Under cockpit gas tank

[Tom Cassidy 352]

Has anyone installed an aluminum gas tank under the cockpit on the o/b version? I'm looking to get the weight as low and forward as possible. What size fit best? Did it need to be vented? Squeeze bulb inside or outside transom? How was the refill access arranged? Thanks for any input. Tom Cassidy 352 Gargle Blaster

[Mark Rode]

How would the class treat that for inspection during a class event? Not stock. I have a 3 gallon plastic strapped to the shelf under the port lazarette. Easy to remove for inspection. Close the vent when not in use. If you installed one, it should be vented to the outside.

[dave]

Coast guard regs AND prudence say that any inboard fuel tank or engine MUST be vented, and it's a darn good practice to have a blower system!!!

http://www.uscgboating.org/regulations/ ... partd.aspx

[Tom Cassidy 352]

Thanks for the feedback. The 3 gal answer makes the most sense. I just need enough gas to get out to the course and back on Wed nights. If I'm doing offshore I'll keep the 6 gal in the cockpit. Tom Cassidy 352 Gargle Blaster

[dave]

Cripes Tom, what size motor do you have and how far are you motoring????

[Tom Cassidy 352]

Hi Dave,
Let me give you a refresher course in geography. Even though I live on one of the smaller of the Great Lakes, we have races that cover well in excess of 100nm. If the wind disappears, as it did several times this past summer, you could have a lot of water in front of you before you drop a loop on a dock cleat. My Merc 6hp would not make those distances on a 3 gal tank. After the race is over my crew doesn't have the patience to "bob n sob" waiting for the wind to take us home. The 3 gal works fine getting me around Sandusky Bay on Wednesdays but I need a bigger "jug" for the long hikes.

Dave, always great to hear from you. Hope to get back to Arkansas for a little fly fishing one of these days and the beers will be on me. Full sails and empty bilges. Tom

[dave]

I forgot the details of your sailing location!

Trout and beer sounds great........................... Gaston's?

Whatever you do: if you carry a tank down below, VENT WELL!

[Tom Cassidy 352]

Gaston's sounds great. I will vent. My old buddy down in Mobile didn't and got blown ass over teakettle off his 7.9. Minor burns; he was lucky but the transom of his boat looked like a black taco. Tom

[dave]

We may be on the same frequency, but I'm speaking of a powered blower BEFORE anything else is switched on, preferably with a waterproof on/off switch to the cockpit wired straight to the battery. That way you could insure that the fumes were gone BEFORE turning on the battery switch down below!

[Tom Cassidy 352]

I would only put a portable tank in the lazarette AFTER I had shut off the O/B and disconnected the fuel hose. Then I would bring it back out into the cockpit when it was time to start the O/B again.

[dave]

I'm still on the wavelength of your original title: Under cockpit gas tank.......................................

[Tom Cassidy 352]

Sorry about that but when the replies I received to the original idea were so overwhelmingly negative, I went back to what was suggested. Namely, putting the tank in the lazarette only during the race. I have been using a 6 gal plastic tank that fits nice and snug on the deck at the aft end of the cockpit. Problem is it's a lot of weight just where I don't want it[ kinda like my waist]. So, when you weighed in with wise caveats of the problems inherent with a tank permanently installed below decks, I rethought the whole process.

What I really appreciate about the class website is the access to much more experience than I have on these boats and, more importantly, the patience to answer what I'm sure are viewed as dumb questions. The annual class dues are so cheap compared to the amount of knowledge it allows you to tap, I can't believe anyone would balk at paying them.

Thanks, Dave and everybody else. Tom Cassidy 352

[dave]

Tom, a math wizard my think my questions about algebra or geometry are dumb because to him that's kid stuff, but a good one would never say so and would instead try to help!