your tank and then the stuff gets stirred up in rough seas and clogs up your filters. I have had the filter clog problem in the past but the tank finally bit the dust after 27 years. I can't complain with getting that kind of life out of it. Problem is I use about 10 gallons a year and the tank is 30 gallons and can't be removed without pulling engine or cutting it up in place and there is no room to do that. I had some good boat guys look at doing it and we jointly agreed a small tank would work well, gets excess weight out of the stern and will keep the fuel fresh. I'll carry a few extra jugs and should be good until an engine rebuild sometime in the future or if I ever sell the boat.
Only thing to add to your plan is to try to clean out the bottom and sides of the tank if you have access. Some of these polishing services go in with pressurized fuel to try to flush out the gunk and they pump it out a couple times to get as much contamination out as they can.