What Did You Do To Your Boat This Week?

Sharphooks said:
Thanks for the support. Yes, I’ve always carried a separate 20L tank for the T25 kicker. I knew some day it would save my bacon. The main reason, though, is I can track fuel burn better in the summer….when running the T25 off the main tank, the fuel burn doesn’t get registered by the digital fuel gauges that are hooked up to the DF300’s…it’s a big back deck so that tank is easy to shove out of the way while fishing


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this is weird. my boss had same problem with their seasport. xl2400. happened all the time actually. so much water in the tank mechanic accused them of putting hose in fuel intake instead of fresh water intake. huge bill everytime dealing with water separators etc. total nightmare. merc verados would sense the water and shut right off. we had to limp home on many occasion on the kicker
 
Hey RB—-It’s interesting that your boss had the same issue with his XL2400….I say that because when I limped back to the dock after breaking down I just happened to a see a Seasport 24 tied up and noticed that the gas caps were mounted up on the wheelhouse walls —my first thought was —if my caps were mounted vertically and off any surface that could pool water, I’d be out fishing, not having to belly up to the bar with $2K in hand to get all my filters changed out, injectors cleaned , and VST’s drained

So here’s what I know—-Perko caps have a KNOWN issue. They even include a fine-print add-on that warns installers not to mount the caps where water can pool. Gas tanks expand and contract and when they contract they create a vacuum that will suck standing water through the Perko caps and down into the tank.

Perko offers a “riser” that is designed to shim the caps off whatever flat surface they are mounted to. I tried to install the risers last summer but I couldn’t get at the hose clamps under the deck to loosen up the filler tubes (at least without cutting fiberglass which is beyond my pay grade) so I gave up

NMI (Northwest Marine Industries) is a stand-up company. They stand behind their products and if there are issues, my experience is they will help to address them.

You might have your boss call them. I mention that because as mentioned above, it was explained to me that the charcoal filters (for vapors and overflow during refueling) that are now mandated by the EPA will clog up which only exacerbates the tank expansion and contraction issues (no venting!) So couple that with a crappy cap that leaks and you can see how both rain and salt water splash are getting into the tanks

If you want a private contact for NMI, PM me, especially if your boss has a newer XL2400
 
Sharphooks said:
Hey RB—-It’s interesting that your boss had the same issue with his XL2400….I say that because when I limped back to the dock after breaking down I just happened to a see a Seasport 24 tied up and noticed that the gas caps were mounted up on the wheelhouse walls —my first thought was —if my caps were mounted vertically and off any surface that could pool water, I’d be out fishing, not having to belly up to the bar with $2K in hand to get all my filters changed out, injectors cleaned , and VST’s drained

So here’s what I know—-Perko caps have a KNOWN issue. They even include a fine-print add-on that warns installers not to mount the caps where water can pool. Gas tanks expand and contract and when they contract they create a vacuum that will suck standing water through the Perko caps and down into the tank.

Perko offers a “riser” that is designed to shim the caps off whatever flat surface they are mounted to. I tried to install the risers last summer but I couldn’t get at the hose clamps under the deck to loosen up the filler tubes (at least without cutting fiberglass which is beyond my pay grade) so I gave up

NMI (Northwest Marine Industries) is a stand-up company. They stand behind their products and if there are issues, my experience is they will help to address them.

You might have your boss call them. I mention that because as mentioned above, it was explained to me that the charcoal filters (for vapors and overflow during refueling) that are now mandated by the EPA will clog up which only exacerbates the tank expansion and contraction issues (no venting!) So couple that with a crappy cap that leaks and you can see how both rain and salt water splash are getting into the tanks

If you want a private contact for NMI, PM me, especially if your boss has a newer XL2400
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What about the “o” rings. I’m just reading a Pursuit owners manual where it says you must lubricate o rings with Vaseline or a like lubricant regularly to reduce risk of water intrusion. Pretty sure Pursuit also uses Perko caps.
 
Yes, lubricating “O” rings helps (and replacing old ones) but I’m guessing the real culprit of water intrusion is a vacuum in the tank coupled with water that can pool near the cap. I read that charcoal filters can be fussy and some need to be changed out annually , especially if you try and top-off your tanks beyond 90% which I am guilty of

IMG_3378.jpeg
 
You can get bowls for fuel water separators that have a threaded port for a water sensor. The sensor connects to the engine harness, for Mercury at least, not sure about others. You get an alarm when there's water in the bowl, before it's so much water that the engines gets any.

I had a plastic secondary tank that got a bunch of water in it a while back. Had to drain the racor every 10-15 minutes, but never got any water in the engine. From my perspective a fuel water separator without an alarm isn't worth a lot unless it's only ever going to see very small amounts of water. You would need to check it far more regularly than anyone I know does and as described above, some times you can't tell easily if it's full of water or fuel.
 
