Hobbies And Interests
Coast Guard Requirements
The United States Coast Guard requires that every closed compartment on any recreational boat with a gasoline engine must have ventilation. For spaces that can't ventilate directly to the outside, such as the blow-water bilge, the Coast Guard requires a blower ̵1; usually called a ̶0;bilge blower.̶1; A bilge blower is a battery-powered, waterproof pump that draws air from the outside into the bilge and pumps the stagnant fumes out. Every power boat with a closed bilge needs one.
Gasoline
Gasoline is one of the most volatile materials people come into contact with. People seldom worry about it, because they pump it safely into their cars̵7; enclosed tanks. If gasoline drips out of a leaky tank in a car, it generally hits the ground where it evaporates quickly. Anyone who has ever made the mistake of using gasoline as an accelerant to start a barbecue pit knows ̵1; at the cost of their eyebrows ̵1; that the smallest spark causes gasoline fumes to burst into a fireball.
Explosive Buildup
Gasoline fumes accumulating in an enclosed bilge on a boat don't easily evaporate. They do, however, seep through fissures to create an effective fuse to light the trapped fumes in the bilge. The spark from an engine plug, a snap of static electricity, lighting the galley stove or dropping a lit cigarette can ignite the invisible fuse. The enclosed gasoline becomes a flammable-under-pressure; in other words, an explosive. If the boat is equipped with a blower, running the blower periodically ensures no such explosive build-up occurs.
Using the Blower
Use blowers in conjunction with common sense precautions. Run the blower for four to five minutes after every refueling. Open the bilge to inspect for raw gasoline. If you find it, bail it out, then find out why you're getting gas in the bilge before operating the boat again. Any time you think you smell gasoline, run the blower again. Iff this reoccurs, inspect the bilge and take necessary action to identify the leak and fix it.