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On my recent trip to Catalina as we were motoring across to Long Beach the motor died. I opened the gas can to make sure gas was good and there was a big sucking sound like tank is in a vacuum. We had plenty of gas so after releasing vacuum motor started right up and went fine for another 20-30 minutes then died again. Released vacuum and it ran just fine again for another 20-30 and so on. Is there supposed to be some kind of vent on gas can to prevent this vacuum? Is there another problem possibly and the vacuum was just a coincidence and stopping motor was needed? I appreciate any input. Thanks.

All of my fuel tanks have a pressure valve that screws CW or CCW on top of the fuel cap. CCW opens it to allow air to enter, CW closes it to help against water condensation when not in use. If you don't have a screw valve, you may have one of the newer "automatic" vent caps? Either way, if they are plugged up you should be able to slightly loosen the main cap to allow air to enter.

All of my fuel tanks have a pressure valve that screws CW or CCW on top of the fuel cap. CCW opens it to allow air to enter, CW closes it to help against water condensation when not in use.

The gas tanks I bought three years ago had the "new" vent system. I found them very hard to hand turn at first and had to get out the pliers to open and close. They are easier now. I am not aware of the automatic kind, but there must be some way to continuously vent your tanks so your engine does not die. You used the term "gas can" as opposed to "tank". Could there be some kind of "jury rig" from an actual can by a PO?

A-1 Boss wrote:On my recent trip to Catalina as we were motoring across to Long Beach the motor died. I opened the gas can to make sure gas was good and there was a big sucking sound like tank is in a vacuum. We had plenty of gas so after releasing vacuum motor started right up and went fine for another 20-30 minutes then died again. Released vacuum and it ran just fine again for another 20-30 and so on. Is there supposed to be some kind of vent on gas can to prevent this vacuum? Is there another problem possibly and the vacuum was just a coincidence and stopping motor was needed? I appreciate any input. Thanks.

Yup. That's from vacuum.

If your can doesn't have its own vent, then the gas cap itself might should have one. If not, you should probably buy a new gas cap with a vent.

Check out your gas cap really well. You just may be overlooking in the center of it there is a protrusion that is turned counter clockwise; at least that's how to do it on my 2005M. This opens the vent. It is easy to miss this function of the cap.

Ray

I am not happy with the caps on my tanks - when I lean the boat over steep the cap leaks if the tank is full. and I hate the smell of gas -

If anyone has air tight caps that don't leak even when the gas level is over the cap I would like to have you caps - if your caps are sealing up and not letting any gas escape and you don't like your caps let me know cuz i will take them.

When I run the motor my caps are great because they let the tank breath just great - problem is I can't get them to STOP breathing!

When I am "sail mode" I would like to cap off those tanks air tight - I wonder if they make a non-vented cap for those tanks?

when I lean the boat over steep

I think we call that "heeling"!

Boat,
I have the same problem with mine also. I am here to tell you that there is a solution to your problem. I learned that if I only fill my 12 gallon tank with 6 gallons, then healing (leaning) the gas does not leak out of the caps. I even leave the vent open when sailing and have never had an issue with gas exiting through them.

cptron wrote:Boat,
I have the same problem with mine also. I am here to tell you that there is a solution to your problem. I learned that if I only fill my 12 gallon tank with 6 gallons, then healing (leaning) the gas does not leak out of the caps. I even leave the vent open when sailing and have never had an issue with gas exiting through them.

It also depends on how far you heel

On occasion, we give passengers and passing power boaters an eye opener by going in excess of 45 degrees. Six gallon's may not be little enough.

Ray

Yes Herschel, I guess I am well heeled.

Cptron – I can’t keep my gas down to ½ full in my tanks all the time! Sometimes I need to carry a lot of gas – especially on Catalina trips because I motor real fast up to Dana Point before I make my crossing and I always want to make sure I have enough on board to get all the way back to Oceanside if I need it. That’s more than 6 gallons. What do I do?

You know NiceAft I guess we have just gotten so used to the boat occasionally “HEELING” (thanks Herschel ) when the wind gusts a little that we just ignore it because after a minute or so the wind always eases back again and the boat goes back to it’s usual 19 degrees. I know a lot of people like to jump on the mainsheet and let out sail but we really do not sail that way on boat – we sort of cruise. I set the sails and the course and just let the boat go. The winds here are so well behaved it’s really never been a big deal to us or I guess we are used to it. I often lay down on the low side in the cockpit with my arm hanging over the side and if my hand does not get wet I see no need to wake up or do anything.

I wish others felt that way.

Some folks on this site make a big deal about how little headway one makes when drastically heeled. Every once and awhile a little excitement doesn't hurt. Sailing is a Zen thing; it's the journey, not the destination that counts At least, that's my feeling.

Ray

NiceAft wrote:I wish others felt that way.

Some folks on this site make a big deal about how little headway one makes when drastically heeled. Every once and awhile a little excitement doesn't hurt. Sailing is a Zen thing; it's the journey, not the destination that counts At least, that's my feeling.

Ray

Oh, I totally get it - I mean if the boat suddenly was encountering a storm surge or a shift from the east or the north I would tend to main sheet and make the proper trim adjustments but when just traveling from point a to b (or even from nowhere to nowhere) over a long distance here in southern California I find that the wind is pretty steady at 10 to 12 knots and occasionally will gust to 18 but only for about a minute or two and then the wind goes back to 10 or 12. If the boat was getting knocked down or the wind was a steady 20 knots I would release the main of course but that is just so rare I see no need to jump on the sheet just because the boat is "heeling". Really, I have never once read of a reported knock down of a 26M boat with the ballast tank full. Lord knows I have tried many times to knock down 'boat' in 30 MPH winds but was unable to do it. The wind just spills out the top of the sail. In a gale the boat will just sit sideways on the water but it won't knock down, (it won't make much good headway either, but it won't knock down). It's the waves you need to watch for in that stuff. If the water is coming over the side it's usually because of the waves.

BOAT wrote:... I would release the main of course but that is just so rare I see no need to jump on the sheet just because the boat is "heeling".

The Admiral learned this "fisterman's reef" early - and learned it well. It is her self-appointed, primary job aboard SeaSaw. When heeling more than 5 degrees, she has a death-grip on the mainsheet, ready to let it fly.

i agree that sailing over healed isnt going to kill you, and its about the fun and of the trip, however it is a bit like driving with your foot on the brake just so you can enjoy the scenery more, if you want to go slower just let the sheets out or reduce sail.

The design characteristics mean the boat "works" better when healed at a lesser angle. you get more rudder in the water at a better angle for steerage, you centerboard works more efficiently. and of course your sails work better as they wont be spilling air.

If you want to sail at extreme angles of heel and the boat to work well you need to change the foil setup as in the Beneteau 21, that has angled rudders so that when the boat is healed it still has plenty of rudder in the water.

To me excessive heal angle is just a waste of time as it achieves nothing except slowing the boat down and making it less efficient and harder to handle through the water, so the only conclussion is that one is trying to show off or be a show pony, Look at Me!!, Look at Me!!

To each their own on this "heeling" thing - I trust everyone to be "well heeled" in whatever way they feel is proper but my problem is not really the angle of the dangle, it's the dribble of the drip.

The stupid gas cap drips gas when the gas is over the top of the cap!

So is there a gas cap out there that will not dribble when the tanks is full?