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Gasoline smell

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5376 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/11/2010 : 08:23:41

Last week, I filled my 6 gallon gas tank 3/4th of the way before a day sail, and figured that I'd use about a gallon going down the river & back up against the current and tooling around in the Sound.

As things would happen, the current and the winds were with me both ways, so I used very little gas.

When I returned to the slip at the end of the sail, I forgot to shut the vent cap. With the Fourth of July festivities and fireworks nearby, lots of boats passed by the marina and must have waked my boat something fierce.

When I got back to the marina a few days later, I smelled a very strong smell of gas. Being careful not to turn on power, and not raising a static spark, I looked back in the gas locker, I saw where the gas stained the fibreglass, and I reckoned I lost about a gallon of gas.

I assume most of the gas went overboard, unfortunately, but apparently a good deal seeped down through the scuppers into the space beneath the quarterberth and in the dumpster. I did not find any pools of liquid gas, but there was a residue.

[I am indeed very fortunate to still have a boat, as I'm pretty sure there was a time where the liquid gas and vapors were at a very dangerous concentration - glad I don't have an electric bilge pump!]

I cleared everything out of the dumpster, washed out the residue and let that air out. I opened the floor panel behind the companionway stairs and ran a fan in there for a few days, but the smell is still very strong.

Has anybody had a similar situation? What did you do to clear the smell?

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 07/11/2010 : 15:06:33

Presumably the gas ended up down by the keel. I'd run a strong solution of bilge-cleaner soap down into the bilge from the quarterberth hatch--roughly on the path it took from the scuppers, let it soak a little, and then pump it out. You could even pour some around the scuppers so it'll maybe seep down the same path as the gas took.

Perhaps the gasoline broke down the sealant I used some years ago around the flanges of the scupper tubes so it was able to seep in. But it's hard to imagine a "gallon" sloshing out of the vent! And if you filled it to only 3/4, expansion shouldn't have done it.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 07/11/2010 15:20:38

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2010 : 03:42:36

<< glad I don't have an electric bilge pump! >>

Very good point!

Edited by - on

Stu Jackson C34
Admiral

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844 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2010 : 11:51:12

PureAyre, Google it.

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5376 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2010 : 16:27:19

Dave,
No worries on the scupper, I plan on coating it with instant rubber or epoxy.
I did lose about a gallon of gas, since I had it before I left and didn't upon my return. I checked the cap, and the vent was open. Perhaps the cap itself was cross threaded.
:
The wakes from the passing boat traffic on the night of the fireworks was horrendous, as several of my dock mates reported damage on their boats. Good thing I'm no longer parked out front, but about 5 boats in from the river.
:
Stu, the pureayre sounds like a plan! The smell is beginning to fade.

Edited by - Voyager on 07/12/2010 16:33:25

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2010 : 18:30:52

Worth a try, but did you check the fabric covers and foam inside the cushions?

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5376 Posts

Response Posted - 07/13/2010 : 14:42:11

Dave B
I'll give them a look, really a sniff. I was worried the gas got into the wood core seeping through cracks and the like.

Everything in the boat like cushions and fabric got so permeated with the smell, I'm afraid it will just take some time - and some cool breezy weather - to air out. And the PureAyre will help too.

They say Thursday and Friday will be dry, but hot, so I will open everything up, and set up the box fan once again.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 07/14/2010 : 15:09:39

Unzip the cushions and put them in the sun.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.