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LA VIDA OPERATING MANUAL
NW Explorations
6.3.2
Checking the Fuel Level
Fueling is a two-person task with one person in the engine room monitoring the sight gauges:
Each tank has a sight gauge. Each sight gauge has a shut-off valve at the top and bottom. Open
both the top and bottom sight gauge valves and allow for the level to equalize. After fueling or
checking fuel levels, close the sight gauge valves. The engine room sight gauges have markings
in 50 gallon increments along the sight gauges.
6.3.3
Filling the Fuel Tanks
The fuel tank fills are located amidships, two deck fill caps are located mid-ship on the starboard
side steps and one deck fill cap is located mid-ship on the port side deck steps. If the cross-over
valves are open, all forward tanks may be filled from a single location.
Before You Start to Fuel
•
Make sure the engines and generators are shut down and all ignition materials have been
extinguished.
•
Make sure fire extinguishers, first aid kit, and clean-up materials are readily available.
•
Grab and absorbent pad and make a hole in the middle of it for the fuel pump head to go
through and place it over the deck fill.
Fueling Procedure
•
Open the cross-
over valves and all three tank’s sight gauge valves.
•
Have someone in the engine room to monitor the sight gauge during the fueling process.
You can communicate with your cell phones or hand-held VHF radios.
•
Make sure the overflow vent is visible and unobstructed.
•
Fuel spills are the responsibility of the person operating the fueling hose.
Fueling can
be messy. Have an absorbent pad from the engine room at the ready.
•
Open the DIESEL cap with the spanner wrench/key located in the document drawer at the
helm.
•
Insert the nozzle into the fill valve, and start the flow.
•
As the tank fills, listen for sputters and watch the fuel vent. It will gurgle before the tank
is full. Your goal is to stop pumping BEFORE fuel spurts out of the vent.
•
The person monitoring the sight gauges should communicate the remaining level in
inches as the tanks fill.
•
Do not overfill the tanks. Stop when the fuel level reaches the top on the center tank
sight tube.
When fueling is completed, put the hose back on the dock, screw the fill cap back in place, and
return the key to the drawer marked “keys” in the main salon
(by the staircase to the helm).
7.0
Electronic Aids to Navigation
•
VHF radio
•
Autopilot and Ruder Angle Indicator
