Diesel leak

[jodygoldman]

I own a 1986 Catalina 30 . The smell of fuel is very strong in the cabin and I have been trying to isolate the source. At first I thought it was residue in the bilge, but that has been thoroughly cleaned and the odor remains.

The fuel tank is directly beneath the cockpit behind the stairs. The fuel filter is adjacent to the tank. It is a glass globe filter that allows me the ability to see if there is sediment in the fuel, and there is a type of wing-nut on the bottom of that glass bulb. Occassionally I can feel a drip of fuel on the win-nut but very-very-slight.

So, I put a paper towel in a small bowl directly under the wing-nut and left it for one week to catch any leaks and determine if it was leaking more than I thought. The towel was completely dry.

Then I put a papertowel on the fiberglass floor directly forward of the fuel tank (no bowl) and left it for a week. When I retrieved it, it was SOAKED with fuel. Does this indicate I may have a leaking fuel tank? I know it sounds like one of those "Duh" questions, but perhaps there is another explaination. Hope someone has experience in diagnosing this. Thanks, Jody

 

[Stephen K]

Jody,

I think you found the problem. I have read about pin holes in some fuel tanks, but luckily I have not experienced that on my C-30.
Another possibility is if you overfilled the tank...if so, fuel may be leaking out at the point of the filler hose attachment to the tank.
While your at it, test all your fuel lines for diesel by wiping them with a towel. If the towel smells, you have permeated lines and that will also present a lingering diesel smell.

 

[Stu Jackson]

You've located it, but like many leaks

it may not be directly above where your towel was.

Check the fuel lines and the connections first. With the age of your boat, have the fuel hoses and/or hose clamps been replaced, ever?

The last thing to do, after that, is determine if the tank itself is leaking. Eventually aluminum tanks will develop pinhole leaks. Catalina and other sources provide replacement tanks. Hope it's not that, but you should "start thinking..."

See: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,1576.0.html

 

[Dean5735]

Like Stu said, be sure to check all the clamps, give a quarter turn or so. Maybe the vent tube is plugged forcing fumes back in? Spiders out in the overflow? Is the tank secure? or has it been moving around a little? All that stuff.

 

[Glenn17467]

I overfilled my tank once and after an afternoon of sailing I had a little fuel in the bilge, it came from the fuel level float gasket. I have never topped off again and have never had the problem reoccur. I think all openings to the tank should be on top, check there first.