please explain this to me

pelican · #1 12-30-2015, 08:47 AM

http://www.keysnet.com/2015/12/29/50...rely.html?rh=1

apparently,the rod holder was used as a fuel fill ??

this is the second incident I've read of this happening in florida

CaptMick · #2 12-30-2015, 09:10 AM

I've seen the rod holder filled up a bunch of times. Also some water tanks filled as well.

Worst one was a guy who actually realized what he did. He put the boat on the trailer at the ramp and pulled it up so he could then walk to the transom and pull the plug to drain it. He tried to get away. Bad Idea in a gated community with only two non nautical exits.

I also know a guy who had the fill hose fall off while taking on fuel. Clamps had broken. All of it is scary shit cause stuff like that can can go bad in hurry.

All of the times I saw it the guilty party was in a hurry or severely distracted. Except the fill hose guy. He was just guilty of not checking something on a lot of boats you can't really see anyway a lot of times.

cdavisdb · #3 12-30-2015, 09:30 AM

Scenario::

You have been fishing/diving all of a long day and are extremely tired. Pull up to the gas station to fuel up. Get in the boat, open the fuel cap which is right next to a rod holder, get out of the boat, get the gas line, put it in the hole which is above your line of sight, you can feel it but not see it, start filling.

Guess what?? Wrong hole.

I've actually done this. Thankfully I had good ears then and it did not sound right, so stopped before any major damage was done.

bigeasy1 · #4 12-30-2015, 09:50 AM

I'm trying hard to see how someone could actually go far enough to put a fuel nozzle into a flush mount rod holder before realizing the mistake. I guess I can see how it could possibly happen if you weren't paying attention or were stoned or hung over. I've heard about this happening several times before. (Now I can see how it can happen after reading Cdaviscb's post)

I did have a few gallons of gasoline pumped into my bilge from a cracked fill hose.I didn't smell it when we were filling up at the gas station,but got a strong smell of gas when we were backing the boat down the launch ramp.
I had hold of one of the stern lines and when the bilge vent reached me I could smell it.I immediately yelled to my buddy to pull the trailer back out of the ramp and when we got away from the launch I climbed into the boat and lifted the motor box cover(an I/O) to find a couple gallons of gasoline in the bilge.
I shudder to think that what if I had actually dropped the boat in the water and neglected to turn on the bilge blower before turning the ignition key.

So I take it to the boat yard where I get service just a couple minutes away and tell the mechanic what happened.He has me pull the boat up the yards exit which is a fairly steep gravel drive and proceeds to take out the drain plug letting the gas run out into the ground.
I couldn't believe it ,when I questioned him on doing that he just said "Hey! it came out of the ground I'm just putting it back".
Anyway it took me over an hour to get that vapor and smell out of the boat with continuous washings with a lot of bilge cleaner. The next day we changed the fill hose and found the original to be cracked in several places,an accident with horrible results just waiting to happen.

Islandtrader · #5 12-30-2015, 10:10 AM

When filling up the other day I said to my Grandson...see this (rod holder)don't put the gas here. The dock guy started to laugh and said "you would be surprised how many people we stop from doing that" at least with my rod holder it drains on the deck, so I would be alerted in about 2 seconds ...Ugh!

bumpdraft · #6 12-30-2015, 10:18 AM

Putting a fuel hose into a rod holder isn't new. The article suggests that while driving down the road the driver noticed that a pump wasn't working (HUH). He then did repairs on rental boat by cutting wire (again HUH)? Looks like the newspaper needs a new reporter as well. The driver was probably texting someone at the time he was working on the boat. Hope he's ok.

flyingfrizzle · #7 12-30-2015, 10:23 AM

I seen where a guy at a local station here done the same. It was a old man and his young grand son. This was about 10 years ago and I was actually doing some electrical service work at the strip mall beside the gas station. You could see where he pulled out from the gas station and left a line behind him on the road to behind the strip mall I was at. Im guessing after paying and when he walked out he noticed the gas coming out the transom drain to the ground and pulled behind the strip mall to let it drain out into the ditch. I didn't take long, some one noticed the spill and the cops followed the trail or line of gas on the road to where they were sitting. Im sure it was an honest mistake but the officers didn't seem happy about him fleeing the station and hiding behind the strip mall letting it drain out.

SnafuFishTeam · #8 12-30-2015, 10:30 AM

Running a fuel dock as a kid at a family marina in key Largo, I saw crap like this all the time. Rod holders, water tanks, oil tanks or anything else that had a hole in it. I would watch jet skis fill up there oil tanks with gasoline all the time!

There are a ton of Gilligans out there!

pelican · #9 12-30-2015, 11:13 AM

I still just can't understand how it's done !

seriously,i've made millions of mistakes - done a lot of dumb stuff over the years.but somewhere,common sense has to kick in ? electrical outlets - do these people try and stick a fork in them ?

when I had my shop:
new customers - first thing I did when I would check their boat out,was to check the fill cap for a chain or strap,and the o ring...either one was missing,i would replace it...the chain/strap only extends so far - the fill cap is marked "gas" "fuel" "diesel".rod holder isn't...

water fills,waster deck plate,2 stroke oil - I can almost understand that - but a rod holder ??

I actually read a reply on this topic,from a gentleman with a dealership - as in boat dealership - in his reply,he stated he removes the chain/strap for the cap - his reasoning:it gets in the way ???

seems like "common sense" is the new super power ??

bumpdraft · #10 12-30-2015, 11:48 AM

Ok, I went back and read the article. Maybe it's my pad, but I didn't see any mention of filling the boat with fuel through the rod holder. Years ago, I put fuel in my boat only to find that I had a fuel tank leak. I think the answer to this is don't do anything that might make a spark when there is a fuel leak. The article didn't mention a leak or as Paul Harvey would say, now the rest of the story.