how could this possibly happen

thedog · #1 04-13-2012, 01:00 PM

My motors have had an issue this year coming out of winter storage, ran the boat fished hard last year up until december, then winterized and put it away.

last week I had issues with the motors running(first time I started it up this year)
after a week of trying I brought the boat to the dealer. he added some chemical to the fuel in tub after he pumped a bunch thru the filters and noticed a lot of water. then took the top sending unit off the tank and sticked it, 12" yes 12" of water in the fuel tank. I have always treated the tank with startron at every fill up. and in december had no issues.
the cap and vent were covered all winter with a full cover., over the entire boat, and i filled the tank up when I put the boat away.

either the fuel dock filled me with 40 gallons of water at the last fill, or someone stole my gas. but why would they fill the tank after taking out half of it.

could there be another issue? fuel tank has no oder under the deck breather is normal.
I am at a loss as to how 12" of water could get in the tank over the winter.

thedog · #2 04-13-2012, 02:09 PM

well I just talked to a guy and he had a scenario. the boat was at the marina for a week on a rack at ground level. if you put a fuel vent cap over a boats vent. with a hose and fitting on it. pump water into a tank. fuel comes out of vent. fill up 40 or 50 gallons and then leave.

this way you don't have to worry about anti syphon devices and snaking a hose down the fuel fill cap. all fuel tanks fill from the bottom. if you syphon from the fill cap the first few gallons you may get is water. syphon from the top and you get only good fuel.

I wonder.

thedog · #3 04-13-2012, 02:10 PM

thieves in some cases aren't dumb. just to lazy to work and don't want to run for office.

thedog · #4 04-13-2012, 02:44 PM

more great news $450 to pump it. then another $600 to fill it,

FishMagnet · #5 04-13-2012, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedog

well I just talked to a guy and he had a scenario. the boat was at the marina for a week on a rack at ground level. if you put a fuel vent cap over a boats vent. with a hose and fitting on it. pump water into a tank. fuel comes out of vent. fill up 40 or 50 gallons and then leave.

this way you don't have to worry about anti syphon devices and snaking a hose down the fuel fill cap. all fuel tanks fill from the bottom. if you syphon from the fill cap the first few gallons you may get is water. syphon from the top and you get only good fuel.

I wonder.

I guess this is possible theoretically but I would think that there would be signs that this occurred. does the vent cap and the fiberglass next to it look normal? I would expect some subtle signs that this had been removed and replaced

Blue_Heron · #6 04-13-2012, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedog

if you put a fuel vent cap over a boats vent. with a hose and fitting on it. pump water into a tank. fuel comes out of vent. fill up 40 or 50 gallons and then leave.

Seems a little far fetched to me. Water is heavier than gas, yes, but unless they brought along a fitting that made a tight seal with your deck fill, it would be a very slow messy process to capture gas pushed through a vent.

The water in the gas at the last fill up is unlikely, but I think more likely than the theft by water displacement scenario. Every time I've had water in my gas, it's been a problem with the tank. 12" is a bunch, though. Is your tank really 24"deep?
Dave

McGillicuddy · #7 04-13-2012, 09:34 PM

That does seem strange. If I'm a thief, that is a waste of time and fairly high risk.

Id be looking for a leak around the fill hose or tank, and checking to see if anyone else has had a fill with bad gas due to old supply tanks or something.

WildBill · #8 04-13-2012, 10:45 PM

Just another fun fact found out the hard way. My brother used to fish offshore in a smaller boat, a 19' Wahoo in rough sea's (an honest 5'-6') and his vent would get a little to close to the sea's if you catch my drift. He would ultimately suck in sea water through his fuel vent all day long. He would make it in and not notice anything was wrong but after a couple of trips and between sitting and refueling the problems would arise. We figured it out after a few years of fuel/water issue's. I'm assuming your talking about your 23' Sea Craft and not a smaller boat. But if you fish or travel through heavy sea's this could explain some of the water in your tank. You should know how close your vent opening is getting to the sea's once you think about it; and check which way its pointing (should be pointing aft and downward) the water tends to roll up the sides while running through the slop. It may or may not be whats causing your issue but just something I've experienced and thought I should share.
Good Luck
Wild Bill

pelican · #9 04-13-2012, 11:59 PM

a common problem - the most overlooked thing - a missing "o" ring on the fuel cap...

another potential area for this is actually caused by water leaking INTO the tank - don't laugh,i've seen this quite a few times - it's actually pretty common...you're not stating how old the boat is - or if that water was fresh or satwater...

strick · #10 04-14-2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WildBill

Just another fun fact found out the hard way. My brother used to fish offshore in a smaller boat, a 19' Wahoo in rough sea's (an honest 5'-6') and his vent would get a little to close to the sea's if you catch my drift. He would ultimately suck in sea water through his fuel vent all day long. l

I have had this happen beforeas well. Vent turned the wrong way (slightly forward)...taking turns very sharp (seacrafts are fun

) and bingo lots of water in fuel and tank had to be drained.

strick