Sailfish 272 fuel fill - which one for main tank?

[onoahimahi]

HI - I'm pulling the trigger on an out-of-state mid 90's 272. (And hence will soon be an official member of this exclusive club...

When I sea trailed it, the main tank was empty and the aux tank was full. I've got a mechanic lined up to check the engines and a surveyor lined up to check over the boat. I'm going to ask the mechanic to put 10 or 20 gallons of gas in the main tank before the survey in case that tank is leaking. Can someone please tell me where are the fuel fills are on this boat and which fill is for the main tank?

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[Winged Pig]

Fule fills are on the right side, forward is the main.

 

[onoahimahi]

Okay - thanks. When these tanks fail, do they normally leak from the bottom of the tank or from some spot higher up? I'm wondering if 10 gallons of gas will be enough to show if there are any leaks. This "new-to-me" boat is a 1994 with newer power.

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[seasick]

Okay - thanks. When these tanks fail, do they normally leak from the bottom of the tank or from some spot higher up? I'm wondering if 10 gallons of gas will be enough to show if there are any leaks. This "new-to-me" boat is a 1994 with newer power.

Thanks,
-Scott

Leaks can be bottom, tops or anywhere including fill and vent lines/fittings. If I looked at a boat and was told that the aux tank was full and the main was empty, that would be a red flag to me. I am very sceptical in general. If the tank is original( 18 years old) and aluminium, there is a really good probability that it is at or near it's life expectancy.
The only way to be sure is by having a pressure test done.
That said, as far as I know, Grady didn't offer a Sailfish 272 in 1994. Check the HIN number

Good luck with the survey!

 

[ocnslr]

Strongly suggest you speak to the surveyor about pressure testing the tanks. Both of them.

I share the concern noted above about an empty main tank.

Good luck!

Brian

 

[onoahimahi]

Okay - thanks. I will ask the surveyor to pressure test the tanks. It that something that is part of a normal survey? I suppose it is better to find a leak that way than to have to deal with 20 gallons of gas in a leaking tank. I expect I will still take the boat if the tank leaks but will adjust the price or ask that it be fixed before I take delivery.

As pointed out above - it's not a 272 but a 1994 252. My understanding is that Grady While changed the name in 1995 to 272 to take credit for the length of the euro transom but that the hulls are identical from 94-97. To my yacht club and my home state, which charges everything by the foot, this is a 25-foot boat. When I'm telling my friends I bought a new boat, it's a 27-foot boat...

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[seasick]

Okay - thanks. I will ask the surveyor to pressure test the tanks. It that something that is part of a normal survey? I suppose it is better to find a leak that way than to have to deal with 20 gallons of gas in a leaking tank. I expect I will still take the boat if the tank leaks but will adjust the price or ask that it be fixed before I take delivery.

As pointed out above - it's not a 272 but a 1994 252. My understanding is that Grady While changed the name in 1995 to 272 to take credit for the length of the euro transom but that the hulls are identical from 94-97. To my yacht club and my home state, which charges everything by the foot, this is a 25-foot boat. When I'm telling my friends I bought a new boat, it's a 27-foot boat...

Thanks,
-Scott

LOL...

If you haven't already, go to the Grady White site, customer service tab and download the user manual for your boat. You need to 'register' but all they want is you name and address. The user manual is a very handy document to have, especially for the wiring diagrams.
Good luck

 

[ROBERTH]

If this model is like mine, it is not a big deal to pull a tank and either repair or replace it depending upon the level of the problem, so would not let that be a show stopper for a great boat.

 

[ocnslr]

Okay - thanks. I will ask the surveyor to pressure test the tanks. It that something that is part of a normal survey?

I suppose it is better to find a leak that way than to have to deal with 20 gallons of gas in a leaking tank. I expect I will still take the boat if the tank leaks but will adjust the price or ask that it be fixed before I take delivery.

Thanks,
-Scott

No, pressure testing of the tanks is not normally part of a survey. It will almost certainly involve additional cost.

Yes, much better to find leaks with pressure drop than gas leakage.

 

[grady33]

Not to pry, but what you picking this boat up for? I would also make sure lots of attention is paid to the stern to make sure no water got in. Also it would be helpful to know if the previous owner (whomever owned the boat the last 5 years) used ethanol or non-ethanol. May need to replace some fuel lines if ethanol was used. Good luck and welcome to the Grady club. Moved up from sailfish last year to 330 express. Love both boats!

 

[grady23]

Putting fuel in a tank to find a leak is NOT a good idea under ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. What happens if there IS a major leak -- Then What!! Get the mechanic to pressure test rather then put fuel in the tank. Be sure the mechanic KNOWS what he's doing as the tanks are not designed for much pressure to start with --- Maybe call Grady and ask what the max pressure can be applied just to be safe.

 

[seasick]

Putting fuel in a tank to find a leak is NOT a good idea under ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. What happens if there IS a major leak -- Then What!! Get the mechanic to pressure test rather then put fuel in the tank. Be sure the mechanic KNOWS what he's doing as the tanks are not designed for much pressure to start with --- Maybe call Grady and ask what the max pressure can be applied just to be safe.

I think the regulations for certification is 3 PSI.

 

[Grog]

I think you're right with the 3# number, but if the surveyor doesn't know I'd find a different one.


If the main tank tank truely is empty and the aux full, I'd be very suspcious. The only bright side is if the tank is shot it's easy to get it out. For pricing it's roughly $10/gallon for the new tank plus istallation if you don't do it.

 

[onoahimahi]

I talked to the surveyor and we decided we are going to ask the owner if the tank is okay and if he says yes we are going to add some gas. If there is a problem with the tank I assume he won't let us add the gas. It is still his boat at this point after all.

 

[Grog]

You could but unless the hole is at the bottom you'll never know until you fill it. At times you will get leaks up by the sender or the hose may be compromised. To be honest i'd like to see at least 50 gallons in there and go for a ride and smell the bilge afterwards.

 

[onoahimahi]

Just to close the loop on this, I went down to the boat yesterday and met the mechanic and surveyor. We found that both engines had be running off the main tank which was the empty (or nearly empty) one. The fact that they were still using the tank eased my worry that the tank is leaking and they were deliberately not putting gas in it.

One of the Etec engines threw a "water in the gas" fault so we switched both engines to the full Aux tank. It was foggy and humid down there in NC so I'm not surprised that a near empty 150 gallon tank would produce moisture. The Broker said they had put Stabil in the tanks but the mechanic indicated that the gas was two years old or possibly older since the boat has been for sale for over a year and not used. It's non-ethanol gas and the motors ran well but I expect I'll drain it out. I asked the mechanic if I could mix that gas with new gas and he gave me the milk analogy saying that you can't make bad milk good by adding new milk to it.