How Big is Your Tank?

[Steelaway35]

Originally Posted by gjordan

I just googeld the Steelaway 35 and the brochure calls for 120 gallons of fuel and 170 gallons of water. I wonder if the OP got them confused? It is still a huge amount of fuel and water for that size boat. If I was about to launch in a boat like this, I would look into a feathering or folding prop to make up for a rather heavy boat.___Just some thoughts._____Grant.

I swapped the tanks opting for more fuel capacity. I'm building myself...it seemed reasonable enough of a choice. 120 gal of water is plenty for cruising, especially since I plan on adding a watermaker : )

I suppose I could switch to a folding prop later...I already have a 3 blade prop installed, 16" dia with a 12" pitch. I'll see how it handles first...

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Steelaway35

My boat is definitely amatuer built, I'm finishing it up right now with a plan to launch this summer. My dad initially built the boat starting back when I was a kid. I took over the process last May, I have been learning a lot this past year about boats! It's overwhelming at times, but I'm getting it done.

My boat is a Glen L marine design, 38' steel hull with a pilot house. You could easily say its a motor sailor. Full keel, displacement of 21,000lbs with 8,000lbs of ballast in the keel. I have a Perkins 4.107 (40hp) with a 3 blade prop (16" dia with a 12" pitch). The design originally called for 4 separate tanks, 120gal of diesel and 175 of water. I decided to switch the tanks allowing for more fuel capacity (and hey, fuel weighs less right?!?). I'm installing a Dickinson diesel stove which will serve as a cabin heater as well as a galley stove. I have a 5 gallon diesel day tank to serve as a gravity fed fuel supply to the stove, a separate fuel pump and line pulls diesel from the tanks for this. I'm close to getting the engine running this month. Wrapping up the electrical and plumbing, then it's on to sand blasting and painting (hopefully done by June). Then I'll spend two months working on finish work. I'm mostly just following the design and hoping for the best! I still have 800lbs of ballast to add to the keel, but I'm waiting until I put it in the water this summer to see how it sits in the water and where the waterline is before balancing it out.

I have no idea how this boat will handle and I'm excited to get it in the water and put it to the test. As far as sailing goes, it's a cutter masthead rig and I'm still putting all the rigging together. If it all works out as designed i understand it will have a hull speed of 7 knots...I'll let you know next fall how that works out!

Seemed like a lot of fuel capacity to me as I was going through it at first. But, I always see boats cruising with Jerry cans strapped to the deck and I suppose I wont have to worry about that I guess. I plan on cruising a lot in the inside passage up to Alaska, exploring the many inlets up the coast of BC. Not always a lot of wind outside of the straights, and fuel is more expensive in Canada compared to Seattle

Doubt you will ever regret having decent fuel capacity. Nothing worse than having to have jerrycans strapped to the decks.

[Dockhead]

680 liters in a single aluminium tank.

It's on the large side for the way I use my boat. I change the oil in my main engine more often than I have to refill the fuel tank.

I have a 6.5kW diesel generator which I use a lot since moving the boat to a mooring with no shore power, and in our climate the diesel-fired central heating is used almost year around. Yet even spending 90 days or more per year aboard, of which 50 or so are sea days, I barely get through a tank a year. Which is not so good from the point of view of fuel turnover and keeping the fuel fresh. I'm going to have the fuel polished and my tanks cleaned again this spring (it's been three years).

For a big ocean crossing, however, I wouldn't want less, I guess. In case you need to do a couple days of motoring to find some wind, and so you don't have to worry about running the generator every day to keep the batteries up.

[Seaworthy Lass]

1000 litres (260 gallons) in a single tank integral with the alumnium hull in a 47 footer (definitely not designed as a motor cruiser, just a long distance voyager).

We refuel only every couple of years, but polish our fuel daily .

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Bash

We've just discovered a new way to ferret out the motorsailers.

My Specs say 2,400 liters in 3 integral steel tanks that form the Forward Bulkhead in the engine room. I will confirm capacity this month as I am in the process of emptying and inspecting all fuel tanks as part of the 2013 ER refit

I am a motor-sailor and proud of it!.... You know what you can do with your Ferrets Bash… ...

In day passages amongst the islands, if I cannot maintain my rhumb line course at 7 knts with wind alone, then the main engine is on and helping at low rpm.

On our almost 2000nm trip from Lankawi to Subic with winds predominantly NE, I burned 920 liters and had a trip average of 7.3 knts. That included about 2 weeks at anchor using Gen when we wanted air con or water made.

No sense in having that power option, if you are too cheap to use it

[atoll]

Originally Posted by david7

4000 Liters!!! That's a mega-yacht right? My 30 foot sailboat has a 30 gallon bronze tank under the cockpit floor and I was almost cursing it the other day for taking up too much space.

expedition yacht!
one of the great benefits of having such a large capacity(4000 liters) is the ability to buy cheap fuel duty free in bulk!

on our last trip up the red sea i was able to supply 3 other yachts with fuel when they got low,who would otherwise have been in the sh1t.

in ismalia in the suez canal we filled the tanks again with government subsidised fuel,3200 liters @us$0.28c a gallon!

our next fuel stop was malta where again we were able to buy duty free fuel at $1.40 a gallon

gib was equally cheap for a top up

our next fuel stop was puerto la crus venezuela where we filled up at $0.40 a gallon, next top up in ecuador,about $1.00 gallon ,pago pago,$1.00 gallon,palawan $1.20 a gallon,singapore $1.10 gallon,malaysia $0.40c a gallon,aden $0.80 gallon.

most of the yachts having to take small quantaties were paying $4.00 a gallon or more!

currently turkey is about $7.00 a gallon!

on a world cruise it pays to be able to choose your fuel stops ,motor sailor or not with weather and seasonal time constaints,like it or not,
on a rtw the vast majority of boats end up doing a lot of motoring,most of it to windward!

