Rich
09-11-2001, 09:27 AM
As many of us own older Donzi's before some of the current safety requirements and also have previous owner jury rigs, I have a fuel related story. I wanted to drain the fuel tank on my recently purchased 1969 Donzi 7 Meter. The method I've always used on other boats is to disconnect the fuel line at a convenient place, add an extension hose that I put through the transom drain hole, lift the boat bow high and let gravity do the work. The convenient spot to disconnect the fuel line on the 7 Meter is right at the fuel pump. The fuel shutoff is connected right at the fuel pump so I had no way of turning the fuel line from the tank off. In trying to think ahead, I lowered the bow (the boat is on a trailer) as much as I could and then pulled the fuel line off. To my surprise :eek: fuel still poured from the end of the hose and before I could put it back on, I had a pint of gasoline in the bilge. :eek: It turned out that the 60 gallon tank was full. Since I wasn't going to run the engines, I had no problem. Two days later, the boat still has that old gas smell. If I was out on the water, I would have been too nervous to start the engines even after a long blower run and airing out. Then I happened to be reading an article on what to do if your engine catches fire and one of the recommendations is to shut the fuel line off. That wouldn't have worked for me since the shutoff is on the fuel pump.
On my 1966 2+3 the fuel shutoff is in the engine compartment. Totally inaccessible in an engine fire situation. On the 7 Meter, I plan on putting fuel shutoffs between the tank and the fuel filters in a mid deck compartment. I have no clue where to put it on the 2+3. The tank and fuel line are pretty much buried. I value the knowledge and experience of many people that post here, so please comment and don't leave out what is obvious to you.
On my 1966 2+3 the fuel shutoff is in the engine compartment. Totally inaccessible in an engine fire situation. On the 7 Meter, I plan on putting fuel shutoffs between the tank and the fuel filters in a mid deck compartment. I have no clue where to put it on the 2+3. The tank and fuel line are pretty much buried. I value the knowledge and experience of many people that post here, so please comment and don't leave out what is obvious to you.