Fuel is flowing.....

Something that has not happened on-board TIH for over 17 years.

Fuel fill final....

The upper vent hose goes to a charcoal filter under the teak coaming in the cockpit.

This may have gotten a little out of hand.....

but for what its worth this is the fuel fill system.



All three tanks (Stbd, for'd keel, aft keel) can be filled from one 2" deck fill. The gray elbow at the top is a "Vetus Splash-Stop" device. The days of getting away with fuel squirting out of the boats stern as a means of knowing when to stop pumping is well over. The "Green Marine Fuel Whistle" (white item) gives the first indication and then any overflow goes back into large pipe to the right of the main fill. All tanks can be isolated. I am waiting for 2" fuel hose which is on back order and to connect the 5/8" vent hoses. The vent (brass fitting on the left of the "splash stop" goes to a carbon filter and then to a deck vent.

The black antiphon elbow on the left is for the bilge pump.

More incremental improvements...

In case anyone gets the impression that this boat is beginning to look anywhere near completion, think again. As soon as I complete one job the next one manages to destroy half of the previously completed work. TIH is currently a collection of half completed projects in a fiberglass skin.



I did manage to get the stbd. fuel tank boxed in and the workbench / chart storage put back in place. Nowhere near a perfect job as nothing lines up on a boat. I plan to bolt the tool chest in place, but that may change. A lot will depend on how I can adapt the original shelf facing that used to hold the electrical panel and a bookshelf.



The eagle eyed amongst you (assuming anyone is reading this) will notice the white discoloration on the epoxy under the lid. This is what happens when you paint on West System and then leave the lid in the sun for 5 days (duh). All the marine ply panel on TIH that I remove will be coated with West System Epoxy before being reinstalled.

Fuel tank bondage.....

Stbd fuel tank secured a la David Gerr, "Boat Mechanical Systems Handbook". Maybe not as pretty as the diagram, but.....

When we get pitch-poled south of the "Horn" the only thing I want to worry about is my wife shooting me and then suing my body for divorce.

Fuel filter and polishing system...

Given enough time and a big enough hammer I could have built a fuel filter/polishing system. It would have worked AND it would have looked like cr&p. These things I know.

I have always lusted after the KTI Filter Boss fuel system. I met and spoke to Carole Keenan of KTI Systems at the Miami Boat Show. Both she and Andy could not have been more helpful and in the end I contract out the build to them.

Andy took my sad sketch and turned it into a working system. The end product is a work of art. I now have a system that can;

1. Polish three tanks.
2. Move fuel between tanks.
3. Supply the engine and generator.
4. Has a visual early warning system.
5. Has a sight glass to check if fuel is flowing.
6. Has a 43 GPH fuel pump.
7. Has parts that are not propriety and can be replaced by me at some time in the future.

Stbd. Fuel tank dry fit...

actually fits. I had to build up the inside of the hull and the base and am less than impressed with my fiberglassing ability. Fortunately its hidden from view.



The new tank holds approx 70gals.



The old tank was not in bad condition. It was foamed in place and the lid bulged a bit but there was no major corrosion. However, if I had to remove it at a later date it would require the removal of the engine first.

Fuel Fill elbows...

I need a number of 90deg elbows in the fuel fill hoses. After a few tries I have settled on standard copper plumbing elbows. They fit securely and are nice and compact. It looks too easy, so there must be a snag. OK, whats going to go wrong? Will the copper atoms crawl down the hose and eat my nice fuel tanks? Help!

Dimensions of Old Stbd. fuel tank.

As requested by Bruce. I hope the numbers line up!

Fuel Tank secured......

The aft keel tank has been secured (finally) and the fiberglass pan is about to be glassed back in. The securing system is as follows;

1. 5200 between the chocks and the haysite glued to the bottom of the tank.
2. Blue 2" water hose vertically along the sides filled with epoxy.
3. 4 chocks of coosa board glued to the top of the tank and epoxied to the hull, these in turn will be epoxied to and covered by the fiberglass pan.

Keel fuel tanks are finally in.....

OK, I accept that this bilge took longer than the painting of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling but ..... its a pretty bilge!


Coosa board chocks that the tanks sit on.



Tank access with bilge pump system between




Aft tank.



One change was the use of 3M 2216 Scotch Adhesive to glue the haysite to the bottom of the tank. 3M were adamant that you should NOT use 5200.

The cobblers children syndrome....

I have been working on every boat except my own but at least I got to dry fit the new tanks in the bilge. They fit but the pipework will be the fun bit.

Good companies and knowledge gained....

Went to WEMA USA in Fort Lauderdale yesterday to pick up two of their excellent senders. (Don't forget to use code 551 when you checkout to get 30% off).



While I was there I had a chat with Alan the Operations Manager and the subject of Biodiesel came up. He pointed out that the only gasket material to deal with this was 'Viton". These gaskets cost $6 more that the standard cork/nitrile (Buna-N) gasket.

