Removing the Final Leaking Diesel Tank
When we bought Yara we were naive. We hired a very good surveyor to conduct a thorough pre-purchase inspection. But our judgment was clouded by rose-colored glasses.
The survey found ¼” thick diesel in the bilge. Layered slick over a couple of feet of water, the diesel smell was strong and unmistakable. Our primary concern about the diesel and water wasn’t the diesel and water. Our main concern was this liquid sandwich hiding access to view and inspect the keel bolts. Matt had heard horror stories of keels falling off and boats capsizing because of corroded keel bolts snapping. In fact, avoiding bolt-on keels was so ingrained in Matt’s must-haves (or must not haves) that when purchasing a sailboat we insisted on finding a boat without keel bolts. See Episode 2 - Purchasing a 43ft sailboat.
However, Matt came around to accepting bolted-on keels after reading this detailed article from OddGodfrey: https://www.oddgodfrey.com/technicalwriteups/keelboltrepair
If the pre-purchase inspection found the keel bolts on Yara to be corroded or needing replacement, we’d walk away from the purchase. But if down the line while we owned her we needed to replace them, that blog article gave us the confidence that we could DIY that type of job. Even though it would be a major job, it was doable.
We didn’t back out of the deal. Even with a bilge full of water with a layer of diesel on top. Instead, we requested the owner have the bilge emptied of liquid and professionally cleaned. And once that was done we had the surveyor return to the boat to inspect the keel bolts.
It turned out that the keel bolts were fine. Better than fine, they were (and still are) in immaculate condition. The water was because the automatic bilge pump had been temporarily switched off for some unknown reason (perhaps not to pump diesel overboard!). And we were told by the owner’s selling agent that the diesel was from a leak in the fuel line connections for the bulkhead mounted Dickinson diesel heater. There was no easy way to fully inspect the diesel tanks for leaks. The marine survey agreement with our surveyor specifically excluded dismantling or taking apart the boat to inspect inaccessible places. And with the tanks being below the floorboards we could not completely remove them. So we trusted the selling agent that it was a simple fuel line leak and continued with the purchase.
That was wrong. So very wrong.
We later learn the starboard side diesel tank had a leak. And then we learn the port diesel tank had a leak. Coming to terms with the fact both tanks are leaky wasn’t easy for us. We didn’t want to believe it. After all, the selling agent said it was the fuel line for the heater! It couldn’t possibly be the tanks! And we also didn’t often see signs of leaks from the tanks, even though there was clearly diesel in the bilge. So maybe it wasn’t the tanks. But it was. We were misled and we didn’t properly protect ourselves with a further detailed inspection of the tanks. Perhaps we could have had them pressure tested? Or scoped with a camera? We should have done more due diligence. But we didn’t. We made our purchase and we’ve since had to fix the problem.
As of this video both tanks have been removed. First the starboard side tank with Episode 10: Removing a Leaking Diesel Fuel Tank. And now the port side tank with Episode 62. That’s 52 weeks between episodes. A whole year it took us to finally come to the conclusion and realize both tanks leaked and that both tanks needed to come out.
Prior guidance told us that if a boat has leaking fuel tanks was to walk away from the purchase. Would we have walked away from Yara had we known the fuel tanks were the issue? We’re not sure. But we do know that the project aboard this boat to remove them wasn’t as big of a job as some boats. For Yara the tanks were not glassed in, being aluminum they were light, they fit between stringers, they fit out the companionway without being cut up, and the furniture/molding/trim/cabinetry on top of them was mostly easy to unbolt and bolt.
One major downside to purchasing a boat with leaking fuel tanks is something less discussed but very important to call out. The smell! The fuel smell aboard Yara was nauseating and gave us headaches. And even now at the time of writing this blog with the tanks completely removed and the bilges cleaned there is still a slight smell of diesel fuel. Diesel fuel is oily and doesn’t evaporate as fast as gasoline. If diesel fuel touches a surface it must be thoroughly cleaned to remove the smell. And aboard boats, there are nooks, crannies, corners, hoses, pipes, wires, fittings, etc. that have innumerable sides that are tough to get to clean.
Overall though, for us and aboard our boat, leaking fuel tanks hasn’t turned out to be that major of an issue. We’ve been able to DIY the removal without much headache (except for the headaches caused by the fuel smell!). It’s been a lot of work but it’s also A Yacht of Love.
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/UumQ4lYH4aA