Refueling safety tips?

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Lisa Woodburn

Hi all. Silly question to many, but I was curious as to how you refuel the gas in the Cat 22 engine gas tank. I've had the boat approx. 10 mths, have spent many days & nights on her, but NEVER refueled her myself (that's my crew's job!) I'm extremely paranoid about gas & flammable stuff ever since a friend's oven blew up on me in college (no permanent damage - except the paranoia :) Some say to take the tank out and refuel on the ground or dock (the tank's a real pain to unstrap/restrap). My boyfriend just refuels it in the boat. What do you consider safest? Everyone's working tomorrow & I'll need to refuel her myself if I want to sail & anchor out with my son tomorrow (yikes!) - the boat's sitting at a marina guest slip right now where I'll need to refuel her. The gas is already mixed with the right amount of oil in my portable tank here at home. (I'm waiting for my stupid vehicle starter to be repaired today..or I'd be SAILING now rather than surfing the the web!) Anyway, it's kind of hairy handling gas tanks with the 110 degree heat here. They make all sorts of "scary" noises and the portable ones expand into ghastly shapes! :) Thanks much! Lisa
 
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LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners

Do what you're most comfortable with

If you think you'd be most comfortable refueling on the dock, go to the trouble of unstrapping. You'll have more confidence and less likely to have a spill. Just remember to SLOWLY open the lid/vent if it's hot out. Best to do early in the morning to avoid the expansion. Did you know that gas itself does not cause explosions, it's the gas fumes (gas gas?) that do. So empty tanks are infinitely more dangerous than full ones. Take care and have fun! LaDonna
 
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Aldo

How big is your fuel tank?

Lisa: How big is your fuel tank? I use 6 gallon tanks. I prefer the molded ones, and it isn't too big a deal taking it out. I always take mine out of the boat to fill it. A spill inside the sail compartment would be terrible mess, extreemly dangerous, and how would you get rid of the smell? If you aren't going to go too far in your boat, maybe you just want to add 3 or 4 gallons to your tank instead of filling it, so it will be lighter and easier for you to handle. Maybe you should look for a 3 gallon tank, or just get another 6 gallon one and only fill each one half way. We carry 2 tanks when we cruise our C-22. I made a little hose that has the connector on it that mates with the connector on the end of the fuel tank hose. I use this hose to transfer fuel from one tank to another, or when we fuel our dinghy motor from the C-22's fuel tank. If you want me to send you a photo, let me know. I still recommend transfering fuel on the dock, rather than on the boat, whenever possible. Aldo
 
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ken

refueling

Lisa..................... You are right to be concerned re:gasoline safety..... but on a C22 you have an outboard........ so many of the safety tips that you would follow IF you had an inboard engine do not really apply here. I always refuel on the dock when possible...... but...... not always possible to do so. I ALWAYS remove the tank from the port lazarette and refuel in the cockpit.......... lot's of air and if I spill a little..... I just scoop up some water in a bucket and wash the fuel spill down..... goes right out the cockpit drains. Use common sense and stop worrying........... enjoy your summer of sailing!!!
 
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Lisa Woodburn

Thanks - FYI- it's a 3 gallon fuel tank

Thanks for the input. I'll follow the advice today and take the tank off the boat to refuel. Thought that was safest- but when the boat's at dry storage, it's hairy to bring the tank down....would hate to drop it 5 feet! You folks probably killed a good laugh from the guys working the marina- my other option was to ask them to refuel her for me :) My tank's 3 gallons. We want to put a second in, for longer trips if the winds aren't cooperative.... Aldo, maybe I'll see if a 6 gallon will fit below...and not have to worry about swithcing the tanks... BTW- today will be a "first" for bonding with my 8 yr. old son. Our first night anchored out without anyone else. A little scary, but am looking forward to this "first" experience and time together. We have #'s of folks that live at the lake in case of trouble... Lisa
 
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ken

Have fun!!

Lisa.................. What a great time you and your 8 year old son will have overnighting. There may be better ways to bond with children .............. but this is pretty high on the list....... hope you both have a blast!! kenbernard@earthlink.net
 
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Barry Broyles

Good Idea

Lisa: As a 26 year veteran professional firefighter I can tell you that you should remove the tank from the compartment to refuel, it's best to do it on the dock if you can but can be done in the cockpit if necessary. It is extreemly dangerous to fill the tank in the compartment, especially in high temperatures. If you spill any fuel, wipe it up with rags or paper towels and allow them to air dry if you can before disposing of them in a trash can on shore. Do not wash down a fuel spill even a very small amount could get you a very large fine! Barry P. Broyles C22 #1909 "Brighteyes" Lieutenant, Baltimore City Fire Dept.
 
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Lisa Woodburn

Update after the "refueling" experience"

Hi and thanks to all the responses, again. If anyone's still on this thread- one thing was never mentioned (probably most folks don't need this info - but just in case...:) The stupid fuel vent needed to be opened before trying to remove the fuel cover (opening, or whatever it's called). OK- 99.9 % of you are probably having a good laugh about this - but, like I said, I've never done this before- if one of you reading this learn something - it's worth the embarrassment of writing this! (yeah- I asked someone to open the stupid fuel thing because I thought my boyfriend tightened it too much :) However, I took your advice & refueled on the dock.... Happy Sailing! Lisa PS- The first time anchoring overnight w/my 8 yr. old was a great experience. Wind gusts were predicted to 30 mph in the afternoon (too much for me & him!) so we anchored out early. Then we saw the AZ Game & Fish coming around and moving reef buoys out because they said the lake levels were starting to go down - UGH! We were too close for our comfort to the new buoy markers, so re-anchored further into to cove and could breath again. The winds were comfortable around 5 pm, although somehow that afternoon when the sails were down, my mainsail sheet shackle got lost/broke (thank God, not while we were sailing!) Overall, the experience was great. About 6 wild donkeys showed up early the next morning in the cove & my son showed some great common sense & was a great help pulling back into the dock when we headed in - again with 30 mph wind gusts predicted for that afternoon (we pulled in before they hit - they really make docking harder when they blow away from were you want to pull in :)
 
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