I thought I'd tell this story for any/all who are thinking of buying a used boat, and maybe as a suggestion for those who already own one.
In 1992 I purchased a 1977 32' Uniflite. It had Twin Crusader 270 V-drives, 80 gal of water and 250 gal of fuel.
The fuel tanks were 2 factory installed 100 gallon tanks, and one 50 gallon auxillary tank mounted between the two engines. It was a custom built after market tank the original owner had made and installed.
I had a marine survey performed and it all came out fine - with the usual comments about blisters and older age equipment. I purchased the boat.
After 2 months of ownership, I invited a good friend to go to Catalina for the weekend. He loves good food and demanded HE bring the food. "Of Course" I relied. He also smokes.
We were set to depart Long Beach by 3PM. I had arrived at the boat at 5:30 AM to gas up. I topped off both 100 gal tanks, and then filled the 50 gal AUX tank. I motored back to the slip, tied up, and went to work.
I left the office in time to meet by buddy at the boat. I helped him carry bags of who knows what . . he had a big smile on his face when I asked "what'd ya bring?" ....
I stepped aboard, he set his bags on the dock and returned to his car to get more gear. I opened the salon door and stepped inside . . . snif snif . . . I smelled gasoline. I stood in the galley smelling the air with a panic, then all of a sudden the smell seemed to go away - I thought.
I lifted the hatch cover in the main salon and got another wiff of gas, I felt light headed. I saw liquid in the bilge and I leaned down into the hatch and touched the liquid - it was that rough feeling of gasoline. You know, gas is thinner than water so you feel wet, but you feel your fingers more.
This was REALLY weird because I actually doubted it was gas. I put my fingers to my nose and smelled gasoline. This is when the reality hit me . . . I jumped up and exited the boat only to see my buddy stepping onto the boat . . . with a lit cigarette in his mouth. I yelled GET THAT CIG OUT AND GET OFF THE BOAT!!! THERE's A GAS LEAK.
My buddy turned white as a ghost, his cig went flying aft to the middle of the channel and he dropped the bags and ran. I was right behind him.
The boat just sat there. I was expecting it to explode when I realized what was going on. I called the harbor patrol on my cell. They told me GAT AWAY FROM THE DOCK! Within seconds I heard the sirens of the harbor patrol boat . . . about 3 minutes later they were screaming down the narrow channel in full fire gear. They immediately started foaming the boat. They boarded the boat and foamed out the interior. Then they towed the boat to the isolation dock - which just happens to be right by the fuel dock!
They pumped 50 gallons of fuel out of my bilge. They found a hole the size of a quarter in the bottom of the aux tank. They removed the tank and washed out the boat with several gallons of simple green, then went thru the boat the next day with a "Sniffer" that detects gas fumes. It was given a clean bill of health.
I went to the isolation dock 3 days after the incident to get the boat. Rather than going straight to the dock I decided to take a run out the jetty. I got a half mile out then turned around and came back in. I got to the dock, went below and smelled gas AGAIN!
WTF!!???
Harbor patrol arrives again . . same routine . . Isloation dock . . 2 days later the report comes back that apparently 2-3 gallons of fuel found a high spot hiding place and never got pumped out. By my running out the jetty and getting the nose UP gave the gas the desired angle to run aft.
Where am I going with this Story??
1. Part of your pre-purchase inspection should be visual inspection of all surfaces - or as many surfaces as possible of the fuel tanks. Look for corrosion.
2. Have a pressure test done on all tanks to be sure there are no leaks. Had I had this simple test performed, we would have found the quarter sized hole in the AUX tank and never had to go thru this terrifying experience. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Even tho the tank was grounded, electrolysis ate the hole in it.
Add pressure tests to you list of inspections!!
JB
In 1992 I purchased a 1977 32' Uniflite. It had Twin Crusader 270 V-drives, 80 gal of water and 250 gal of fuel.
The fuel tanks were 2 factory installed 100 gallon tanks, and one 50 gallon auxillary tank mounted between the two engines. It was a custom built after market tank the original owner had made and installed.
I had a marine survey performed and it all came out fine - with the usual comments about blisters and older age equipment. I purchased the boat.
After 2 months of ownership, I invited a good friend to go to Catalina for the weekend. He loves good food and demanded HE bring the food. "Of Course" I relied. He also smokes.
We were set to depart Long Beach by 3PM. I had arrived at the boat at 5:30 AM to gas up. I topped off both 100 gal tanks, and then filled the 50 gal AUX tank. I motored back to the slip, tied up, and went to work.
I left the office in time to meet by buddy at the boat. I helped him carry bags of who knows what . . he had a big smile on his face when I asked "what'd ya bring?" ....
I stepped aboard, he set his bags on the dock and returned to his car to get more gear. I opened the salon door and stepped inside . . . snif snif . . . I smelled gasoline. I stood in the galley smelling the air with a panic, then all of a sudden the smell seemed to go away - I thought.
I lifted the hatch cover in the main salon and got another wiff of gas, I felt light headed. I saw liquid in the bilge and I leaned down into the hatch and touched the liquid - it was that rough feeling of gasoline. You know, gas is thinner than water so you feel wet, but you feel your fingers more.
This was REALLY weird because I actually doubted it was gas. I put my fingers to my nose and smelled gasoline. This is when the reality hit me . . . I jumped up and exited the boat only to see my buddy stepping onto the boat . . . with a lit cigarette in his mouth. I yelled GET THAT CIG OUT AND GET OFF THE BOAT!!! THERE's A GAS LEAK.
My buddy turned white as a ghost, his cig went flying aft to the middle of the channel and he dropped the bags and ran. I was right behind him.
The boat just sat there. I was expecting it to explode when I realized what was going on. I called the harbor patrol on my cell. They told me GAT AWAY FROM THE DOCK! Within seconds I heard the sirens of the harbor patrol boat . . . about 3 minutes later they were screaming down the narrow channel in full fire gear. They immediately started foaming the boat. They boarded the boat and foamed out the interior. Then they towed the boat to the isolation dock - which just happens to be right by the fuel dock!
They pumped 50 gallons of fuel out of my bilge. They found a hole the size of a quarter in the bottom of the aux tank. They removed the tank and washed out the boat with several gallons of simple green, then went thru the boat the next day with a "Sniffer" that detects gas fumes. It was given a clean bill of health.
I went to the isolation dock 3 days after the incident to get the boat. Rather than going straight to the dock I decided to take a run out the jetty. I got a half mile out then turned around and came back in. I got to the dock, went below and smelled gas AGAIN!
WTF!!???
Harbor patrol arrives again . . same routine . . Isloation dock . . 2 days later the report comes back that apparently 2-3 gallons of fuel found a high spot hiding place and never got pumped out. By my running out the jetty and getting the nose UP gave the gas the desired angle to run aft.
Where am I going with this Story??
1. Part of your pre-purchase inspection should be visual inspection of all surfaces - or as many surfaces as possible of the fuel tanks. Look for corrosion.
2. Have a pressure test done on all tanks to be sure there are no leaks. Had I had this simple test performed, we would have found the quarter sized hole in the AUX tank and never had to go thru this terrifying experience. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Even tho the tank was grounded, electrolysis ate the hole in it.
Add pressure tests to you list of inspections!!
JB