Gas Fumes

[Rob T]

I sailed a 26X for the first time yesterday in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. We had a great sail, enjoyed the boat, which we rented locally, and are looking forward to going again. The only problem we had was the fumes from the gas tank, which we noticed a lot on a light air day, especially sailing downwind.

Is this normal? Is there any way to mitigate the fumes?

[Chip Hindes]

Remove the tanks from the boat when fueling. Even a small amount of spilled fuel can linger for a long time.

Close the tank vents while sailing. Particilarly if the tanks are full, gasoline can spill through the open vents when the boat heels. Make sure you open them back up when you fire the motor, or it may quit at a most inopportune time.

Check the motor as well. Fuel lines, gaskets, etcetera can all develop leaks.

[Jesse Days Pacific Star 2]

Chip brings up a good point. Where our fuel line connets to the motor, we had a small o-ring go bad in the quick release fitting. Drip, drip drip and smelled really strong. Replaced the fitting and was good to go.

Jesse