First CD sail today - and a question

[Ed K]

We had our first sail on Carolyn, our CD 25 #630, today on Canandaigua Lake in NY. She exceeded all of our expectations, which had gotten pretty high since we bought her last fall. What a comfortable and sweet sailing boat! One question - when running the outboard it got pretty smelly in the cockpit, and we smelled gas from time to time as we sailed, long after we stopped the motor. Any suggestions?
Ed K



ekillian@eznet.net

[JimL]

Ed, I hope one of the "later boat" owners has a good answer. My boat is low number (#21), but I've found that guests aboard (I usually single-hand) squat the stern enough that the exhaust low pressure reliefs (normally above water) get trapped from the wake rolling up into back edge of the motor well. The exhaust gases build up and have no place to go. I've drilled a hole in my motor's top case and run a vent tube from the carb air intake to a boot under a deck ventilator. I can let the engine compartment fill up with smoke, and the engine never misses a beat. My boat's engine compartment seals off from the cockpit, however. You may have to do the added exhaust tube trick posted on previous messages.

If you're smelling fuel after shut down, your tank may be feeding the carb while the boat is heeled. I had that problem on a Coronado 23. The solution was to disconnect the fuel line with the engine running. I'd shut the engine off after about 2 minutes, to lower the fuel level in the carb and prevent plug fouling on restarts. I reconnected the hose when I was ready to start the engine again. No more fuel dripping.

Regards, JimL, CD25 #21 Odyssey III, Dana Point, CA



leinfam@earthlink.net

[Ed K]

Thanks Jim - I'll try it
Ed