there is an awful smell of petrol in the main cabin of Poppy that must be coming from the can in the stern locker. on investigation i found that the only thing separating the stern locker from the main cabin is a loose fitting bulkhead which is about as effective as a battier as a hanging fabric curtain and effectively the stern locker and main cabin are one space so it would be no different if i stored the fuel can in the main cabin. the loose fitting bulkhead has such large gaps around it that it would be nearly impossible to seal it to prevent fumes from passing from the stern locker into the main cabin. has anyone managed to make a barrier to separate these two spaces? the only other way to solve this problem seems to be to keep the fuel can on deck but that has problems too
Sat, 09/06/2012 - 9:17am
#1
petrol smell in main cabin
Hi, if I remember right I can stick my hand through the rim of the aft bunk into the lazarette locker behind it. Need to see and investigate when I next make it to Burnham. In general, as it is getting warmer, petrol fumes will escape the (self-venting) tanks. One solution is to have a venting tube going to the outside.
thank you Immo for your helpful tips i will try them out
on investigation i found that the only thing separating the stern locker from the main cabin is a loose fitting bulkhead which is about as effective as a barrier as a hanging fabric curtain and effectively the stern locker and main cabin are one space so it would be no different if i stored the fuel can in the main cabin. the loose fitting bulkhead has such large gaps around it that it would be nearly impossible to seal it to prevent fumes from passing from the stern locker into the main cabin. has anyone managed to make a barrier to separate these two spaces? the only other way to solve this problem seems to be to keep the fuel can on deck but that has problems too
This is the same reason, why I removed my gas stove and tank from the boat. The po had simply hung the gas bottle into the lazarette and routed the hose through the aft bunk. Petrol smells can be annoying but gas in the cabin is a much more dangerous issue. As mentioned before, you could vent your tank to the outside (I think if you have a permanent tank installed then that is normally done as well). Probably needs a loup or waterlock in the vent to prevent water to mix with the fuel and for double security I would put a water separator into the fuel line, just in case ...
My easy solution is that I don't keep the petrol tank in the boat when "Rockhopper " is not in use. I have a 2 smoke engine, so when we are out, you can't really notice any vapours from the tank for the smell of oil and petrol that's coming from the exhaust :lol: !!!
thanks again Immo, the 'bulkhead' between the stern locker and cabin is very badly designed and i just wondered if you know of anyone has managed to make it airtight?