Good morning everyone, I've got two diesel fill fittings in each side deck on my NT37. The two that look original (because they match the Waste and Water fills) are disconnected from the tanks. One connects to a fat fuel hose that is capped about 2' below the deck, the other looks the same but the hose wasn't securely connected to the deck fitting. Anyone using that diesel fill would have pumped fuel directly into the engine room. The other two fill fittings, Perkos, are properly connected to the tanks. We've all heard stories of dockhands inadvertently using the wrong fill hole (like a fishing pole "rocket launcher") and filling a bilge with fuel. Because I do not want this catastrophe to happen to my boat, this week I plan to disable the unused fuel fills by either removing the fittings altogether and installing a blank plate over the hole in the side deck, or leaving the fittings in place and using Loctite to ensure the caps can never come out. My question is have any of you seen such a setup? Why would anyone disconnect the factory diesel fills and install aftermarket ones three feet further forward? (And why would anyone do such a careless job disconnecting the abandoned fills?) Any insight into this mystery? -Jonathan Cyclops NT37-138 Freeport, Maine

Wow. Wow. Just wow. Man, I see no possible explanation for this, other than really bad work. Good on ya for setting it right and avoiding becoming a statistic! BTW, you said the old ones would have drained into the engine room—that seems like odd placement to me. My fills on my 37 are much further astern, i.e. over the tanks. I can reach them from the aft cockpit for filling. b > On Mar 18, 2025, at 08:53, Jonathan Handelman via Sentoa <sentoa@lists.sentoa.org> wrote: > > Good morning everyone, > > I've got two diesel fill fittings in each side deck on my NT37. The two that look original (because they match the Waste and Water fills) are disconnected from the tanks. One connects to a fat fuel hose that is capped about 2' below the deck, the other looks the same but the hose wasn't securely connected to the deck fitting. Anyone using that diesel fill would have pumped fuel directly into the engine room. > > The other two fill fittings, Perkos, are properly connected to the tanks. > > We've all heard stories of dockhands inadvertently using the wrong fill hole (like a fishing pole "rocket launcher") and filling a bilge with fuel. Because I do not want this catastrophe to happen to my boat, this week I plan to disable the unused fuel fills by either removing the fittings altogether and installing a blank plate over the hole in the side deck, or leaving the fittings in place and using Loctite to ensure the caps can never come out. > > My question is have any of you seen such a setup? Why would anyone disconnect the factory diesel fills and install aftermarket ones three feet further forward? (And why would anyone do such a careless job disconnecting the abandoned fills?) > > Any insight into this mystery? > > -Jonathan > Cyclops > NT37-138 > Freeport, Maine > _______________________________________________ > Sentoa mailing list -- sentoa@lists.sentoa.org > To unsubscribe send an email to sentoa-leave@lists.sentoa.org

Gene, you're correct that access to the originals from the inside is a challenge (at least on the starboard side). The hose attaches in the narrow space about a foot aft of the starboard aft bulkhead in the engine room and the hull. Nearly impossible to get my arm up there, and I don't have any interest in messing with those stiff hoses and reconnecting to the factory setup. It's possible someone needed to change the hoses for some reason and decided it would be easier to cut two new holes in the deck (!) and make a longer but easier hose run. But I can't really envision a scenario where both sides needed that treatment. As for DIY boat owners, any time I tackle a project I think about how a professional would approach it, and how a boat surveyor would evaluate my work. -Jonathan On Tue, Mar 18, 2025 at 12:35 PM Gene Fuller via Sentoa < sentoa@lists.sentoa.org> wrote: > That sounds nutty. > > The only thing I can imagine is that someone needed to access or replace > the fuel fill hoses for some reason. If you look you will find that access > with the factory-original system would be difficult. The original was > undoubtedly set up before the top of the boat was bonded to the hull. > > Our boat was in the factory at the same time as yours, so I suspect the > factory setups are identical or very similar. > > Regardless of the reason, this is the sort of thing that gives DIY boat > owners a bad name. > > Gene Fuller > > *Yorkshire Rose* > > NT 37-136 > > Punta Gorda, FL > > > On 3/18/2025 11:53 AM, Jonathan Handelman via Sentoa wrote: > > > Any insight into this mystery? > > _______________________________________________ > Sentoa mailing list -- sentoa@lists.sentoa.org > To unsubscribe send an email to sentoa-leave@lists.sentoa.org >

I’d have to go look at mine, but I wonder: Couldn’t the new (or original) hose have been installed from through the hole for the deck fitting? I.e. Attach the hose to the deck fitting with its clamp; place the lower clamp on the hose, lightly snugged down. Insert the hose/deck fitting from the top, with whatever lubricant inside the lower end of the hose, slide onto the tank fitting. Then using a long nut driver, loosen the lower clamp, slide down, re-tighten? (unknown—whether clamps would fit through the hole in the deck). I suppose nordic may also have at least attached the lower hose clamp and hose before putting on the top of the boat, but the deck fitting seems it had to come later. I’m curious now and will look at mine. I’m also a lot later (37-202) so it’s possible the fittings are in a different location. Mine are near the aft cockpit. Cheers, b > On Mar 18, 2025, at 09:47, Jonathan Handelman via Sentoa <sentoa@lists.sentoa.org> wrote: > > Gene, you're correct that access to the originals from the inside is a challenge (at least on the starboard side). The hose attaches in the narrow space about a foot aft of the starboard aft bulkhead in the engine room and the hull. Nearly impossible to get my arm up there, and I don't have any interest in messing with those stiff hoses and reconnecting to the factory setup. > > It's possible someone needed to change the hoses for some reason and decided it would be easier to cut two new holes in the deck (!) and make a longer but easier hose run. But I can't really envision a scenario where both sides needed that treatment. > > As for DIY boat owners, any time I tackle a project I think about how a professional would approach it, and how a boat surveyor would evaluate my work. > > -Jonathan > > On Tue, Mar 18, 2025 at 12:35 PM Gene Fuller via Sentoa <sentoa@lists.sentoa.org <mailto:sentoa@lists.sentoa.org>> wrote: >> That sounds nutty. >> >> The only thing I can imagine is that someone needed to access or replace the fuel fill hoses for some reason. If you look you will find that access with the factory-original system would be difficult. The original was undoubtedly set up before the top of the boat was bonded to the hull. >> >> Our boat was in the factory at the same time as yours, so I suspect the factory setups are identical or very similar. >> >> Regardless of the reason, this is the sort of thing that gives DIY boat owners a bad name. >> >> Gene Fuller >> >> Yorkshire Rose >> >> NT 37-136 >> >> Punta Gorda, FL >> >> >> >> On 3/18/2025 11:53 AM, Jonathan Handelman via Sentoa wrote: >>> >>> Any insight into this mystery? >>> >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Sentoa mailing list -- sentoa@lists.sentoa.org <mailto:sentoa@lists.sentoa.org> >> To unsubscribe send an email to sentoa-leave@lists.sentoa.org <mailto:sentoa-leave@lists.sentoa.org> > _______________________________________________ > Sentoa mailing list -- sentoa@lists.sentoa.org > To unsubscribe send an email to sentoa-leave@lists.sentoa.org