Diesel fill location

[ed c.]

My son wants to move the fill pipe location forward, where the fill hose will drain into the tank along side the engine. Is this OK as per CG rules & regs ?

[bob lico]

ed i gave quite a bit of head scratching to this same question.i put the diesel fill dead center of gunwale at the transom .i can pull up to fuel dock from either direction without draping filthy hose over teak coaming boards .the fuel has no loop and goes directly into tank OEM. right angle fitting.--------------whats not to like!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bob lico]

[bbtiller]

If your deck is like mine with the small hatch just aft of companionway steps and near the midline, there is an access or fuel gauge on the tank, which I re-plumbed to serve as a direct fill. I still have a vent hose plumbed to the starboard wing wall (outboard of the stbd eng. hatch), but it may not be necessary. It's very easy to fill at that location. I can send pics if interested.

[ed c.]

My son is eliminating the side & rear panels. Something to what bob lico has done. Someone in the hose business has told him it is OK to put the fuel fill next to the engine. He might change his mind.

[Dug]

I do know that you likely do not want the fill inside the hull because if it were to overflow, it will go into the boat. If it is on the gunwale, which would be my preference, if and when it does overflow in any way, it goes over the side therefore minimizing any fire hazard. I know, I know its a fuel spill, but it will be less likely to blow up your boat that way, even with diesel.

Second point is that you make sure that if you are placing the fill somewhere along the gunwale, make sure that it is not in the path of any rainwater that drains from the forward deck. Bertram did that at one point and it meant that any owners of the boat could not fill the boat in the rain, or get anything on the fore deck that would run down and aft as it would go right into the fuel fill.

Dug

[Carl]

Second point is that you make sure that if you are placing the fill somewhere along the gunwale, make sure that it is not in the path of any rainwater that drains from the forward deck. Bertram did that at one point and it meant that any owners of the boat could not fill the boat in the rain, or get anything on the fore deck that would run down and aft as it would go right into the fuel fill.

Dug

Why not? ...one would save alot of money on the fill up...plus you get a free ride from Sea-Tow to boot!

[ed c.]

Dug, the fill wil be outside the boat about 4' forward of the present location on the gunwale.

[Pete Fallon]

Ed C,
Do not put the fill hose in the engine space, it will heat up the hose and cause it to break down faster than normal. Leave it where it is and make a cover panel over it. Or you can do what Bob Lico did and put it at the stern, which is a very good idea, the hose doesn't have to rest on your teak gunwales or mar up your paint job. Just don't put it in the engine space, diesel is not as flammable as gasoline but it will still burn, Plus as a surveyor I would write it as a safety hazard and it has to be moved away from engine space. Pete Fallon

[bob lico]

thanks pete for the vote of confidence i don`t want to come on to strong however you would be giving murphy law one hell of a advantage with a cockpit diesel fill. on the 364 fill you walk away and dump 20 gallons of diesel in the cockpit.your wife,your children,your grandchildren ,OMG ,with that smell i would find a hole to crawl in!!!!!
you cannot believe the the horror stories i hear at the marina fuel dock .i can sleep at night when i loan my boat to my daughter or son for a fire island week vacation knowing the waste pump out is on the starboard forward side of gunwale and diesel fill is on center of stern gunwale never the twain shall MEET.anything that can go wrong will go wrong with the mentality of the people doing that task of the boating world.

[Pete Fallon]

Bob, It just makes sense to me having it at the transom. I have had damage claims from idiots filling the rod holders full of gasoline or diesel, filling the relocated water tank fill and waste pump outs. Not just the owners I have seen dock boys start to put the nozzle into rod holders. Also the heat build up inside the engine box of a 31 Bertram can reach pretty high temps. The standard A1 or B-2 fuel fill hoses will dry out and start cracking real quick if it's put into that space. Also an additional 4 feet forward will really slow down the rate of fill and additional bends will cause the line to burp back and fill slower than the straight run that the original location has (original had 1-1/2" fill hose without any elbows just a gradual slope into the tank, tank had the only 90 degree turn in the entire run.
Pete Fallon

[Carl]

I have had damage claims from idiots filling the rod holders full of gasoline or diesel,
Pete Fallon

Yup, that makes me the idiot.

I filled more then just the Rod Holder with gasoline. Lucky for me the holder was open underneath and shot right onto me and my sneakers. Sneakers which soles proceeded to melt away leaving a nice whitish, sticky residue all over the deck and down into the galley as I ran around looking for cleaning products.

Morel of that story...don't ever let me talk and pump gas...or really any two things at once.