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Hi all,
I just joined the site. Thank you for making this happen. I own a 1986 18' Outrage Whaler that has been our family since it was new. We have taken great care of this boat and it resides inside in a warehouse when not in use. However, I have experienced a fuel leak lately. When I fill the boat up, it leaks fuel into the fuel tank cell. I have never replaced hoses at all. Could it be a hose problem or a leaking tank. I did tighten up the overflow hoses last time that I filled up and it did seem to eliminate a bunch of leakage. However, it still has fuel in the tank compartment. The fuel compartment has a bunch of "crud" built up in it and I have to take off the deck plates to dry out. I'm hoping that it is just a hose replacement issue. My service center tells me that I may have to replace the fuel tank. I'm seriously hoping that is not the case. We have taken really great care of this boat over the life of the boat...kept it inside and all that. I was just hoping that you could advise me about where to get new hoses (trying to replace them) before I have to deconstruct the boat to get the 60 gallon tank out to replace it. Thanks for your help.

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Most Outrage fuel tanks of your vintage are at the end of their normal lifespan, so the dealer is most likely correct.

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Hi Welcome. That sounds like a nice 18 Outrage you have in the family.

It will be difficult for any of us to give you a definitive answer about the source of the fuel leak. We can speculate about possibilities, but only an inspection will determine the cause. It could be old hoses, or equally possible it could be a leak in the tank. Most people try to i.d. the source of the leak, and failing that begin by replacing hoses.

At nearly 30 year sold, the tank has already given good service life. So don't feel too badly if you end up having to replace it. In fact, you may want to consider replacing it regardless. Even if the tank is not the source of the current problem, if you have to really tear into things to find the source of the leak, are you going to want to have to do that again in a few years?

No matter what, you have to run this down. Leaking gasoline and associated fumes in sealed compartments below decks are VERY dangerous, and you risk an explosion if you don't get the problem solved quickly. Also, there should not be any "overflow lines" on fuel tanks. But the air vent may allow some fuel to leak out if the tank is overfilled -- which should be avoided!

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I would start with the fuel lines. I just replaced mine on a 1986 Outrage 18 and I was amazed how thin the fill tube (2") walls were even though the fuel is only in this line for short periods.

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SmbWhaler -

When you say it leaks in to the cavity, how are you observing this? Is it strictly through the deck plates? Or have you pulled the deck cover or fuel fill gutter deck cover? If you observe liquid fuel on the top of the tank, it seems more likely that the hoses are at least partly to blame.

When you state that it leaks "when I fill the boat up", is this the only time you notice it (or it is more pronounced then)? After letting the boat sit and for a while, or run after the fill does it seem less noticeable? If so, perhaps you just need to replace the hoses. My impression is that many of those who have needed to replace their tanks have found holes or corrosion on the underside of the tank where the water is more trapped between foam and tank wall. This would likely lead to gas leaking more steadily than just when you fill.

Regardless, you'll probably need to pull the deck for either tank or hose replacement. I found it much easier to replace the hoses with the deck off. I just pulled the deck off of my 1985 Outrage 18 too. It seemed like the tank was still in great shape, I did replace the fill, vent, and outlet hoses, and could certainly see how the vent hose in particular could be subject to wear, as it was compressed by a tank strap.

Dennis

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I had issues with the gasket on the suction access plate. The gasket was bad. I replaced all the fuel lines and put a new gasket. Good luck

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I pulled the floor and replace all my fuel lines on my 20' Outrage a few years back. This year I had the same issue as you but I had the pleasure of starting the year with water in my tank. It turn out that the gasket where the fuel pickup was had gone beyond bad from the ethanol.

Good luck

Stephen

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I would pull the deck......nothing like space to work. While you have access to the tank I would (and did) install a tank access plate. Mine was installed on the aft portion of the tank at the fuel pick up for the motor. If you want to do fuel polishing in the future you need a minimum of 2" on both sides of the baffle. I drilled and tapped my tank access plate to accommodate the fuel pick up assembly.
Garris

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Agree with JRP above. If you plan on keeping the boat, pull the deck (check wood underneath top skin), remove and replace foam, replace tank and all hoses, good for another 20-30 years.....

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Thank you to all for responding. I sincerely appreciate your advice/experiences regarding this matter. I think I will begin to address the leakage problem by replacing the hoses 1st....and will probably move on to taking out the tank next if the hose replacement does not work. Unfortunately, I only get to use the boat 3 times a year..doing scalloping trips to the gulf during the season that just ended. So, I have a ton of time in the personal warehouse to address all the good advice that all you guys have given me...thank you

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SMB, welcome to WhalerCentral! Just a word of care - you may want to fix the gas leak before moving the boat inside the personal warehouse or any other closed structure.

Tim

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Again, thank you everyone for your valued advice. I finally got around to removing the 3 fuel lines attached to the tank. Wow..pretty bad..dry rot on rubber and self welded to attachment posts. The front vent line was the issue. We will be headed out to the Gulf to scallop. The old 18' Outrage is perfect for what we do...trailering and 10" of draft. The 1999 150 Yamaha pushes us along well..only 500 hours on it. GPS tells me we are at 48mph wide open when dodging late afternoon storms...fully loaded. Thanks again guys.
Mark

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Can anybody point me in the right direction in search for the gasket that goes under the round fuel intake plate (back of the boat) on 18' Outrage? Gasket is crunchy and falling apart. I did Google search but nothing came up.

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Mine was exploded from the ethanol. We bought the proper gasket material and made one. No issues since.

Good luck.

Stephen

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Yeap! After Googling and reading up on this forum my conclusion is that the only way is to make one. Shouldn't be a problem and cost effective.
Ethanol - don't we all love ethanol?!

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Well,
I finally had to replace the tank. 2 big holes on top of a perfectly nice tank..visual inspection. Anyway, the 1986 Outrage needs new navigation lights as they have a dead short somewhere. Want to replace all that with LED system...from switch down to the fixtures. Any suggestions? I want to keep the boat as close to 86 look as possible with the navigation fixtures. I love having a an American classic vessel on the water.


(Edit: corrected abbreviated year to full 4 digit year per guideline #1 at the top of this page)

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Honestly, I don't know how to post on this forum. Went to the main page and did not see how to post for a new issue that I'm having with the 1986 Outrage. I love this boat and will never sell it...a family heirloom. Anyway, I need to replace the navigation lights as somewhere it has a "dead short" in the system. I want to replace all of that with new LED system (including pull switch) as I want to keep this boat vintage. Any suggestions?

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SMB -

If you go to the menu bar, select MAIN. In the drop down list is DISCUSSION FORUMS. On this page, select the forum. Top right corner is NEW THREAD.

Let me know if you need additional support.

Copy and paste your last post into a new thread in the REPAIRS forum.