[gjordan]

Steelaway, considering your intended cruising grounds, you probably have a good combination of motor and fuel supply. With high currents and iffy winds, you will have a safety factor. Best of luck to you and your cruising._____Grant.

[Roy M]

55 gallons of diesel @15 miles/gal (Yanmar 3GM30F, multihull weighing about 12,000 lbs, loaded) equals about 800 miles. More than enough for my needs, but I can also carry a fuel bladder or 5 gallon jugs if fuel costs too much at my destination. Tank is built of epoxy coated plywood with custom baffles and cleanout ports.

[jeremiason]

We have three tanks for a total of 138 gallons. We carry an additional 25 gallons on deck in jerry jugs, which are usually used for getting fuel at places without fuel docks, but are always full.

We can motor about 800 miles if need be...

[Panope]

Originally Posted by Steelaway35

My boat is definitely amatuer built, I'm finishing it up right now with a plan to launch this summer. My dad initially built the boat starting back when I was a kid. I took over the process last May, I have been learning a lot this past year about boats! It's overwhelming at times, but I'm getting it done.

My boat is a Glen L marine design, 38' steel hull with a pilot house. You could easily say its a motor sailor. Full keel, displacement of 21,000lbs with 8,000lbs of ballast in the keel. I have a Perkins 4.107 (40hp) with a 3 blade prop (16" dia with a 12" pitch). The design originally called for 4 separate tanks, 120gal of diesel and 175 of water. I decided to switch the tanks allowing for more fuel capacity (and hey, fuel weighs less right?!?). I'm installing a Dickinson diesel stove which will serve as a cabin heater as well as a galley stove. I have a 5 gallon diesel day tank to serve as a gravity fed fuel supply to the stove, a separate fuel pump and line pulls diesel from the tanks for this. I'm close to getting the engine running this month. Wrapping up the electrical and plumbing, then it's on to sand blasting and painting (hopefully done by June). Then I'll spend two months working on finish work. I'm mostly just following the design and hoping for the best! I still have 800lbs of ballast to add to the keel, but I'm waiting until I put it in the water this summer to see how it sits in the water and where the waterline is before balancing it out.

I have no idea how this boat will handle and I'm excited to get it in the water and put it to the test. As far as sailing goes, it's a cutter masthead rig and I'm still putting all the rigging together. If it all works out as designed i understand it will have a hull speed of 7 knots...I'll let you know next fall how that works out!

Seemed like a lot of fuel capacity to me as I was going through it at first. But, I always see boats cruising with Jerry cans strapped to the deck and I suppose I wont have to worry about that I guess. I plan on cruising a lot in the inside passage up to Alaska, exploring the many inlets up the coast of BC. Not always a lot of wind outside of the straights, and fuel is more expensive in Canada compared to Seattle

Your story reads just like mine: Amateur construction, Father and I built when I was young, I rebuilt as adult, Metal construction, Pilot house, Full keel, Lots of fuel, Dickinson heat, Inside passage cruising.

I would rather have Jerry cans of Water strapped to the deck than Jerry cans of fuel. It was a reasonable choice to swap fuel and water tanks as you did - especially with a water maker.

You might also consider building your water tank filler openings with the ability to redirect rainwater (that falls on deck) into your tanks. Many are set up so that all that needs to be done is to block scuppers and open fillers. It does rain a lot in Southeast Alaska!

Given the history you already have, I am sure that you will develop a life long love for your boat.

Steve

[Cheechako]

I've come to think on a sailboat, that you can have too much. I suppose it depends on how much you motor vs sailing. No point in carrying around too mch fuel that gets old and full of gunk. Smaller tank, fuel a little more often and keep it fresh. You certainly have enough that's for sure. My 47 footer only carried about 120 gallons.

[Lancerbye]

44 ft. motor sailer carries 325 US gal. max. Twin engine but only use one when motoring. Has a range of over 2000nm if using only motor. Also has 10kw gen. Mostly coastal cruising, approx 2000nm /yr. Fill up once a year.

[Group9]

42 foot sailboat with 46 gallon diesel tank. I'd like a little more. On my last Bahamas trip, I carried 7 extra 6 gallon tanks on deck. I would have rather carried it in an integral tank.

[belizesailor]

35 gallons x 2 (1 per engine -- Volvo MD2020's...about 0.6GPH at cruising RPM). Always proven more than adequate (after all....we're talking about SAIL boats right?)

[Sailmonkey]

32' with 28hp diesel, 30ish gallons in an aluminium tank and 10 gallons on deck. I'd like about ten more in the tank though. With the current setup I'm good for roughly 500 miles under power.