Good day, I'm totally new at this and just purchased my first big boat. I always has small boats and just purchase a 1990 Carver 3807. So far I enjoy the boat but we noticed that there is always a very strong smell of gas in the Salon. I checked for gas leak and could not find any. The smell is there when the engines are not running. We were gone for just a couple of ours and when we came into the cabin / Salon the smell of gas is very strong. Is this normal? the inside of the whole boat smells gas. We had to open all windows and put fans on. Again can't seem to find any gas leaks anywhere. All gas tanks and gas line were replaced about two years ago according to previous owners. If someone could provide me with some info on what to do that would be great.
Be very careful!! Gasoline vapors are highly explosive and any spark can cause a catastrophic explosion. Anything like a switch, a fan, starting the engines etc can cause the boat to explode Start by checking the bilges for gas. do you have a gas fume detector in the engine bay? I would strongly recommend you get a qualified mechanic to check and don’t use the boat or anything electrical in the meantime
NEVER, EVER turn on ANYTHING electric or start engines until you find & fix the source as it sounds like there is a HIGH risk for an explosion. Every time I experienced a gasoline smell in various previous boats it turned out to be from a tank that went bad so you need to first confirm what the seller told you was true. Tanks can easily be pressure tested so like Pascal advised, get yourself a good mechanic. This is an example of why one should NEVER purchase without a survey.
1990 Carver with aluminum tanks, past there useful life expectancy is my guess and has pinhole leaks. As suggested get the tanks pressure tested and also verify vent, fuel fill and supply hoses are not deteriorating and causing the gas vapor to leak or raw gas. As stated please turn off all electric and disconnect shore power till verified of issue. Yes being paranoid is not being over cautious when one smells gas as you are smelling the vapor, which is what ignites. best luck with finding issues.
Carvers are recognized as fuel tank leakers. I don't understand anybody's surprise. Get a real tech in there ASAP. .
Well, yes. On an old derelict gasoline powered boat, fumes may be expected.. You may be sitting on a ticking time bomb, don’t flip any switches and don’t try to start the motors. Instead, shut everything off, open all hatches, doors and windows, disconnect shore power and step of the boat. I would.
He did say that all tanks and lines have been replaced. I agree with the above recommendations to be cautious. However, I had a similar problem on a center console; the culprit was one loose screw that held the flange of the sending unit in the top of the tank (it was a poly tank). My point is that one small breech in the fuel system can result in major gasoline odor.
Seems you and the guy with the problem has a lot of faith in the previous owner. Nobody else here does. Since we never heard any follow up, I can only hope he found a real tech and got it safely resolved.
