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Water in fuel

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chriscraftcat

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"I have 2 crusader 305 engines

"I have 2 crusader 305 engines which ran fairly good every time I started. The last start up was three days ago when I ran them for about 5 minutes each in the dock, at idle. Boat has been in the dock for the last two months because of the repairs/replacement of the cooling hoses, boat repairs, etc..
Yesterday, I tried starting up both engines but could not do it. I used some starting fluid and it fires each time (to confirm that electrical system is OK).
I took off the fire prevention covers and noticed both carbs are corroded heavily. The accelerator pump shaft were rusted and hardly moved. After loosening them I pumped the fuel in and still could not start the engines. When I took the gas lines off I noticed water mixed with gas. I removed one carburator and found mostly water inside.
I will rebuild both carbs, but now I must syphon the gas out of the gas tank. There is about 50 gal in, and tank holds 125 gallons. How do I do it safely in the dock? Should I remove the boat and then do it on dry dock? My boat is 1988 Chris Craft Catalina. Please help.
Gene"
 
"Gene:

There are speacialis

"Gene:

There are speacialist out there that do just what you are asking. Check with your local yard manager or local mechanic. Your marina manager will probably dictate if the boat needs to be hauled. They should start with an assessment of how much water is in the tank and then give you a few options.

You need to figure out if it is fresh or salt water and then find the source for the intrusion and then fix it. If you don't, you'll be doing the same thing, again, real soon.

If you have had salt water in the carbs, expect to get replacement bodies or whole units. I can tell you from first hand experience, it oxidizes the inner passages and cleaning it out costs more than the replacements. This was after our first year of owning the boat - 400 hours total - and sitting over the winter.

Our 'leak' happened to be the vent fitting on the side of the hull. The fix was to "shroud it".

Good luck"
 
"Gene; You didn't say how

"Gene; You didn't say how old the fuel was, so if it is over a year old, yes, you may want to dispose of all the fuel. However, if you are just trying to remove the water, it is not necessary to remove the fuel. I would suggest a fuel rated electric pump, you can get a cheap car electric fuel pump and attach hoses on each end. You will need to tilt the boat/tank so that the water will settle at one end, hopefully under the fuel sender hole. Remove the sender and pump the bottom of the tank clear of water. Common areas of water entry are fuel filler o rings, overboard vents, and corrosion holed tanks underneath poured foam. Foamed-in tanks over 20 years old are suspect in salt water areas."
 
"RE:"you can get a cheap c

"RE:"you can get a cheap car electric fuel pump.."

Make sure its NOT an in-tank type, but rather an "underhood" type.

I'm lucky and my 5.7L carbed engine has an electric pump, not a mechanical one and I used that one. I had to jumper the low oil pressure switch to get it to run continuously."
 
"Gene - you may not have all t

"Gene - you may not have all that much water in the system, but the water you do have has made its way to the carbs. If you just have condensate and phase separation (alcohol in E10 fuel combining with water and seperating) you can drain th lowest point in the tank (via drain or suction as stated above) until you get all the water out. Make sure you change your fuel filter cartrages as they will fill with water quickly. I would have no problem diluting the existing fuel with more known good fuel once the water has been removed."
 
"RE;" Make sure you change

"RE;" Make sure you change your fuel filter cartrages as they will fill with water quickly"

On Merc style spin on fuel filters (and others I'm sure) you can just drain the water out of the filter element and reuse the filter. When I had to get the water out of my tank two seasons ago, I was using 5 gal gerry cans and every 5 gals would drain the fuel filter into a glass container. If I waited a few mins, the water would settle to the bottom. When no more water appeared in the filter and hence the glass jar, I then replaced the old, reused filter with a new one. I used the gas I drained out of the boat in my car and truck, but just 2 or 3 gallons per tankfull.

For safety reasons, you should pour the filter contents into the glass jar while holding it overboard so that vapors don't accumulate in your bilge."
 
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