Fuel Leak / Smell ?

[Marcus]

Hi,
I’m looking for a bit of advice.
I have a 1984 Sailfish 255 w/ twin 150 OB’s.
When I fuel up I get a slight gas smell in the cabin. I’ve re-sealed the tank sender port recently. Could it be the tank vent hose?
Has anyone accessed the tank fill and/or vent hoses on this model?

Thanks

 

[seasick]

If it smells right after you gas up but the smell goes away after a while, most likely you have leaky or old porous fill and possible vent hoses

If you see gas sheen in the bilge water, you may have a 'real' leak that needs to be investigated.

 

[Hookup1]

When I did my tanks last Summer I had to cut a access opening to get to the fuel fills. No room otherwise. There are pie plate access ports on both sides that you can push/pull hoses. Lift the deck. The fill hoses could be a problem. You can open up the deck and fill them to see if any leaks develop on the top of the tank. My guess is given the age of the boat you need new tanks.

268 Islander Fuel Tank Replacement

Decided that this is the year to replace my 25 yo fuel tanks. No leaks. I plan to keep the boat. I'll document the process here. Pulled the hatch. This hatch was rebuilt a few years ago with Coosa board. Looks good and feels solid. Hatch was set with 3M 4000 - kept everything sealed. Some...

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[deepwaterdreamer111]

I have the 1986 model.Fwd main tank most likely needs to be replaced. I did all the things mentioned above and still had the fuel smell in the cabin.Replaced fill and vent hoses at the same time. SP Sheetmetal made my new tank. They are located in South Jersey.

 

[Marcus]

Sweet feedback. Thank you for the advice and photo.
The gas smell is not strong and goes away quickly. And there’s no petroleum sheen in or outside the bilge.
I replaced the in tank float gauge and repaired/sealed the sender recently. The tank doesn’t look toooo bad. But it doesn’t look good either.
Tank replacement isn’t in the budget right now but hoses, fasteners and wrestling with my gunnel access / tank connectors is.
BTW, we’re in Vancouver, Canada.
Pulling prawns and slaying salmon in the old Grady!