Fuel fill Question

I went with a friend to fill the fuel on his boat saturday. We were having a really hard time filling the tank as the vent seemed to be plugged. He thought that the vent was on deck, but when I went into the engine room I found the vent was on the side of the hull and that the vent line had a lloop in it that was causing the problem. My question is that the boat, a Mainship 34 Rumrunner,has a fuel fill on the port side, and what looks to be a fill on the starboard side. The starbord looks like a deck fill but turns 1/4 turn and then popsup but not open. Could this be just stuck or is it something else?

Sounds like maybe the popup is a vent for use when filling because the vapor vent with the loop can't handle the volume of air pushed out when fueling. I would try popping up the starboard fitting and see if the fueling doesn't go a little more smoothly.

Dave

W actually tried that but to no avail. This fitting has no openings that i could see. When it is popped up it has knurled edges that appear to be so it could be turned, but I could not budge it by hand.

I just bought a Pilot 34 (same boat) and I haven't filled it yet, but let me paraphrase what the manual says:

"There are two tanks and two fill points port and starboard. There is an equalization line so you don't have to switch tanks."

I don't know what the "pop up" fitting means. On my boat there is a convential fill fitting port and starboard. I will check the vent lines though. A low point is not good for a vent.

David

Whitecap makes a fuel fill with a pop up knob to remove the cap. You should be able to remove the cap with just your fingers. If not put a wrench on it and twist.
Is this what it looks like?

Just reread your original post. The Whitecap doesn't make a quarter turn to pop up. You press down in the center and release to get it to pop up.

I went back to my friends boat today and rechecked the pop-up fitting. After I popped it up I was able to unscrew it, with the aid of channel lock pliers. It is in fact a fuel fill, captive wire and all. At least I will know how it works now.

waterfront said:

...the vent line had a lloop in it that was causing the problem. ...

Click to expand...

That loop in the vent line is there to keep sea water from being forced up the vent line and into your tank. Unless it's kinked, it should not impede tank venting.

I have one tank that seems more temperamental than the other when it comes to venting. After changing lines and vents, I finally settled on installing vent whistles that sound while venting, but go silent as soon as fuel enters the vent line. I also keep the filler neck of the gas pump spout out an inch or so to allow venting from the fill tube. When the whistle stops, I stop pumping. Works well for me.