Joe Impellizeri
Sand Dollar

IMPELJR@aol.com

Sand Dollar is a 1972 33' Egg Harbor SF with 350 cubic inch gas engines. For at least two seasons the engines have been hard to start for the first time each weekend. Most of the time a 30 to 60 second period of cranking got them started OK. Then they started OK all weekend. But next weekend the same thing all over again. I deduced they were gas starved since they started right up with a few carburetor primes. But I was stumped. I had checked all the connections back to the gas tanks and they were all tight. The next logical step was to check the gas line from each tank to the fuel manifold. When I pulled back the flame retardant coverings on the hoses at the tank ends I discovered that the rubber hose covering itself had cracks and water from the back deck leaking down through the saloon deck hatch covers, over time, had rusted the re-enforcing wires deep in the hose. The end of both hoses on the tank tops appeared to be very deteriorated and needed to be replaced. I was elated. With hoses this bad I was sure that they must have pinholes causing the fuel to run back into each tank and over time I lost the prime to each engine. I had found my problem…or so I thought.

A few seasons ago, Bill Bain had mentioned that the pickup tubes on "Tikhai" had corroded off the fitting at the tank top from the inside and I should check mine. I looked inside each tank with a flashlight and a mirror and they didn't appear to be corroded. And besides, they looked pretty tight and I thought it best not to disturb the fitting at the tank top. Destroying this fitting would be catastrophic. The tank would have to come out and that is a big, big job since the teak saloon deck would have to come out first to get at the tanks. This would end the boating season for me, or never allow it to get started.

But since I had soaked all the fittings with PB Buster (penetrating oil) on the tank top to remove and replace the shutoff valve and hose fittings, I figured I would give the big fitting on the tank top a good try. I applied as much pressure as I dared but it wouldn't budge with a ½" drive 1-1/8" deep well socket and 12" handle. But I really wanted to get a good look at the pickup tubes. The torque I applied had to be a direct rotation; no sideways pressure. If I made a mistake here it would surely crack something. So I quit for the day to think it over...and soak it some more. Then I had an idea. I got a lug wrench from my garage, drilled a hole in the socket end of the lug wrench that fit my 4"stubby ½" drive extension. The hole I drilled lined up with the hole already in the stubby extension. On the boat, I lined up the lug wrench hole with the hole in the stubby extension and put a pin through. I gave the top of the fitting a few taps with a brass hammer, placed the lug wrench/socket combo over the fitting and applied even rotational pressure. It must have known that I was determined, because it came off without incident. Could have been the PB Buster though. When I withdrew the tube from each tank, I noted a crack the entire length of the port tank pickup tube (that was the hardest to start). The starboard tank pickup tube was cracked about 4" up from the bottom. (See photo.) The pickup tubes were short of the bottom by about 1". I installed the new plastic (PVC?) fitting/tube a bit closer to the bottom. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you…the tubes were bronze not copper or iron. I have MONEL tanks not stainless or aluminum. I can guess why they cracked but it would be just a guess. I don't think a 3/8" bronze tube 12" long being in gas most of the time would crack due to harmonics…but you never know.
So now with a new fuel path from pickup tube to Raccor filter, long cranking starts is a thing of the past. I bet my starter will last longer too.