Looking for opinions about adding a permanent gas tank in bow.

[MILKWEED]

Well its been a fun 1st summer with my rebuilt Glastron V 153, but the 85 HP Johnson is THIRSTY and a 6 Gal portable tank only gives me a couple hours of fun. I don't have anymore room under the splashwell for another tank and honestly don't want anymore weight back there anyway. So I was thinking about putting a 18 gallon poly tank under the bow but I'm not sure if it will create any handling issues with the extra weight up front, I would put a fill cap and vent in and have to run a fuel line. Will the fuel pump on the engine pull fuel that far? What do you guys think?

 

[zool]

The boat im working on now had the tank relocated in the bow, about an 18 gal+-. What they did was run a metal fuel line from the bow area to the stern under the gunnel, and used black fuel line to connect to the tank and engine. The fill was put on the bow with a self venting cap...It was like that for years so im sure it worked ok, but I believe you need a baffled tank to control the slosh and associated weight shifts. This one was metal. Once the system is under pressure, and the siphon is obtained, fuel flow shouldnt be a big problem.

 

[MILKWEED]

Thanks zool that is what I was thinking of doing with fuel line. The tank I'm thinking about is a Marine tank kind of V shaped to fit in the tight space in front of the toe board, but I have to check if its baffled.

 

[alldodge]

18 gallon weights 113 pounds plus the tank. Find a small person of sand bags and place in the bow to see how the boat will handle

 

[kcassells]

Here ya go to help figure out the balnce;

 

[MILKWEED]

Ive seen everything now......I have the boat winterized and stored for the winter, so wont be able to test with dead weight until next season. I was kind of thinking about doing this over the winter but I guess I can wait....gonna have to think about it some more. Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

[ezmobee]

If it's anything like my 18' Starcraft it'll actually love that extra weight in the front.