Association Forum - Beginners with Fuel Storage

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Beginners with Fuel Storage

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

Marc Demaree
Deckhand

Member Avatar

15 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/17/2002 : 21:43:58

My wife and I just purchased our first boat, a '79 Catalina 25. All of our sailing previously has been on sailboats with no motors or fuel. Our C25 has a shelf in the aft end of the cockpit port locker with a vent directly adjacent to it (off the stern) which we run the fuel hose out to the outboard. It seems as if there would be sufficient venting for this primary tank. But what about a spare tank? The port cockpit is a dumpster and I am afraid that it is not vented well enough to store an extra fuel tank. Should we even be storing an extra tank of gas on board? Can the tank be closed up all the time, or does it need to be opened when being used? We would appreciate any help someone can offer on these basic fuel questions and any suggestions for dealing with fuel in general?

Edited by - on

Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1595 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2002 : 22:27:07

I use a spare tank on the cockpit floor. It was given to me by a lemon pie eating Cape Dory sailor named Ken Cave. Last time I ventured out for two weeks I anchored it with a tie down strap. It carried an additional 8 gallons of fuel just fine. Always leave room for expantion on warm days and only open the vent when your using the fuel. The unit in your port locker shelf could allow fumes into the locker. Not cool if your circuit breaker panel back is inside the same locker. The spare tank I have is about 24" by 18" and 14" tall sounds about right.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2002 : 23:08:36

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> Should we even be storing an extra tank of gas on board? <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>
That depends on what your fuel needs are. Are you daysailing, weekending, or extended cruising? Do you have a 2 cycle or the more fuel efficient 4 cycle and what hp is it? What is the size of your primary tank, 3, 5, or 6 gallons? Are there ample refueling stations in your cruising area? Do you encounter strong currents or tides while motoring? Do you readily fire up the motor on somewhat windless days? Inland lake or coastal?

The question of how much fuel to carry is akin to, "how much battery capacity do I need?", it all depends on your individual needs. I always carry twice as much fuel as I think I might use and I store it safely.

Don Lucier, Northstar
C25 SR/FK

Edited by - dlucier on 04/17/2002 23:34:48

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2002 : 10:03:59

We carry our fuel on that shelf. It is a six gallon tank for a 2 stroke engine. We also have a two- 3 gallon gas cans (plastic) that are used for refuling (you'll find the local gas station is cheaper than the marinas, usually by a dollar or more). We usually bring one full and take back the empty. For daysailing or nightsailing in and around Cleveland we leave the can with any extra on the dock, and put it in the cockpit when we leave.

Most seasons we only have to fill up twice.

For the most part though, its a sailboat so we sail it. If we wanted a stink boat, we would have bought one. I did see a c-25 in the bahamas once that actually had about 8 5-gallon Jerry cans lashed to the lifelines on the foredeck.

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2002 : 10:56:22

Marc,
I store 1 gallon of gas in my "dumpster" as a just-in-case. I made sure the tank I bought has a breather cap that can't get knocked off. As others have mentioned - we too place a second tank on the cockpit sole - aft - when on vacation.
Sounds like you're going to do some serious motoring this season. Are you going somewhere special or does your port-of-call require you to motor to open water?

Steve Madsen
#2428
OJ (Ode to Joy)

Edited by - on

Marc Demaree
Deckhand

Members Avatar

15 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2002 : 07:02:12

Thanks everybody for your replies. We have a standard 6 gallon tank with 9.9 HP Sailmaster (2-cycle). We have a mooring and will likely only be daysailing with our 2-year old. I think what I have learned is that I won't need much fuel as we don't plan on motoring much at all. My only concern was being able to get back to shore with our little one ASAP if there is no wind.

I like the idea of having a separate plastic 3-gallon tank that we could probably leave in our dinghy when we are sailing and then just leave it in our cockpit when we are not using the boat. This way we could keep the primary tank topped off and not have to store the extra tank inside. Two more questions: Should we only fill the tanks about 3/4 full to allow room for expansion and should we be concerned at all about leaving the extra plastic tank on the cockpit floor (and in the sun)?

Thanks again.

Marc Demaree
Hull #1481 - TR,FK
"Winsome"

Edited by - on

teamwike
1st Mate

Members Avatar

82 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2002 : 11:03:02

Hey, Marc
My fuel tank has a small line showing max fuel( hard to see), it ends up being an inch from the top. I also have left my plastic spare fuel tank in the cockpit for weeks in the hot Florida sun with no worries, it does collect dirt under it.

