Need advice on where to get boat repair in Abacos

[Symphony]

Easiest thing is to check that the vent to the tank is not clogged with insect nest.

it's easy to find the vent hose on the top of the tank, and easy to find the vent on port side. my Mainship has the holding tank and fuel tank vents port side near each other, and fuel tank and water tank vents on starboard.

don't pressurize the tanks - you can cause lots of problems

[Paul Baker]

I took the boat into Marsh Harbour Boat yard.
They were excellent. I had tried Edwins.
At Edwins, the owner had told me to bring the boat in on a Tuesday - when I did he said he couldn't see it. He also had difficulty communicating and seemed to be a little out of it - so glad I went to Marsh Harbour Boat Yard.
The crossover pipe did indeed have a blockage.
Disconnected the pipe from both tanks and after a strong blow, dislodged what was there. Didn't find what it was as the diesel sprayed everywhere when it freed up.

I think it is resolved, will know when I try to fill up both tanks with diesel. It still seems to me like the boat is listing to the port side - I will know for sure at the end of the week.
Thank you everybody for your suggestions and help!

[ksceviour]

If the crossover lines were plugged the tank would still be drawing down with engine burn, just not as much as the other side due to fuel return. An unvented tank will neither equalize nor feed.

To eliminate a venting issue just unscrew the fill plug and listen for air entering the tank. There should be none. If you hear the tank equalize then you have a venting issue

[jimfrens]

I thought it was a violation of ABYC / CG rules to have connections at the bottom of a fuel tank. Or is that for gas only and doesn't apply to diesel?

[Paul Baker]

OK - hers an update.
As a previous poster suggested, I opened the full port tank fill up and listened for air being sucked in - there was nothing I noticed.
Had some guys swing over in Marsh Harbour to look and brain storm - nice guys, Martin and Roger I think.
Roger offered that it can take a couple of days for tanks to equalize - we will see.
The feed to the racor is simple, both tanks feed into a T junction that feeds the primary racor. The return feed also goes into a T junction and splits to the 2 fuel tanks.
Martin noticed that the port side return pipe was considerably shorted than the starboard side so maybe less friction so a lot of fuel goes back into port.

After much discussion, while still anchored, I turned off the feed from the emptying starboard tank and just left the port tank open. I ran the engine for 35 minutes at 1200 RPM. Engine ran fine. I didn't want to do this on the open sea in case engine stopped at an awkward time.
So that is my solution - I will switch tanks at intervals - I should in a few days see the boat stop listing.

Thank you so much folks for all the suggestions - it really helped me to think things through!

[dhays]

Glad you found a solution. However, I would suggest that your solution is a stop gap. At some point, you should see about installing a manifold by your Racor filter where you can select what tank to draw from and what tank to return to. In my opinion, the crossover should normally be closed unless the tank levels need to be equalized. Some boats have balance issues such that fuel tends to follow the list of the boat. That can exacerbate the fuel imbalance.

[Marlinmike]

I second this:

Some boats have balance issues such that fuel tends to follow the list of the boat. That can exacerbate the fuel imbalance.