A quick internet search for "Viton" and gaskets pulled up "Quick Cut Gasket & Rubber Corporation, NY". After a conversation with Pete, a 12" x 12" sheet of 1/8" "Viton" is on its way to me.

BioDiesel info here

Another call to NMA provided a source of "Haysite" which is recommended as a support for the tanks (5200 onto the aluminum - read the David Pascoe article here). They can machine any shape you want. Contact Vick.

Sometime it almost looks like I know what I'm doing.

More Bilge Pump stuff.....

Main bilge pump, Rule 3700, with Rule Superswitch. The pipe on the bottom right is the "snorkel" from the lower sump pump which only has to pump the 6" from the bottom of the sump to the upper chamber. Tests will be carried out to see if the Rule 3700 is powerfull enough to totally evaluate the hose, or if the back flow of water will cause the switch to continuously cycle. I will not, under any circumstances be installing a one way valve in the bilge line (Later Note: so much for this plan, ouch, that will teach me not to be so absolute in the future).




The Whale Supersub Smart 650 is the sump pump which is activated by its own electric field sensor. The black box on the left is the high water alarm (Johnson ultima electronic bilge switch) which will be connected to the mother of all bilge alarm bells.




When that thing goes off at 3am, if you haven't died of a heart attack, you are wide awake and ready to deal with any problem.

Dummy center fuel tank in.....

At least it fits through the hatch...



and into the keel....



The white tank in the middle will be the bilge pump system.



As a result of the test fit the forward tank will be extended 2" and both tanks reduced in height to 23". Tanks are now gone for construction in 5052-H32 .250 aluminum.

Based on some excellent advice on this blog and elsewhere I will rethink the fuel piping system with an emphasis on KISS.

Fuel system piping.....

Fill system: The only deck fill will go to the "day tank" (stbd tank approx 50 gals). A pipe half way down the tank will decant fuel into either of the keel tanks (I am a little nervous of a connection half ways down in the tank but one at the top would require a pump - suggestions???). Having it half way down will prevent draining the day tank fully.

Supply system: The engine will be fed from the day tank (with an emergency valve to allow it to be fed from the keel tanks). Polishing of the day tank will be via the dbl Racor with their own pump.

Full system.

The deck fill and vent will use this Vetus system;

Now I'm off to watch U2 on YouTube!!!!!

Trying to avoid an "Oh Sh1t!!!" moment......

Anyone who has ever worked on a boat has had at least one of these. The work of art that won't fit through the hatchway etc. etc. As I am about to invest a bunch of boat bucks in aluminum tanks that cannot be returned I decide to mock them up, in cardboard and hot glue, first. I will see if they fit tomorrow. I did learn, however, that you should resist the urge to spread hot glue with your finger.



Question for the experts? I need to rest the finished tanks (after epoxying them etc.) on 2" wide by 1" high stringers. What should these be made of? I would like to bolt the stringers to the keel bed and then 5200 the tanks to them, so that rules starboard/kingboard.

Click here for a good article on installing fuel tanks.

Stbd. Fuel tank out....

The original Stbd. fuel tank appeared to be in pretty good shape despite the fact that it was foamed in. The lid did have a slight bulge and it was in dire need of serious cleaning.





If, however, anything happened to it in the future (pinhole leak etc.) it would be a major saga to replace it. The decision was therefore made to remove it now, while the engine room was empty.



It can be pried inwards if the front of the fiberglass box is cut away. It is foamed along about 1/3 of its bottom and outboard side. It can only be removed via the engine room lid.

Still way too hot for this nonsense....

And we have a winner (subject to me changing my mind once again)....

1. Rotomoulded tanks just won't fit.

2. I can't locate a source to make fiberglass tanks outside the boat.

3. Building a fiberglass tank in-situ is just too expensive.

So we are back to the dreaded aluminum.

No major problems sourcing tanks. They can be built of the correct material, heavier walled 5052 aluminum, supported on starboard strips and kept dry. This will involve installing a sump below the tanks with an automatic pump. I will have to raise the inside of the keel by approx 3 inches to make this sump.

The problem was, where to put the sump. Forward of the tank would have required moving stuff later (batteries etc.) to change it out. Aft of the tank would require major contortions to get to it and it would live directly under the transmission. The solution was to split the tanks and have a 6in gap between them at the forward end of the engine room. This gap should allow for a two pumps mounted vertically on a suitable frame.



The two tanks should give me about 70 gal. fuel capacity. There will be no direct fill tubes in these tanks, they will be gravity fed from the 50gal day tank on the Stbd. side.

What to do with a large empty keel?

Well, actually I have a number of options;

1. Have Bob build a full tank inside the keel using vinylester. He has done this before and it would offer the largest capacity. Downside include complexity (therefore cost) and no means of testing tank integrity before installation.

2. Build fiberglass supports inside the keel and install pre-made tanks of;
a. Rotationally molded, cross-linked polyethylene plastic or
b. Vinylester or
c. Aluminum (not foamed in and kept dry).

While I might loose some capacity with the second option it might prove safer as I can pressure test the tanks prior to installation.

PS. Should have stated that the tank will be for diesel.