Bob,
Just a simple question: it sounds like you never needed to USE the fuel in those jugs. Is that right?
Increased fuel capacity for Beneteau 40CC
- Thread starter jobberone
- Start date
Just a simple question: it sounds like you never needed to USE the fuel in those jugs. Is that right?
Stu, that is correct, we didn't "need it" but did use it at the end of the trip. So it was not wasted and it does bring peace of mind when you are far from a marina and you don't know if the one you are heading to even has any fuel. I think of it as insurance that in the end does not cost anything as it goes right into the fuel tank
. We filled up our tank every chance we got.When we left Florida we were not sure where we might end up so this gave us the flexibility to go into more remote areas if we decided to do that. As I'm sure you know you live by the weather on a cruise like this, we wanted to have any option open. We have a 3.5 Kw generator on board also and were not sure how much use it might get.
We also carried extra water in addition to the 80 gallons on board.
Once you leave the USA things often cost a lot more or are just not available.
A lot of the marinas can not even be accessed with our 5 ft draft so all the fuel has to be "jerry jugs" out in our dinghy, so whether they are full or empty you need to have the jerry jugs on board.
I won't go into how many fuel filters, impellers, tools etc etc I carried on board. We try to be as self-sufficient as possible, Bob
PS we met people who had been waiting two months for parts to arrive so they could back to the USA
Thanks, Bob, really nice presentation. Reason I asked is a friend sailed from Vancouver BC to Mexico and was repeatedly asked about getting fuel in Mexico. He finally posted a 1500, 3596 & 5000 nm report, which included this:
Engine, & fuel system. Our 20+ year-old engine fired up every time. Never had to fuss with it. Never had any bad fuel.
So, it appears that different cruising areas have differing requirements, pretty much what we all thought!
Thanks again, Bob.
Engine, & fuel system. Our 20+ year-old engine fired up every time. Never had to fuss with it. Never had any bad fuel.
So, it appears that different cruising areas have differing requirements, pretty much what we all thought!
Thanks again, Bob.
A fuel bladder in the floor of the cockpit. You won't need it much going down the west coast. Just put up your spinnaker and enjoy the ride. When you want to come back you'll love the fuel bladder. It'll save you extra days and hours on your engine. You can bring the boat back in a straight shot.
bah, read up on montissier and slocum, they didnt need motors most of the time, fuel consumption can be shaved down to 2hrs ish a day to keep the batts topped up, even in a hunter 40cc this should be less than 2 gallons a day if you put it in gear and run at a 1gph burn, that gives 50 days.
Read those books when I was a kid. They didn't have engines because the engine technology wasn't invented yet. That's why we had clipper ships and the whole age of sail. Now we use container ships to move thousands of tons of crap across the sea.
Why take two weeks to sail back from Cabo when it can be done in 3-5 days?
Sail fast, live slow
I have a jeanneau 42ds with 34 gallons. Unfortunately it is 400 miles directly to windward between fuel stops coming up Baja so I reluctantly carried jury cans. A huge help was a self priming siphon from Charlie's Charts - about 12 bucks. No funnels or tipping a 40 pound jug. I sail about 2000 miles a year and I power a lot. Not only during calm, but headwinds or just trying to reach an anchorage before dark. Sailing Baja mexico is a bit different in that it is a very long distance between fuel. Also the wind is either ddw or right on the nose.
I FINALLY found the ad, but then could not find this thread. Try "super deck tanks" www.turtlepac.com . 1-866-310-2992.
When we cruise I use 2 jerry cans giving me 11 extra gallons for my 20 gallon tank. I really don't need them but find it convenient to keep my internal tank topped up. I don't like maneuvering at crowded fuel docks so I walk/dinghy the empties in for a refill