1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass tank

[tomworld9]

I'm replacing my punky 18 gal steel tanks with a new 50 gal plastic - was thinking of installing it either port or starboard. Appreciate any words of wisdom ...
Thanks

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

Mounting it port or starboard where? Under a seat box. Not much room under the deck on either side of the centerline of the boat. Do you already have the 50gal tank? It's dimensions & size/type may dictate where it can be located.

You might also consider a port & a starboard 24gal tank.

They are made to be installed below the gunwale, and are 8.75" wide at the top & taper down to 5.25" at the bottom. They are designed for either port or starboard, so get 1 of each.

Welcome to the iboats dry dock & good luck w/ your project. Give us some pix of your boat, no matter it's current state of disarray.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

PM yur way :thumb:

 

[tomworld9]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

Excellent suggestion. Still trying to weigh out options = 2 tanks double the $. How much room do you thing I would need under floor, or would that be a massive tear down. I know I will have to reconfigure the cabin to get the 24's in (and get the old tanks out, but wondered about a 50 on one side -or would that mess too much with the balance of the boat? I do want to get her in the water this spring.

Appreciate your thoughts...
Tom

 

[airshot]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

HMMMMM....50 gallons of gas on one side of an 18' boat, I can see a balance problem here thru my crystal ball. I have a 25 gallon tank on one side of my 22' and we have to be carefull how we sit to balance the load properly. You might want to rethink this a bit.........

Airshot

 

[elkhunter338]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

HMMMMM....50 gallons of gas on one side of an 18' boat, I can see a balance problem here thru my crystal ball. I have a 25 gallon tank on one side of my 22' and we have to be carefull how we sit to balance the load properly. You might want to rethink this a bit.........

Airshot

I agree with airshot.
Don't mount 50 gal on port or starboard, major balance issue. I have twin 16 gal. tanks one port one starboard on a 21'.
batteries on port and kicker on starboard, so full of fuel she sits level. I can tell a balance difference if I run one tank empty and leave the other full. You need to install twin tanks or one big belly tank.
What do you need 50 gallons of fuel for?
I run ocean fishing 20 miles out and have enough fuel. basically 8 gallons out 8 gallons in, some trolling fuel and I reach dock with 1/3 fuel left. Typically carry a 6 gallon spare can of gas.
So I run 1/3 rule plus have the 6 gallon extra. I like the 1/4 out 1/4 in with 1/2 in reserve is my basic fuel management.

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

Welcome Tom, good to see another Kanuck with a S/C, did you steal it from the U.S. These guys above are giving the right advice.

 

[tomworld9]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

HMMMMM....50 gallons of gas on one side of an 18' boat, I can see a balance problem here thru my crystal ball. I have a 25 gallon tank on one side of my 22' and we have to be carefull how we sit to balance the load properly. You might want to rethink this a bit.........

Airshot

Thanks for that...
see where your coming from, but let me give you a little background - first of all the boat is 22' and though I am concerned about loading one side of the boat or the other, I need to say that the 9.9 Honda kicker already sets an imbalance port side, so I have a little to make up - the rear 12 gal tank is already situated starboard and so could be moved port side without too much of a problem. Ideally i would prefer a belly tank, but I am not sure if I can squeeze it under the existing floorboards and worry about the work involved in bringing the floor up to accommodate.

Why 50 gal? This past summer I lived with the 12 and carried gerry cans- up to 5 and did some off shore refills to some distraction, so my mind say bigger is better - don't have to fill it, but some piece of mind in knowing I can. Up here on the northern side of Lake Superior there are few places to refuel and I hope to make more overnight excursions.

My mechanic feels pretty confidant about adding 350lbs to starboard side, but I am going to have to take the old punky tank out of the port side and reconfigure that starboard side to boot. I have a pedestal seat mounted on top of a storage
cabinet where the other 18 gal tank used to be. I realize now that I am going to have to get into the storage warehouse and take some pics for you guys to really see what I am up against.

And yes I did poach the boat from a "scony" last spring. Replaced the engine right away and had to replace the steering setup 1/2 way through the summer. Been really happy with the boat even though in its present state it is the not the prettiest Islander in the marina, but I hope to remedy that over time. It is a nice tight (warm) craft and I love to get out in her as often as I can.

I do appreciate all of your advice and look for ward to your thoughts (my profile pic is said craft).
Thanks again...
Tom

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

don't have to fill it, but some piece of mind in knowing I can.

I had a 45 gallon in my 16' Sea Nymph, loved it. Filled it right up when I needed it to stay in the water for a week at the lake. On the days where I didn't need it I left it partially empty. It was really nice not always having to be concerned about fuel.

That said, I'd not run a 50 gallon tank on one side or another. That much fuel needs to be right down the centerline. I'd tend to think you'll always be trying to level things out otherwise.

 

[barato2]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

maybe some 22' Chieftain owners can chime in here with info on space between stringers or even pix? i agree with all the others, you don't want to put it all on one side AND you don't want to raise the CG that much since you use the boat on big water. visualize: big fish on, rough day, everyone goes to one side of boat to see what's coming aboard, which happens to be the heavy side, OOPS. ????? check out belly tanks first.

 

[tomworld9]

Re: 1970 Starcraft islander hardtop cabin reconfig to accommodate replacement gass ta

maybe some 22' Chieftain owners can chime in here with info on space between stringers or even pix? i agree with all the others, you don't want to put it all on one side AND you don't want to raise the CG that much since you use the boat on big water. visualize: big fish on, rough day, everyone goes to one side of boat to see what's coming aboard, which happens to be the heavy side, OOPS. ????? check out belly tanks first.

See the logic in it, but would like to see an instal below deck to conceptualize the tear down and re build - looke at hundreds of pages last night, but could not find one. Anyone out there have pics?
Thanks for input.
Tom

 

[tomworld9]

No Title

After putting in way too many hours fixing one thing after another and seeing as I don't have a garage where I can do all the work myself at my leisure I am giving up on this project. If anyone is looking for parts, or would like to take on this project, let me know. I have a new inline 6 chevy, with a 260 mercury out drive along with a mostly intact original hull cabin and hard top. The boat is set up for salmon fishing, complete with rod holders planer boards, masts and down riggers.

 

[tomworld9]

No Title

After putting in way too many hours fixing one thing after another and seeing as I don't have a garage where I can do all the work myself at my leisure I am giving up on this project. If anyone is looking for parts, or would like to take on this project, let me know. I have a new inline 6 chevy, with a 260 mercury out drive along with a mostly intact original hull cabin and hard top. The boat is set up for salmon fishing, complete with rod holders planer boards, masts and down riggers.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah it wasn't that tough to put a belly tank in my Chief, at least not that I would give up on it.

 

[tomworld9]

Gas tank set up worked well, but having to replace exhaust manifold, and then look at gutting the wood infrastructure completely, and while your at it might as well sandblast and replace hull rivets, paint and put it all back togethr again put me over the edge. I am not that handy, but if I had a place to work on it, maybe I would have continued... My loss someone else's gain - any takers?

 

[Gibbles]

yeah if you were anywhere near Utah... (I have noidea where you are located actually :lol: )

 

[tomworld9]

I'm in Canada 30 miles from Minnesota border,,,
all things are possible...
I imported boat from Wisconsin

 

[GA_Boater]

Tom - You have to be careful about selling the forums. Just a word of caution.