Storing Extra fuel on 22 cruisers

[breausaw]

We don’t have the option of re-fueling on the water... The nearest port is 85 miles and we generally go in the opposite direction, so stopping for fuel isn’t and option. Most weekends 50 gallons gets us buy in keeping with the 30% rule; having 30% fuel onboard returning to port. On extended trips we take two 5gal jugs stowed between the fuel tanks, and this works out as long as we take it easy while on station.
For extended trips we’d like to take 20 to 25 extra gallons along.
Any and all ideas or options welcome.

Thanks,

[Wayne McCown]

NAKNEK built, for a cruise up the Inland Passage to Alaska, a simple frame to hold five 5 gallon plastic gas containers across the top of the cabin, from rail to rail.

I don't find any pics in the album. But you might contact the owner (Casey) for info.

[cemiii]

You might be able to rig something up where you could store 4-5 plastic jugs in the splash well. Maybe adding 2 cross bars (maybe even 1 {top} removable) so you could , when removed and stored in a gunnel well, fully tilt the ob's. The one bar would be low such that the jugs would sit level in the well and would allow your control cables to slide underneath without interference. The removable one would be up high to stop backward slide. After you use enough fuel to empty the storage tanks you might be able to store the empties with a bungee net on the bow. Hold the tanks tight together with a long bungee while in your fashioned rack.

If I were trying this, I'd probably use 3/4" galvanized pipe underneath drilled through the well sides and screw on end caps. I'd probably try 1/2" pipe for the top lesser weight bearing rail cut to fit snugly into side brackets (1 with a hole, 1 with a "U"cut to drop in, both brackets fashioned from something like Starboard and SS bolted to the sidewell.

Just thinking out loud.

Chris

[tpbrady]

Jay,

I want to keep as much weight forward as possible, so while it looks funny, I can put two 5 gallon containers on the bow laying on their sides. If I stand them upright they tend to block forward visibility. You have to be sure they don't leak when you do that. If you need to fill up and don't want to carry the container around to the stern, you just tie a rope to it and drop it over the side and pull it to the cockpit. Doing this I can carry and extra 20 gallons without too much trouble. 10 gallons in my garbage can in the cockpit, and 10 gallons on the bow. I also toyed with the idea of putting two containers in the dinghy on the roof but haven't done that yet.

[Sea Wolf]

Chris-

Look at this:

Saddle Tanks

Note this is at 85 or 86 Classic but could be done on a '87 or later Cruiser or Angler, etc.

I think Oldgrowth Dave added saddle tanks to is stretched 16/18 as well.



See HERE

PLEASE NOTE HE BUILT AND TESTED AND INSTALLED THESE ALUMINUM TANKS HIMSELF!!! WHATTA CRAFTSMAN,HUH?


JOE.

[cemiii]

Thinking about this even more, what I might even be more likely to do, would be to buy about 4 or 5 of those 6 gallon poly outboard tanks (wal-mart) with the quick connects on.

I'd just put 'em on the floor at the back of the boat and connect to each one until they were empty (no messy refueling transfer process). Then after depleting those, I'd connect to my fixed tanks and move the empties to a bow or roof bungee net tie down. Cheap solution without having to modify anything.

Chris

Joe, thanks for the red fox links.

[C-Hawk]

[breausaw]

[Hunkydory]

On extended cruises we carried on two different years 50 extra gallons in six 6 gallon and four 5 gallon containers along with a whole lot of other stuff in the cockpit. Would have been hard to stuff in much more than what we did. Encountered some pretty rough conditions and situations without the extra fuel weight in cockpit being a problem. Was much more concerned about the transfer of fuel from the containers to boat fuel tanks in open water. Again did so in some trying conditions.

2004 cruise set up


2007 cruise set up


Jay

[Sea Wolf]

Another memory resurfaces from somewhere in what's left of my brain of folks talking about using a bladder on the cockpit floor that could be rolled up when empty and stored on the roof when crossing from the Florida Keys to islands south in the Carribean (sp.) and Gulf?

Joe.

[Hunkydory]

[DaveS]

Joe's memory is excellent as I also remember someone in the past talking about utilizing a fuel bladder when cruising out of Key West, Florida. (It certainly was a few years ago). Photos were even posted at the time.

(That's not to say that a fuel bladder wasn't used in the expedition you are referring to, because that may have occurred as well).

[breausaw]

Thanks again for all the suggestions and ideas, the C-dory think tank comes through again.