Aaaargh!

cappy208 said:

The interesting thing to see, did they itemize the bill for a fueling charge? How much did they add? what is the level of the tanks currently?
Even with the water tank being partially filled with water, once they filled it with diesel, the sight tube would have filled from the top, thus the level in the sight tube.

I would disconnect the supply fitting from the tank, and cap it, to completely eliminate the passage of fuel into the boats potable system. Let them deal expressly with the tank, and its contamination.

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No bill yet. Early days.

The boat went directly from a shed to a berth without a stop at the fuel dock. I was there.

The tanks are 1/4 full each. About where they were when we came to the yard.

The supply valve from the water tank is now firmly closed.

I may have missed it, but have you checked the fuel tanks for water contamination?

I would ask. Just to ask the obvious. Are you CERTAIN you didn't bring the boat to the yard with the fuel already (incorrectly) put into the water tank?

cappy208 said:

I would ask. Just to ask the obvious. Are you CERTAIN you didn't bring the boat to the yard with the fuel already (incorrectly) put into the water tank?

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Yes, Yes and Yes I am certain. Emphatically Yes. No one but me has ever filled the fuel tanks in this boat in the 7 years that we have owned her. My mind may be going but not to that extent.

sunchaser said:

I may have missed it, but have you checked the fuel tanks for water contamination?

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I regularly check, and annually drain a bit off the bottom of, the Racor bowls and have never yet seen any sign of water.

My asking was not so much as what YOU filled it with, but at your normal yard, dock, pitstop did some one 'help' you last time you filled up?

cappy208 said:

My asking was not so much as what YOU filled it with, but at your normal yard, dock, pitstop did some one 'help' you last time you filled up?

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No.

I would bet they wanted to top off the tanks for you, to put head pressure on the tanks to check for leaks. BUT some brain surgeon stuck the nozzle in the wrong orifice. (note I didn't say Lawyer!!!)

dwhatty said:

Yes, Yes and Yes I am certain. Emphatically Yes. No one but me has ever filled the fuel tanks in this boat in the 7 years that we have owned her. My mind may be going but not to that extent.

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But can you REALLY be sure, Counselor?

When did you last check the quality of the water in your FW tank?

When did you last look to ensure there was no diesel fuel in the FW tank?

Did the Admiral spend any time on the boat without your direct supervision?

Is it possible that she sabotaged your FW supplies to be able to spend more time at home?

Do you have proof that an employee of the marina fouled your FW supply?

Do you have proof that supports ANY of your heretofore unsupported claims?

(I've always wanted to interrogate a lawyer! I feel much better now.)



Seriously, I admire your approach and hope only for the best in a quick resolution that is agreeable to all sides. Hopefully this can be resolved fast enough for you to be able to enjoy the rest of the boating season.

Cheers!

FlyWright said:

But can you REALLY be sure, Counselor?

When did you last check the quality of the water in your FW tank?

When did you last look to ensure there was no diesel fuel in the FW tank?

Did the Admiral spend any time on the boat without your direct supervision?

Is it possible that she sabotaged your FW supplies to be able to spend more time at home?

Do you have proof that an employee of the marina fouled your FW supply?

Do you have proof that supports ANY of your heretofore unsupported claims?

(I've always wanted to interrogate a lawyer! I feel much better now.)



Seriously, I admire your approach and hope only for the best in a quick resolution that is agreeable to all sides. Hopefully this can be resolved fast enough for you to be able to enjoy the rest of the boating season.

Cheers!

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..

Chances are the yard just transferred tank contents from one to another in order to fit the valves on the sight tubes. Still inexcusable to transfer diesel into the water tank though.

Hope you can get it sorted - with access available and an SS tank I think it wont be too big a drama. Seems that you are keeping pretty calm about it, and with luck they will be keen to make amends. When the tank is clean get them to plumb in an activated carbon water filter. You supply the filter, they supply the labour.

It's obvious now how it happened. I'm also betting the tank can be and will be cleaned to your satisfaction.

Maybe you can get a free bottom job or something out of them for your trouble.

Capt.Bill11 said:

It's obvious now how it happened.

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Not to me. Yet.

Well, mystery solved. I should have stayed around to watch how the mechanic actually emptied the second tank.

Those of you who guessed that he put the fuel into the water tank fill (somehow missing that the fill was clearly labeled "WATER"), instead of pumping it directly over to the other tank, surmised correctly.

The water tank is now in the process of having the fuel removed from the top through the inspection/clean out fitting.

Because there is a vertical baffle in the tank that has openings only at the top and bottom and only one inspection/clean out fitting which is located way over on one side of the tank top, they are going to remove all the fuel they can (by suction and bligezorb pads) on the inspection fitting side, then gently fill up with water til the level is over the top baffle opening, and go at it again, as many times as necessary, til they think they've got all the fuel out.

Then they will drain the tank (not through the potable plumbing system pipes) and steam clean it.

After that they will start a fill, detergent, flush, fill, detergent, etc. regimen, finishing with a denatured alcohol cleaning and flushing.

The service manager stated that the yard is entirely responsible and will do whatever it takes to remedy the situation to our satisfaction, including a satisfactory water test for hydrocarbons.

Did I mention that the service manager is my next door neighbor. He knows I know where he lives.

Lots of drama on TF, kinda like my wife's soaps or 48 Hours which are never ending stories. At least this one didn't happen in Ireland on a KK 42.

dwhatty said:

Well, mystery solved. I should have stayed around to watch how the mechanic actually emptied the second tank.

Those of you who guessed that he put the fuel into the water tank fill (somehow missing that the fill was clearly labeled "WATER"), instead of pumping it directly over to the other tank, surmised correctly.

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So the fuel added to the top of the water tank swam down to the bottom and into the sight tube, where it miraculously recovered buoyancy?