Sharphooks said:
Thanks for the support. Yes, I’ve always carried a separate 20L tank for the T25 kicker. I knew some day it would save my bacon. The main reason, though, is I can track fuel burn better in the summer….when running the T25 off the main tank, the fuel burn doesn’t get registered by the digital fuel gauges that are hooked up to the DF300’s…it’s a big back deck so that tank is easy to shove out of the way while fishing


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A veteran move with the redundancy
 
I noticed the loom protecting the threads on the steering connector arm between the kicker and main was getting torn up so I had to investigate.
I turned and tilted the motors through every possible permutation and found the rubbing occurred while the kicker was fully tilted up and the main was down and turned hard either way (both ends).
The kicker has an after-market bracket at the front with three attachment points so as I was going through every position I also measured the distance from the main to the starboard position instead of the center one where it was installed at the dealer. It was apparent that this would work better and eliminate the binding/rubbing so I cut 4” off the arm and re-installed it. I also slid a piece of 3/8 fuel line over it instead of loom as I thought it was a cleaner look.
 

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Sharphooks said:
Hey RB—-It’s interesting that your boss had the same issue with his XL2400….I say that because when I limped back to the dock after breaking down I just happened to a see a Seasport 24 tied up and noticed that the gas caps were mounted up on the wheelhouse walls —my first thought was —if my caps were mounted vertically and off any surface that could pool water, I’d be out fishing, not having to belly up to the bar with $2K in hand to get all my filters changed out, injectors cleaned , and VST’s drained

So here’s what I know—-Perko caps have a KNOWN issue. They even include a fine-print add-on that warns installers not to mount the caps where water can pool. Gas tanks expand and contract and when they contract they create a vacuum that will suck standing water through the Perko caps and down into the tank.

Perko offers a “riser” that is designed to shim the caps off whatever flat surface they are mounted to. I tried to install the risers last summer but I couldn’t get at the hose clamps under the deck to loosen up the filler tubes (at least without cutting fiberglass which is beyond my pay grade) so I gave up

NMI (Northwest Marine Industries) is a stand-up company. They stand behind their products and if there are issues, my experience is they will help to address them.

You might have your boss call them. I mention that because as mentioned above, it was explained to me that the charcoal filters (for vapors and overflow during refueling) that are now mandated by the EPA will clog up which only exacerbates the tank expansion and contraction issues (no venting!) So couple that with a crappy cap that leaks and you can see how both rain and salt water splash are getting into the tanks

If you want a private contact for NMI, PM me, especially if your boss has a newer XL2400
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i’m not sure what brand the fillet cape were but they were flush mounted on the starboard gunnel . slightly aft of the wheel house. the cape were different colours to represent fuel vs water.

they ended up selling the boat; i just thought wow what a coincidence.

now i’m wondering about my o-ring. think i’m gonna go inspect mine.
 
DanJ said:
Looks fantastic. I have had two surgeries for herniated discs so I feel your pain. Keep that core strong. It sure helps.
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I have an old ski injury - compression fracture when I was much younger and never really worked on my core strength. I was lucky and never had serious back issues following, however after a day of skiing or any hard work I'd have back strain. Last year I took up rucking (fancy way of saying I carry a weighted pack) - I walk to the skytrain and home every day for my commute (maybe 6000 steps) - first with a 25lb pack and now with 35lbs. Totally transformed my ski season and built up a lot of useable core strength/stability. Lots of guys claim you can lose a ton of weight this way - but that wasn't my experience - minor weight loss (maybe), no beauty muscles, just strength for when you need it.

Don't take that as a suggestion while you are recovering - but maybe at some point in the future.
 
Max123 said:
I have an old ski injury - compression fracture when I was much younger and never really worked on my core strength. I was lucky and never had serious back issues following, however after a day of skiing or any hard work I'd have back strain. Last year I took up rucking (fancy way of saying I carry a weighted pack) - I walk to the skytrain and home every day for my commute (maybe 6000 steps) - first with a 25lb pack and now with 35lbs. Totally transformed my ski season and built up a lot of useable core strength/stability. Lots of guys claim you can lose a ton of weight this way - but that wasn't my experience - minor weight loss (maybe), no beauty muscles, just strength for when you need it.

Don't take that as a suggestion while you are recovering - but maybe at some point in the future.
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I just got back from getting needled, stretched and electrocuted! I’ll wait for a bit more before I start with a weighted pack. I do like backpacking so maybe I’ll have to start with some weight in my pack out for my evening walk in a week or two.
 
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