2005 Sun Deck 217, gas smell?

malinovs

[font="times new roman"]My inner hull still smells like gasoline form day one. The dealer said it was the fiberglass resin drying but after 5 years? I had a gas sniffer test done and its is not gasoline. Anyone else have this problem?[/font]

smiley

Yes, same response, 3 years later still there, I just keep hatches open when on the trailer in carport to ventilate.  Interesting you say it is not gas, I **** u me it is is at this point and make sure I flush the bilge (natural rain water etc) thinking there maybe a minor drip from a fitting under the pan somewhere, I have not located the source, I added a racor aft and it is NOT that with out a doubt.

If you figure it out please post back.

malinovs

Not gas in my case. I lowered a gas fume electronic sniffer into the bottom of the hull and it read negative after a weeks testing. I even covered the boat and closed all the hatches. Negative.

smiley

hmmmmm????? At least I feel a little safer now, Glass if the resin is mixed right should have totally cured by now, I never really pursued it with Godfrey, evidently I have had better luck with them than some other folks.  I should ask them and the dealer next time I am in, I haven't brought it to their attention since the first week of ownership. Do not know what they can do, but hopefully they can identify what it is. 


Living onboard for  a week at a time the smell does seep into the "clothes locker" under the passenger side seats, so I have put the original bounce dryer sheets under the pan to cover the smell, the side benefit is the dryer sheet smell is a green anti mosquito stink (we use thermacells extensively for bugs).

malinovs wrote:

Not gas in my case. I lowered a gas fume electronic sniffer into the bottom of the hull and it read negative after a weeks testing. I even covered the boat and closed all the hatches. Negative.

smiley

This is why picking a dealer is VIP, an email responded to as soon as they came in this morning.

Gerrys Marina New Smyrna Beach  FLA is as much about teaching as it is about selling 5 star operation there.

"I doubt that, we are finding out the poly fuel tanks emit a fuel odor with some tanks due to location have a stronger odor than others.  Biggest fuel odor issues we are seeing is in the Scout Costa 170, tank in bilge area close to storage compartment.  If there is no fuel in the bilge you do not have a leak just a noticeable fuel odor."






There you go, no uncured resin just a tank odor issue that I doubt is fixable at a reasonable cost, considering my tank is stored full with no ethanol fuel the answer makes sense.

malinovs

I called Godfrey marine and they "never heard anyone complain about this gas odor problem" and they use the poly tanks in every boat. They gave me the manufacture of my tank and the model #. I emailed the tank manufacture tech support and they never responded. I will call them next week and probably hear that they also have never heard of this problem!!!

Ernest_T

Got no gas smell in my 2010 SD 2100 (same model as the 217), but stuck my head in the bilge area today and noticed that there is still a fiberglass smell after 9 months.  Do you have the IO or OB engine?

smiley

2007  195   OB    has had the smell since day one, the tank is not leaking into the bilge, at least the bilge water is "clean".


Keep us posted please on how it proceeds with the tank mfg.

Ernest T wrote:

Got no gas smell in my 2010 SD 2100 (same model as the 217), but stuck my head in the bilge area today and noticed that there is still a fiberglass smell after 9 months.  Do you have the IO or OB engine?

Ernest_T

Don't know if this would help you guys, but they make a fluorescent dye that can be added to the gas tank.  You just run the engine and the dye will show any leaks.  I think you need a UV light to see the dye, but it seems pretty simple.  They used this stuff to find a leak on my son's car, so I know that you can probably get it through an auto-parts supply.

smiley

Interesting idea, dye into the fuel, I know mine is not a leak, any water coming out of the bilge has no oil products in it at all.

The reply they gave him was textbook, to dissuade him. Makes you wonder how many have really reported this issue?

Thanks for the feedback.

malinovs

I called Goodfry marine and they gave me the manufactures name and part # of my 52 gal tank. I called the manufacture Ameri-Kart and asked the engineer  about the smell. He was VERY FIMULAR with this problem and said all tanks made of the ?Crosslink Polyethylene? (most boat tanks) omit something called ?Fuel  Permeation?.  This is gasoline reacting with the Polyethylene and creating a very low, non explosive faint gas odor.  That?s why my gas fume detector will not alarm. This explains my problem. He said the new EPA guidelines eliminate this problem in tanks built after2010. Not much help for us but maybe someday in a new boat. I Hope it helps answer your problems also.

Ernest_T

Very interesting info.  malinovs, you could get a job as a detective after tracking that down.  Thanks for the update.  My boat is a 2010, but I think it was actually built in 2009.  No gas smell yet.  I wonder if there is a way to ID the old model tank?

smiley

My design lets me stick my head down there and the top of the tank aft has a mfg plate/tag on it.  fyi

Thanks for sharing all that follow up, bounce dryer sheets work for me covering the odor when it isn't ventilating, open anchor locker hatch on anchor provides enuf air flow to deal with it usually.

thanks