But for the grace.....
Summer 2007 -
I was overhauling my boat when I first bought her...had built a trailer / cradle and had her in the driveway in front of my garage...walk in the park. Just finished the overhaul on painting, wiring etc etc etc. I was leaving the engine until last.
I had messed with the engine a bit and left the fuel shut-off open. Went in the house overnight and came out at 8am to go back at it. The sun was already beating on the deck.
It was only a miracle that I didn't have a cigarette in my mouth as I opened the hatch. The fumes hit me in the face. She had dumped at least five gallons of gas in the bilge..it ran through a malfunctioning carb that I had not even touched yet. I've been to a few of war zones but that was the closest I came to being blown up...the fumes were so strong that it just would have been a bang.
Carefully soaked it up with a car-wash sponge...squeeze by squeeze...into funnel and gas can. There are 2 fuel shut-offs on the boat. I ensure one is closed when I leave daily. I got that lesson without paying the price.
__________________
Mo
"Odyssey"
1976 C&C 30 MKI
The pessimist complains about the wind.
The optimist expects it to change.
The realist adjusts the sails.
...Sir William Arthur Ward.
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