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#1
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
Hello; Love this forum, and I've been reading it for a while. I own a 24'
Bayliner which has a 50 gallon gas tank in the stern engine area. I wonder - can additional fuel be towed on a large inflatable, like a Zodiac? Adding larger fuel tanks is not a good idea - it diminishes performance. But I wonder if with a raft - you could tow along a large fuel supply? Say another 300 gallons or so? Currently, my boat is great for LI Sound and the CT River, etc. but 50 gallons doesn't go all that far. I like to have at least 20 gallons in reserve so I go out using around 15, plan on using 15 to return, and always have the 20 in the tank for safety - but 15 gallons 'out' doesn't go very far. So I'm wondering about methods to increase fuel capacity. Thanks. John. |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
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#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
Evan Gatehouse2 wrote:
wrote: Hello; Love this forum, and I've been reading it for a while. I own a 24' Bayliner which has a 50 gallon gas tank in the stern engine area. I wonder - can additional fuel be towed on a large inflatable, like a Zodiac? Adding larger fuel tanks is not a good idea - it diminishes performance. But I wonder if with a raft - you could tow along a large fuel supply? Say another 300 gallons or so? Currently, my boat is great for LI Sound and the CT River, etc. but 50 gallons doesn't go all that far. I like to have at least 20 gallons in reserve so I go out using around 15, plan on using 15 to return, and always have the 20 in the tank for safety - but 15 gallons 'out' doesn't go very far. So I'm wondering about methods to increase fuel capacity. Thanks. John. towing a raft will decrease performance more than having the weight in your hull, in most circumstances. No free lunch I'm afraid. I've seen sports fishing boats which towed a 50 gallon barrel of fuel in a dinghy to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas because otherwise, they could get there, but not get back. Usually a large number of people on board, so they didn't have room for it on the boat. I guess the decreased performance on the way out was better on the way back. Evan Gatehouse |
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
Evan Gatehouse2 wrote in news:45693064$1_1
@news.cybersurf.net: towing a raft will decrease performance more than having the weight in your hull, in most circumstances. No free lunch I'm afraid. He could slow down, even turn off two of the three 250hp outboards and enjoy the view...(c; 50 gallons will go a LONG ways on a 4-stroke Honda 90! SLOW DOWN...What's the hurry?! Larry -- Guess what I want to do with the Little Drummer Boy's drum by Christmas Eve....rrrrump..pa-pum...pum...up his bum.... |
#5
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 10:59:39 -0500, Larry wrote:
Evan Gatehouse2 wrote in news:45693064$1_1 : towing a raft will decrease performance more than having the weight in your hull, in most circumstances. No free lunch I'm afraid. He could slow down, even turn off two of the three 250hp outboards and enjoy the view...(c; 50 gallons will go a LONG ways on a 4-stroke Honda 90! SLOW DOWN...What's the hurry?! I would second that. Assuming that is 50 US gallons of diesel, we could go nearly 500 nautical miles. Mika -- ---------------------------------------------------- Haluatko lähettää postia? Vaihda osoitteen eka (vai oliko se toka?) numero vitonen numeroksi kahdeksan... ---------------------------------------------------- |
#6
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
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#7
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
In Matt O'Toole writes:
On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 02:44:56 +0000, wrote: Hello; Love this forum, and I've been reading it for a while. I own a 24' Bayliner which has a 50 gallon gas tank in the stern engine area. I wonder - can additional fuel be towed on a large inflatable, like a Zodiac? Adding larger fuel tanks is not a good idea - it diminishes performance. But I wonder if with a raft - you could tow along a large fuel supply? Say another 300 gallons or so? Towing a load in a Zodiac will diminish performance a lot more, plus adding potential points of failure and safety problems. Currently, my boat is great for LI Sound and the CT River, etc. but 50 gallons doesn't go all that far. I like to have at least 20 gallons in reserve so I go out using around 15, plan on using 15 to return, and always have the 20 in the tank for safety - but 15 gallons 'out' doesn't go very far. So I'm wondering about methods to increase fuel capacity. 20 extra gallons is not a big deal. Get a few jerry cans and tie them down safely. For a more permanent solution, add a tank. With a relatively common, mainstream boat you should have no trouble finding a ready-made plastic tank that will fit somewhere. Matt O. I do not fancy an idea of loose jerrycans in my boat, so I would not recommend them to others. If you for some reason decide to go with jerry cans get a handy siphone pump, so you can get the fuel from one tank to another without pouring it all over the cockpit. The boat might not behave wery well in the waves without any power on. The better idea would be to have another tank and then a fixed fuel transfer pump to fill the tank you are using for driving. - Lauri Tarkkonen |
#8
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
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#9
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:50:31 -0500, Ryk
wrote: Loose jerrycans would be a very bad idea because they can smash into things, so they should always be lashed down. Refilling from jerrycans underway depends a lot on where the fuel fill is located. From experience I can say that refilling through a deck plate adjacent to the cockpit is quite doable in all sorts of situations with minimal spillage. It's not the best solution, but it can be workable. A guy on one of the maillists I follow had a good idea. He uses a length of plastic pipe threaded to match the filler cap. Whip the cap off, attach the pipe, and you have an extension that let's you pour from a comfortable height. With even minimal care the chance of a spill is just about eliminated. But even better, an unexpected wave that comes on deck doesn't dump salt water in your tank. Glen __________________________________________________ __________ Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at world wide wiley dot com To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious. Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/ |
#10
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Question on Towing
In article ,
Matt O'Toole wrote: On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 02:44:56 +0000, wrote: Hello; Love this forum, and I've been reading it for a while. I own a 24' Bayliner which has a 50 gallon gas tank in the stern engine area. I wonder - can additional fuel be towed on a large inflatable, like a Zodiac? Adding larger fuel tanks is not a good idea - it diminishes performance. But I wonder if with a raft - you could tow along a large fuel supply? Say another 300 gallons or so? Towing a load in a Zodiac will diminish performance a lot more, plus adding potential points of failure and safety problems. One thing you fellows should really look at in this "Towing" business is that if you tow ANYTHING, and your vessel is 26 Ft (7.8 Meters) overall length, or over (or larger), then you are REQUIRED to comply with the Bridge to Bridge RadioTelephone Act. CFR47 Part 80 Subpart U. It doesn't matter if your non-commercial, commercial, pleasure, or whatever, if your are US Flagged, over 26Ft and Towing, you are REQUIRED to comply. Bruce in alaska -- add a 2 before @ |
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