You got some super cool ninja fuel there! I just love it when physics is proven wrong.

refugio said:

So the fuel added to the top of the water tank swam down to the bottom and into the sight tube, where it miraculously recovered buoyancy?

You got some super cool ninja fuel there! I just love it when physics is proven wrong.

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The tank would only have to be filled TO the top sight tube valve. Then your fuel would (as you so eloquently put it) recover it's buoyancy and seek it's own level all by itself! Note, rwhatty never discussed how full the water tank was. Neither has it been determined how much fuel we are talking about. Nor was it discussed if the tank was overflowed w diesel.

refugio said:

So the fuel added to the top of the water tank swam down to the bottom and into the sight tube, where it miraculously recovered buoyancy?

You got some super cool ninja fuel there! I just love it when physics is proven wrong.

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That one has been puzzling me as well. Perhaps the inlet line is close to the top of the sight tube connection and some splashed in during the "incident"? Or if the fuel completely filled the tank it could have spilled over into the sight tube I suppose.

Sight tubes Almost never go to the absolute top or bottom a tank. Usually An inch or so from top and bottom

Good on the Yard. Fix it!

Second the above posts questioning how the fuel got into the sight glass. Perhaps tank contents were sufficiently agitated by the filling process that some fuel made it down near lower sight tube valve. Is fill port near the sight tube?

Also suggest disconnecting pump suction line from tank while this cleaning is going on. Water can provided to pump suction from another source and then it can be determined if fuel made it into that system.

Also drain the water heater and check for fuel there.

I gather that alcohol acts as an emusifying agent. Might have to try a little bit in the shop. Maybe that is a good way to clean spilled fuel from a bilge??? I run into that often.

Jobe said:

Good on the Yard. Fix it!

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cappy208 said:

Note, rwhatty never discussed how full the water tank was. Neither has it been determined how much fuel we are talking about. Nor was it discussed if the tank was overflowed w diesel.

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Actually, the OP said "(the [120 gallon] tank had been half full when we went into the yard) still showed one half full of clear water. But the whole top half of the sight tube was now filled with a REDDISH colored liquid."

So, even though the gauge might be non-linear, I read that as 60 gallons of water before the fuel was introduced. And if the gauge was "on" at the top (connected to the atmosphere) and bottom (connected to the tank), then there would be a corresponding 60ish gallons of fuel in the tank (before it would overflow via the vent or sight gauge).

But sight gauges can be tricky. The OP's gauge might have read 60 gallons but been "off" at the bottom - and there could have been anywhere from 0 to 120 gallons of water in that tank. If it was actually empty, then when the yard worker went to "check the level" he might have turned it "on" and emptied the sight tube into the empty tank. Add the fuel, and there you go. You'd still have to get the original (assumed) 60 gallons back into the tank.

Or we can just go with the ninja fuel that dynamically changes specific gravity. I'm open-minded enough to believe that might be possible.

So, you've never seen a sight tube connected top AND bottom? I am scratching my head at a 'bottom only' open to atmosphere on top. I don't recall ever seeing one like that. At least professionally installed.

Two discrepancies don't make one right. The fuel tanks started at 1/4 each. The water was at 1/2.

When finished the fuel was 1/4 1/4 and water tank miraculously full of fuel ( and water ). There is a misreading of tanks somewhere. This is why I initially assumed 'someone' (either intentionally or by mistake) filled the water tank with fuel.

I'm not do inclined to believe in miracles ( or breaking the laws of physics) as an explanation. Just the skeptic in me I guess ️

cappy208 said:

So, you've never seen a sight tube connected top AND bottom? I am scratching my head at a 'bottom only' open to atmosphere on top. I don't recall ever seeing one like that. At least professionally installed.

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Ah, fair enough - I was picturing my fuel gauges, which were professionally installed but are remoted to put them in one place - they are vented to the atmosphere with another set of valves. Normally my gauges are "off" because a failure in a sight tube could drain the tank into the bilge, but I can certainly imagine other configurations.

So...OK, now I can see that - if the gauge were connected top and bottom, then sure, fuel could have entered the top of the gauge when the tank level reached that, or maybe when the top sloshed around.

My water tanks sight gauges, though - no, they don't go back into the tank - they extend above the level of the tank and are open to the atmosphere. And that's actually how I know my tanks are full - when the water comes out of the top and the bilge pump comes on!

It must be embarassing for the yard....glad they are standing up. We'll be watching.

I've seen sight glasses with the top open to atmosphere but never on a boat. If the tank overfills you don't want the contents in the bilge, even if it is only water. Or a full tank in heavy seas could also spill out the top of the sight tube.
Good mental exercise figuring this one out.

refugio said:

My water tanks sight gauges, though - no, they don't go back into the tank - they extend above the level of the tank and are open to the atmosphere. And that's actually how I know my tanks are full - when the water comes out of the top and the bilge pump comes on!

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That's one way to keep your bilges clean!!!

Actually, hats off to rwhatty for COMPLETELY vetting his boat prior to use ( whether post shipyard or not)!

Imagine the different circumstances IF he had departed the shipyard unknowing, and returned the next (day, week, month) and complained then!!

If the tank is metal it can be cleaned by just washing it out VERY thoroughly with plenty of detergent and water. Bit if it's a plastic water tank, it'll have to be replaced, 'cuz any petroleum product will permeate it and damage the tank. Yes, there are plastic fuel tanks, but plastic fuel tanks must be CROSS LINKED polyethylene, which is not the same as the LINEAR PE that's use to make water and waste tanks...petroleum can actually dissolve linear PE.

Hope you haven't run the water pump...'cuz if the oil or fuel got into the plumbing, it'll have to be replaced too.

Don't settle for anything less!