Another question re: fuel tank safety

[Lisa Woodburn]

Hi all

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners]

Fumes

It will be interesting to see what folks say about this but here's my take: always keep it vented. Gasoline itself is not explosive, the fumes are. They can build up if unvented and nobody needs that. The only time I close my vents is when I'm moving them around to avoid spillage.LaDonna

 

[Tom]

Vapors In the Boat

In that heat I would keep the tank vented so you don't experience a tank failure. I think most other areas of the country you're better off not venting it. You're not doing the environment any favors venting all of those volitile organic vapors into the atmosphere. If you do vent remember the vapors are heavier than air and will settle in the lowest areas of your boat as well as the living area, and battery storage area. Make sure you completely air out the boat before sailing or doing anything that would cause a spark. The fuel storage area is one of the few drawbacks for a 22. It should be isolated from the living and electronics of the boat.

 

[Michael halliday]

Fuel Tank and LIving Area

i AGREE. the fumes have made both mny wife and a friend (who was pregnant at the time) sick toi their stomach when hiding from rain down below. I am planning to create a new bulkhead to seal off the fuel area (and those vents) from the rest of that storage area. (I am thinking about cutting a "slot" throught the woooden rack on the bottom of this area, and them tacking some fiberglass cloth all around the edges using epoxy , then when that has it held in place, wetting the rest of the cloth with resin a few times until it is solid. Thoughts? I think I will drill a small hole at the very bottom to allow any water that mnight enter throught he vents to slowly run out. Anybody else done this. This is the only real thing that I hate about my 1979 C 22 . (Oh, and the fact that I still have a through hull fitting where the old marine head used to pump out. I removed the head and use a porta instead.)