[Public-List] fuel tank vent

[J Bergquist]

Somewhere I have read about running a fuel tank vent up inside a stanchion.
Has anybody done this? What are the details on that? How did you terminate
the vent inside the stanchion? Did you custom-make the fitting, or can you
buy an off the shelf fitting or stanchion which has a vent fitting inside?

My problem is that my fuel vent is below the filler, so no matter how hard I
try it is bloody difficult to prevent spillage. Basically I have to have a
crew hold a cup and rag over the vent and tell me if any fuel drips out. I
think if I got the vent higher up this problem could be made to go away.

One other thought is to buy one of those whistle things which you install in
the vent and it stops whistling when the tank is getting full. Or a check
valve or something. There are a number of products out there for this
purpose. Has anybody got any experience with this?

Also, on the question of vents going up the mast, I was talking with one of
my college classmates about this vent problem last weekend. He is the
project manager for a 44m sailing catamaran (
http://www.catamarans.com/news/2005/08/Gemini.asp) being built at Derecktor
Shipyard in Bridgeport, CT (
http://www.derecktor.com/yachts/shell_yachts.html?../facilities/ct_location.html).
According to him, their fuel tank vents go up the mast. I did not ask where
the head vents go, but I would not be surprised if they aren't vented in the
mast as well.

Later,

JB

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