In article ,
Matt O'Toole wrote:

On Tue, 05 Dec 2006 03:52:04 +0000, Jere Lull wrote:

In article ,
Matt O'Toole wrote:

A 28' sailboat needs only a small day tank -- 5 gallons is plenty.

That may be too big. Our main tank is 12 gallons and except for
passage-making, that's good for a season. Motoring hard, it's
3-days' worth, 4 at low cruise.

All the more reason to do it! All you need is a container big enough
to hold what you'd use in one day. After cruising on a couple of
boats with gravity feed day tanks, I'm convinced it's the only way to
go.

Another advantage is you can filter/polish the fuel as it's being
transferred.

Matt O.

Since we might use a quarter gallon some weekends, usually less,
polishing would be a waste for us. Our "big" fuel draws are usually at
the beginning and end of the season, when we're on our vacations and
push to get somewhere.

Even then, we get about 20 nm per gallon at 5-5.5 knots. A modern engine
in a small boat is quite a bit different than you're used to. We draw a
quarter gallon an hour.

The only meaningful defense for us is the 10 micron Racor and the
engine's 2 micron that has yet to show dirt. (and keeping the tank
fairly full to starve the algae.)

But you may have pointed out a reason our fuel pump's been trouble-free:
The whole tank is above the primary pump, so the lift pump has little to
do.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/