We had a fuel tank leak, how do I get the smell out of our boat? What do you know about a aluminum tank leaking? We have a 1988 Bayliner 34' the tank is located under the back bed, she holds 200 gal, we dont know where the leak is on the tank. We have been told it will be costly to repair, I have agreed to turn her into a Condo on water for now until we can figure out what to do. I dont want to give up but I can not afford to go through this expense and not know where the leak is. Please can anyone help me restore my girl on water before they send her to a retirement home.

Dr D

At long last, a response to your question. First, I know nothing about boats.. but I have a son in northern CA who does boat repair and gel-coat for a living. I know he is very good at his trade. I posed your question to him, and I will do my best to relate his answers: The fuel tank absolutely has to come out. You may have to cut out portions of the deck to remove it. If you are lucky the tank is not further held in with foam. He mentioned terms like bulkheads and stringers that are not in my lexicon. Removal of the tank could take 3 or 4 days. Do not have the tank repaired. Spend the extra $ to buy a new one, or have a new one built. Putting everything back together will take time. When I asked if this repair could cost $6000-$8000, he said easily. Bear in mind that he works in the CA Bay area where labor runs about $100/hr. He said to determine the market value of the boat to determine if such an expenditure is worthwile. If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask, and I will ask him; he owes me. One reason why I never got into boats is that people say that a boat is a big hole in the water that you throw money into. Wishing you the best.

ereinauer

Boatless & Hurting! I don't have an answer, but I have similar problem. I have a 1996 Bayliner Avanti 3485 Cruiser which also has a fuel tank (150 gal) under the back bed. It is a diesel powered boat and first I just noticed a small of amount of diesel in the forward bilge mixed with some water. But it has gotten worse with time. I will try to remove the wooden cover (under the mattress and see if I can locate the leak). I think it is uneconomical to remove the top half of the boat to replace it, I will have to try to fix it if I can find it. If you have made any progress or found out anything new, I would like to know.

Sitkadiver

I know this may be a year too late, but I've dealt with this before.... I spend a lot of time on the water and nine times out of ten, it isn't the tank that's leaking, it's the vent to the tank.

Since you both describe fuel in the bilge as well as a smell, take the inspection cover off that's above the fuel tank. You will see a panel on the tank itself with the fuel supply tube running to the engine compartment. If you're equiped with a fuel guage, this is where you'll find the wire to the guage's float. look for the largest tube into the tank. This is the fill tube, it'll run from where you put the gas in, to the tank. Usually, the vent is near where the fill tube enters the tank. If there are any rubber connections or gaskets, look them over thoroughly, if they're in good shape, look at where the vent thru-hull fitting is.

Hope this helped.

PS: If you try running around with a 1/2 tank of gas, and the fuel smell deminishes, there's a good chance the vent is the culprit.