Practical Boat Owner — January 2018

82 Practical Boat Owner t http://www.pbo.co.uk

PRACTICAL INSTALL A NEW FUEL TANK

at least level with the datum and firmly in
place. It took me a further three evenings
to get the whole support frame installed
and ready to take the tank box. It was only
at this stage that I began to think about
moving the primary fuel filter: again I put it
off but later wished I hadn’t.
After nearly three weeks of rolling around
a diesel infused locker I was now keen to
get the job finished. Before fixing the box to
the frame I filleted and tabbed all the joints
on the support frame with thickened epoxy
and glass-fibre matting. After this, fitting the
tank box to the frame proved fairly
straightforward. It then came to connecting
up the fuel lines and breather pipe. The
tank came with plastic hose tail fittings for
the fuel lines. Being a ‘leak aware’ kind of
guy I tightened these with what I thought
was a reasonable force. I later replaced
one of the plastic hose tails for a new metal
one I had ordered. On removing the fuel
line I could see that I had crushed the
plastic hose tail and restricted the opening
by about a half. I have no idea if this would
have affected the fuel supply, but if you
have or intend to fit plastic hose tails I
recommend you do not overtighten them.
With the pipes all connected I set about
bleeding the fuel system prior to starting
the engine. Another evening disappeared
as I bled, drained, blew up pipes and
pumped the primary fuel pump to try to
get clean, airless fuel to the engine. As
darkness approached I gave up and
reconnected everything up ready for the

next attempt some days later. Before

leaving the boat the devil in me convinced

me to just try the engine anyway, after all

what harm could it do and just maybe the

primary pump was strong enough to pull

fuel through on its own. The engine

started first time and ran perfectly. I began

to wonder if I had subconsciously

developed a penchant for rolling around

in diesel fumes in confined spaces, which

was overriding any desire to fix my boat.

I still have to clip the fuel and air lines to

the bulkhead, install the tie-down system

and throw a bit of paint around to complete

the job, but in essence the new tank is in

and working. I did finally move the fuel filter

as it ended up being hidden by the

framework. I should have done this before

installing the box, but space was tight and I

figured that if I waited until the tank was in

place I’d know exactly what space I had

rather than trying to measure spaces

against a blank bulkhead. After all, I have a

history of measuring and building twice.

Rob Gibson started sailing in the 1980s

with family friends. He was hooked and

continued to expand his knowledge

and experience. He also gained formal

qualifications during his time in the

military and is now an RYA Ocean

Yachtmaster. He sails his Trapper 500

Meg in and around the Bristol Channel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Job done! Filter moved, tank in place and all connected up and Meg is ready to motor

After trial and error the tank box is corrected, screwed and then epoxied into place

Fixing the datum line was invaluable

as the rest of the frame base was

installed from this.

I considered making the entire

support frame and then installing it

into the hull in one go. There is

definitely an advantage in doing this

as it would be much quicker and

easier to work with, but I resisted as I

feared my woodworking skills were

not up to it: specifically the part

where I would have had to trim the

upright legs to get the frame to sit

against the hull and provide a level

platform with the datum.

If you buy a plastic tank watch out

for the plastic hose tails. I bought

two metal replacements and initially

only used one out of idleness. I only

found the crushed pipe when my

conscience got the better of me and I

swapped the second plastic one.

Space in a cockpit locker is always

tight. I didn’t have many options

regarding the repositioning of the

fuel filter, but I wish I’d done it sooner

and generally made a better plan of

the complete installation at the start

of the project. That said, the options

were limited and I’m happy with how

it turned out.

LESSONS LEARNED