water getting into gas on a 2009 c-dory 23' Venture

S

steveandreina

New member
I am having issues with water getting into my gas on 2009 Venture and wondering if this is a common problem for this Boat. I use only non ethynol gas and usually get it at the Marina and pretty sure the gas is good because my buddy gets his gas there and is not having the issue I am having. The last time this happened I drained all gas from both tanks and put 5 gallons of gas back into the tank and redrained again. cleaned both motors out with fresh gas and changed all filters. I am wondering if a small amount of gas is coming through my gas caps and possibly through the air vents for each tank? I will most like be taking out both tanks and draining them completely. Anyone else have these issues?
 
Check the "o" rings on the gas caps. I keep them lubricated, as well as the threads with silicone grease.

Yes, often the vents are a source of water into the fuel. I have seen two scenarios: One is water off the back or sides, comes into a vent which is tipped too much to the top--the other is water from the wake comes up thru the vent holes from the bottom.

A clam shell vent with the opening facing aft and caulked tight to the fiberglass can help to avoid this. I don't remember the size of the clam shell used, but allow plenty of room for breathing.

A second way to solve this problem is a "P trap vent" Atwood makes several types:

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The vent should be mounted low enough that the vent hose can be looped high under the gunnel then slope down to the vent fitting. Water does not run uphill, as suggested make sure the vent opening does not allow a ramming effect by wave action.
 
san juanderer":1w1ykyv3 said:
The vent should be mounted low enough that the vent hose can be looped high under the gunnel then slope down to the vent fitting. Water does not run uphill, as suggested make sure the vent opening does not allow a ramming effect by wave action.
Click to expand...

It would be great if there was enough room for a loop--and in some boats there is room--many others not room. In some of the C Dorys, it is very difficult to get to the back side of the vent fitting, thus the Clam Shell vent offers the best and easiest solution--if the others are not practical.
 
Good installations require "best practice techniques". Just because the vent fitting had been installed in a location, does not preclude putting it in a better location. Hose loops are the "best" way to prevent water flowing into your tank. Water runs downhill !
Also, the vent line should have no dips in it, that would leave the hose filled. Thus preventing the hose from acting as a air vent.
 
san juanderer":rbosfzgb said:
Good installations require "best practice techniques". Just because the vent fitting had been installed in a location, does not preclude putting it in a better location. Hose loops are the "best" way to prevent water flowing into your tank. Water runs downhill !
Also, the vent line should have no dips in it, that would leave the hose filled. Thus preventing the hose from acting as a air vent.
Click to expand...

Lets say, that the factory did not follow what you call "best practice techniques"; you would have this boater move the vent location, and fill the current hole. The gentleman asked for a simple solution to his problem. There are several simple solutions, which were named in prior posts. Unfortunately many times the manufacturer does not follow best practices--and this has certainly involved the various builders of C Dory boats. Many of the items which bring people to this forum, are because of this. In fact many boat manufacturers do not follow best practices.

There are some situations where even a hose loop above the fitting is not satisfactory. One example of this would be in many sailboats. (Other techniques are used there).
 
I had the same problem and did the same fix you did and then had the same problem again too. Here's what I did and I never had the problem again.

I cut a 1 inch section of a 2" diameter piece of PVC pipe at an angle on my miter saw. About 30 to 45 degrees. I cut it so that it was about one quarter open on one side. One side was 90 degrees and the cutoff was 30 to 45. This made a kind of angular crescent shape. I then 4200'd it to the side of the hull to fit around the exterior vent fitting (it never came off) in a manner that is best described as a round awning type hood or shield facing forward with the widest part of the hood (1") at about 2 o'clock and thus the open part of the crescent at 8 o'clock. This blocked and deflected water coming from the top and forward side while still allowing it to drain from the cut out section. I SURE WISH I HAD TAKEN A PICTURE!!! Never had the problem again in the 3 years I had it before selling. I surmised that water from the spray or the camper cover run-off above the vent was getting in the vent hole. Maybe even splashing rain on the dock runner while tied up. Seems unlikely that much could get in there but it would be like a dripping faucet during a rainstorm or while underway.
 
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Above is the clam shell vent cover--Fairbro--will this with the opening pointed aft, so the same thing as your PVC Pipe? This is probably the easiest "fix".
 
The clamshell is the same principle but I'm not sure I've seen one large enough clearance-wise to cover the vent protrusion I had on my vent. Then there are screw holes I didn't want to deal with. Hooded protection from top and front is key i think, whatever works to do that.
 
The clam shells can bend to give depth if necessary--doesn't take a lot to shelter the holes.

One can 5200 or other adhesives, if one does not want to use screws--but a combo of 4000 and screws works well. The boat sides are no cored. Short screws work fine. (Of course depends on where it is ref to the rub rail.
 
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