Bill, No, I have not worried about it. Maybe fumes build up and dissipate as we bounce around in a seaway, but there is usually air flowing over the hole to create some Ventura suction. For whatever reason, the smell in the gas locker does not seem that bad. Nevertheless, I have lots of experience wi†h engine compartments and gas leaks, and out of an excess of caution I do not strike a spark to test the fume concentration. Truth be told, the fume level in the cabin was never noticeable to some people (including my wife with a bionic nose), or dangerous to health, but I have developed a keen sensitivity to gasoline and kerosene through repeated exposure, so I wanted to do something about it. Tom Jenkins 2004 M17 Scintilla On Jun 28, 2012, at 9:30 AM, Bill Wickett wrote:
Good point. I have depended on the factory hole out the transom that I run the gas line out of. Have you added any other venting?
On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 11:48 AM, W David Scobie <wdscobie@yahoo.com> wrote:
yes i did seal up the aft locker on my M17.
once consideration is to assure you have enough venting in/thru/out of the locker so as not to create a bomb on your boat.
:: Dave Scobie :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com
--- On Wed, 6/27/12, Bill Wickett <billwick@gmail.com> wrote:
Tom,
You mentioned the gas smell in the cabin in the discussion on electric motors. I sealed up the aft cockpit locker. I believe Dave Scobie did as well and maybe some others. It is open to the boat from under the transom coaming. Takes a bit of kneeling and bending. I used some 1/4" plywood ripped and then scribed to the slightly uneven opening width. Just so it wedged into place. Then set it in with some thickened epoxy and after that had set up, wetted out some glass fabric strips and laid them over the ply and thickened fillets. Not too smooth, but it is out of sight. Had to go back with a couple of dabs of thickened epoxy at the ends to get it all closed up.
Sure eliminated the gas smell in the cabin. I found that the cushions even smelled of gas. Now all that is gone.
I would question why the factory does not seal off that aft locker as it is most often used for gas storage. Bob? Jerry?
Bill Wickett Makin' Time M17 #622
On Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 9:03 PM, Tom Jenkins <tjenk@gte.net> wrote:
Randy, I too have been running a German-built electric outboard on lakes and bays in my 17, and it is quite nice with the remote control option that lets me control forward, reverse and speed with one lever while attending to other things. With the battery removed, I can easily carry the 17 pound motor despite some back issues. Mainly, i hated the gas smell that always lingered in the cabin, and now it is completely gone. Being green can be pleasant indeed, if you can afford the initial higher cost per horsepower, and don't need to travel 20 miles with zero wind. It is kind of like a sailboat without a motor, but the device is there if you are in desperate need of a kick. Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla