Advice on fuel spill in the boat

[scoota]

Hi all,

I had the dreaded fuel leak in one of the under floor tanks where a s/s pick up at the bottom of the front tank was touching the rear ally tank and a hole appeared. I ended up with 40 litres of unleaded under the floor that I have removed and the tank is out being repaired.
I asked the local servo about cleaning up after a fuel spill and he said just to let it evaporate and air it out and all will be good.
I am doing this currently but wondering if I should do something else as well.
The boat is a Caribbean Reef Runner.

Cheers

Scoota...

[Feral]

To be honest - if you get a fuel leak in to the boat like that, walk away (rapidly) and call the fire brigade. They will assist you make it safe which is the most important thing.

As for the aftermath, depends on the boat, unleaded is a particulalry nasty brew and I would be scrubbing it out well, not just to get rid of the smell, but to ensure there was no long degrading of fittings or fibreglass etc.

[Noelm]

I guess it depends on whether the tank was in a sealed compartment, or if there is suitable drainage to wash it all out, but as mentioned, exposure to fresh air will get rid of anything left, washing with detergents and stuff will just make it quicker and make you feel better.

[MTAQ/BTAQ]

Also the fuel spill may degrade your positive buoyancy foam, even fumes can degrade the foam - after everything has dried out just check any foam which may have been affected.