- Joined
- Feb 14, 2018
- Messages
- 713
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Wanderlust
- Vessel Make
- 1999 Jefferson Rivanna 52'
Opening this up to the collective wisdom of the group.
We have saddle tanks that hold 600 gallons. We have two currently-unused auxiliary tanks in the lazarette that hold a combined 130 gallons. (The previous owner never used the rear tanks, either.)
We're mulling two options.
1. Reconfigure the auxiliary tank plumbing and install a transfer pump so the rear tank fuel can be transferred to the main tanks for increased range - or -
2. Remove the auxiliary tanks to increase our lazarette storage space.
We burn a fairly conservative 4.6 gallons per hour at 8.5 knots. On just the main saddle tanks, that gives us a range of a little over 1200 miles before we hit a 10% reserve. Perhaps 1150 miles, if running the generator. That's enough range to make it from our home port outside of Tampa, Florida, down to the Keys, up to Biscayne Bay, across to Bimini, over to the Berries, down to Nassau, down to the Exhumas, and all the way back to the Keys before we would be getting close to our 10% reserve. For all practical purposes, isn't that enough range? There is pretty much nowhere we would be going that we would travel 1200 miles without finding a fuel stop.
Wifey is advocating removing the rear tanks so we can recover a lot of storage space in the lazarette. We could use that space to store our folding bikes, scuba gear, etc.
Thoughts? Anything we're overlooking here?
Secondary question: Is there a market for two clean, leak-free 65 gallon fuel tanks?
T'anks. (See what I did there? )
John
We have saddle tanks that hold 600 gallons. We have two currently-unused auxiliary tanks in the lazarette that hold a combined 130 gallons. (The previous owner never used the rear tanks, either.)
We're mulling two options.
1. Reconfigure the auxiliary tank plumbing and install a transfer pump so the rear tank fuel can be transferred to the main tanks for increased range - or -
2. Remove the auxiliary tanks to increase our lazarette storage space.
We burn a fairly conservative 4.6 gallons per hour at 8.5 knots. On just the main saddle tanks, that gives us a range of a little over 1200 miles before we hit a 10% reserve. Perhaps 1150 miles, if running the generator. That's enough range to make it from our home port outside of Tampa, Florida, down to the Keys, up to Biscayne Bay, across to Bimini, over to the Berries, down to Nassau, down to the Exhumas, and all the way back to the Keys before we would be getting close to our 10% reserve. For all practical purposes, isn't that enough range? There is pretty much nowhere we would be going that we would travel 1200 miles without finding a fuel stop.
Wifey is advocating removing the rear tanks so we can recover a lot of storage space in the lazarette. We could use that space to store our folding bikes, scuba gear, etc.
Thoughts? Anything we're overlooking here?
Secondary question: Is there a market for two clean, leak-free 65 gallon fuel tanks?
T'anks. (See what I did there? )
John