Messages

Thanks for the input.  Especially with regard to fuel pump volume and return flow.  I've found a tank that will allow me to replace a fuel level gauge with a second pick up, which I will use as a fuel return inlet.  I'll test the whole show with secondary containment and will probably leave secondary containment in place.

Also, I'm pretty sure that the fuel safety and ventilation regulations in 33CFR apply only to boats with gasoline engines.  Are there other regs I need to know about?

I just experienced the dreaded leaking fuel tank.  I've emptied the tank and removed it from the boat but would like to use the boat while I wait for a replacement.  I'm planning to use a 6 gallon plastic outboard tank secured in the port side lazzarette with a return to a separate container under the head sink.  Does anyone forsee any problems with this arrangement (other than needing to closely monitor the the fuel return container)?  Have any of you done something different as a temporary set up when replacing the tank?  Thanks for your input.

I have one.  Castings seem in good shape.  Was spewing seawater when I pulled it.  In Bellingham, WA.

If you search "Electric Propulsion" you'll find more discussion of the topic with a lengthy description of the limitations by mainesail.  I'd still consider it if and when my diesel dies.

I have one in Bellingham that might work for you.  PM me if you're still looking and I can send some photos.

Cheers,

Mark

I've been toying with the idea of electric propulsion myself.  Mainsail seems to give good advice.  I'm considering it because I sail in the Puget Sound/Salish Sea and connect to shore power in my marina and lots of places I visit so I don't thing prolonged PSOC would be a problem for me.  Even so, I would only do it here with solar and an ICE generator for supplemental charging away from the dock.

The testimonials I have read stress the importance of keeping a clean bottom, something I can be less fastidious about with a diesel.  There's a C30 based in Oak Bay, BC that has offered some info on the internet about their experience with the conversion.  Search for that and as many other real world conversion stories as you can.


On a recent trip (with somewhat dirty bottom) I fought a strong adverse current under power through a narrow passage.  Something I wouldn't want to do with electric propulsion.  I could have waited for more neutral conditions but it was late Sunday afternoon and I wanted to get home.  Having the diesel allowed me to follow a pod of orcas the day before and wind up 10 miles further from home than the place I'd planned to stay.  With electric power I would have had to skip the whales and stick to my plans or spend another day on the boat, a luxury I don't always have.


I plan to track my engine use more closely over the next couple of years before I consider switching.  Perhaps by then there will be a cost effective hybrid option.


Cheers and good luck with the decision (and the math).  Please keep the forum posted on your experience if you do go electric.

-Mark

Thanks.  Got it.  Feel silly for not looking there in the first place.

Cheers,

Mark

I recently became the owner of a '92 C34.  It was on the hard when I bought it and the yard it was in uses a Sea-Lift.  I'm now faced with a haulout in a yard with a travel lift and I'm unsure of strap placement.  I assume "as close to under the bulkheads as possible" is the right answer but...   Any advice is welcome. 


Thanks.