I too have a 2 year old (and 7 mn old). According to my Wife's S.O.P. I have to have a working VHF, cell and the 2 year must be secured in either a harness of lifejacket( not complaining all good ideas). We are about to install netting along the life lines to promote less chasing and more relaxing! I also broke down and bought the 12volt TV VCR combo in the name of Relaxation ( Thank God for TOY STORY 1 & 2)!!!

Max
82 std/fk

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 04/20/2002 : 19:55:07

Marc Demaree,

Congratulations on your "new" 1979 Catalina 25. That's the same year I have. As for fuel requirements and storage, it seems the typical 10HP 4-stroke outboard on a Catalina 25 gets about 10MPG. On my one long trip so far (which included lots of motoring on the ICW), I kept two 6-gal. plastic portable tanks in the cockpit footwell, which was crowded but tolerable. The early model port locker, which you very accurately describe as a dumpster, isn't very well vented or sealed off from the rest of the cabin. This makes using it for portable fuel tank storage a questionable plan in my opinion. My long term solution is to install a 12-gal built in tank. (Now that's cruising range!) Here's a link to a previous discussion to the port locker dumpster problem.

http://www.catalina25-250.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=491

Also, since it sounds like you may be new to "motor boating", let me remind you that there's no such thing as too much fuel filter/water separator. On a previous sailboats, I used the cylindrical glass-bodied inline fuel filters about the size of a flashlight cell. These were better than nothing, but were frequently overwhelmed at inopportune times by the large puddle of condensate which accumulated and lurked in the bottom of the fuel tank just waiting for the right wave action to help it surround the pickup tube. After installing a Racor-style fuel filter/water separator with transparant bowl, I never had another fuel contamination problem... Until I sold that boat, got the Catalina 25, and went back to using two of the cylindrical glass-bodied inline fuel filters in series. A couple weeks ago (after having to drain the carb and flush the fuel lines to get home) I siphoned about a pint of water from the bottom of a 6-gal portable tank. I'll be reinstalling the Racor soon.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/20/2002 : 20:11:48

Leon,

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I siphoned about a pint of water from the bottom of a 6-gal portable tank.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>
Where is all this water coming from? I've been running outboards all my life and have never had any "water in the fuel" problems. If you keep your tanks above 1/2 full (probably wise anyway) you shouldn't have a major condensation problem.

And you say that you can never have to many fuel filters<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>...but were frequently overwhelmed at inopportune times...<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

If I were using fuel filters and these filters were "frequently overwhelmed", I would stop using them. I've never used a filter(other than the one integrated in the fuel pump) and my motors have never had any problems.

Don Lucier, Northstar
C25 SR/FK

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 04/20/2002 : 22:59:50

Don Lucier,

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Where is all this water coming from? ... you shouldn't have a major condensation problem.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>I generally do keep my tank at least half full, and yes, I do have a major condensation problem. The surface air here is extremely wet. On a "clear" night, I can look straight up and see the stars, and then look at a street light across from my boat and it's shrouded in a foggy halo of sea mist. My decks are dripping wet before bedtime. The fuel tank temperature difference between day and night practically pumps water into the tank. I tried leaving the cap vent closed, but came home in the evening to discover the tank bulging like it was about to burst. I also tried leaving a tincan inverted over the vented filler cap to see if rain was the problem, but it didn't seem to make a noticable difference in the rate of accumulation.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>If ... filters were "frequently overwhelmed", I would stop using them.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>Yep, that's why I switched to the Racor previously. And like I said, I'll be switching back to the Racor again as soon as I get the inboard fuel tank installation completed enough to use. I also expect that the inboard tank will experience a much smaller temperature change throughout the course of the day than the portable sunbathing in the cockpit (and hence breath less deeply of the damp air). The remaining tank install steps are to mount and wire the electric fuel gauge (so I can be sure the tank is kept at least 1/2 full.<img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>), and run the outlet hose in a thru-hull at the transom to the outboard. I plan to install the fuel and battery cable thru-hulls for the engine while hauled out for bottom maintenance this spring, as that will be safer and much easier than trying to do it with the boat in the water.

I appologize if my previous post sounded like, "Doc, every time I hit myself in the head with a hammer it hurts. What can I do?"

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2002 : 10:37:23

Leon,

I should have checked your bio to see where you live(Cocoa Beach). I, myself, lived in Jacksonville for about 3 years and I know what you mean about humidity. Up here(Michigan) there is a product called Dry Gas that some people pour into their car fuel tanks in winter to prevent ice from forming in gas lines. I'm not sure how the stuff actually works, but I wonder if this product could help people with problems such as yours?

Don Lucier, Northstar
C25 SR/FK

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.