My kind of boat heads.....

But I have been told that people find me weird enough already!!!!

Check out;

Homegrown Evolution

Its good to talk to experts.......

In order to get the sump mentioned below I will have to raise the floor of the full keel (except for the sump bit) by approx. 3 inches. I was not exactly sure what to use for this so I e-mailed the folks at Gougeon Bros., the West System people. Jim Derck e-mailed me back with a solution he had used before, which was;

"I made up a sample of 105 Resin, 209 Extra Slow Hardener and added it to play ground sand at a ratio of two parts sand to one part epoxy. I poured this mix to depth of three inches and monitored it with a digital thermometer. After an hour it was no warmer than 130 degrees F which is no problem for the laminate or the curing epoxy. "

Isn't the internet grand! Thanks Jim.

My new motto is going to be "I don't know much, but I can e-mail someone who does."

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.

Just getting psyched up to make a bilge decision...

"It's imprudent to pay too much, but worse still to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money; it is true, but that is all. But when you pay too little, you risk losing everything, because what you have bought is not capable of doing the work for which you acquired it. The common law of business says it's not impossible to pay a little and obtain a lot: it cannot simply happen. If you deal with the cheapest supplier, you should make sure you provide a certain reserve to cover yourself for the risk you are running. But if you can do this, you certainly have enough money to buy something better"
JOHN RUSKIN 1819-1900

Just bilge cleaning......

Spent a few days cleaning the bilge. This is just as much fun as it sounds, especially in the high 90's of a Miami summer. I must be one of the few Whitby owners who have walked inside the keel from the engine room to the galley. If you haven't done this you have missed nothing.

Still undecided about how to progress the keel tank project.

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.

The 1000lb gorilla is no more......

The tank is out!!!!!!!

Anyone following this blog will know that the keel fuel tank in the Whitby is a source of concern. This is an aluminum tank that was foamed in place. All but a handful of boats have tanks that leaked and are no longer in use. After several initial attempts to cut out the tank I gave up and left it for another day.

Then along came Bob Campbell. Bob used to own a Whitby and has worked on the tanks on a number of them. He was therefore given the job of removing the original tank. It put up a valiant fight but the tank came out in two parts. The complete operation took one very long day.





The following photos show some of the numerous holes in this 30 yo tank.