Fuel Capacity and Weight for 22 Foot Cruiser

J

Jim Gibson

Member
I currently have 2-18 gallon tanks and carry 3-5 gallon jerry jugs for back-up when needed, giving me 51 gallons total for gasoline. I know the newer models have two 25 gallon tanks, giving them the same 50 gallons.

I am interested in any 22 footers that have increased their fuel capacity to approximately 100 gallons for extended range and how they did it. Has anyone custom fabricated 25 gallon saddle tanks on each side of the stern of their C-Dory?

I am interested in the weight effect of adding another 50 gallons to the rear of the boat. I think I remember that gasoline weighs less than water which weighs about 8 pounds per gallon. Say gasoline weighs 6 pounds per gallon, then adding another 25 gallons to each side of the vessel would add 150 pounds to each side, and 300 pounds in total. Will the little 22 foot C-Dory realisticly take this extra fuel weight safely and functionally.

I am interested in possibly maximizing my potential cruising range for a future dream cruise. I cannot remember if Red Fox really beefed up his fuel capacity or range and how he did it?
 
I put in the 25 gal tanks and carry extra 15 gal drums. The 15 gal drums are as big as I can easily pick up and put on the lazzerette hatch to siphon into the tanks. The nice thing about the drums is as soon as I have room in the tanks I empty them and store them in the dinghy, out of the way.
 
With saddle tanks the weight would be slightly foreward of the current tanks. The problem is not just the weight of the gasoline, but all of the cruising gear which we all carry when we do long cruises. But it certainly appears that many folks carry at least 90 gallons, and I don't think that the gas alone is a problem.
 
My long range plan (Homer to Seward) is based on this loading:

Two five gallon jugs on the bow
Two five gallon jugs on the roof tied to the radar arch
Two five gallon jugs in a garbage can in the cockpit


Not counting the 6 gals in the kicker tank that is 80 gals. At a plan average burn rate of 3.5 mpg that is 280 miles.

Tom
 
Jim - I do not have a 22 foot C-Dory but made two 22 gal saddle tanks for my stretched 16 foot C-Dory and it helps with the balance of the boat and gives me a 300+ mile cruising range. My saddle tanks start a few inches inside the cabin and extend to about 16 inches from the stern. If your saddle tanks are in the forward portion of the deck, the boat should handle it nicely. If they are in the stern, it may put too much weight in back.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
I fabricated a "roof rack" that accommodates four 6-gallon tanks, and attached to the topside handrails. It didn't rest directly on the roof, the weight was distributed to the handrails (sturdier than the center portion of the roof). The rack was constructed so it simply bolted-on, and could be easily removed.

Initially I thought about designing the rack for two 12-gallon containers. Due to the difficulty in transferring fuel from the larger containers, I finally opted for the 6-gallon jugs.

Interestingly, having that much weight considerably higher, I was expecting a change in the center-of-gravity which might increase Naknek's roll tendency. Didn't happen. I suspect the fairly flat hull on the CD22 really helped in that regard.

Sorry, I haven't found any picture's of the project. I suspect there might be some (ie. Wanderer's Inside Passage program...) somewhere.

Casey
C-Dory Naknek
Lake Montezuma, AZ
 
Thanks all for the good input. That is especially impressive to me what Dave did with his 16 foot C-Dory on his saddle tanks. That is good advice to try to move the tanks as far forward on the sides as possible.
 
I saw daves saddle tanks at bellingham. They looked great and moved the weight forward. I would like to do the same for my 22. Not for the extra fuel, but for the extra storage when I remove the old tanks. I want to turn the tank area in to a storage area for fishing gear and large bulky light weight items. What i need to be able to figure out is how to make the tanks, I don't weld alum, How much they will hold given the room I have and how to mount them. I would be happy to get some of the weight off the stern. My fishing buddy alex, he's a custom cabinet builder in the seattle area, would be able to build two large drawer in that space on rollers. Lots of extra room there that could be used by moving the tank. and all my fishing gear weights less then the 40 gallons of fuel.
 
This is purely imaginative, but have any of you thought of building narrow tall tanks? 25 gal of fuel = 3.342 cubic feet. I would think tanks that went from the cockpit floor up to the bottom of your 2 rear windows and from the sides right up to the cabin door would give a good increase in capacity. The overall thickness of the tanks would be limited by the wall space behind the open door. They could easily be made "temporary" and removed when not on one of those longer voyages. Weight is centralized too.
My 25 ftr has an opposite problem, I will never need anywhere close to the 100 gal. it holds. Once I get motivated and moving on the motor bracket project, I have considered thinning my tank down some in order to lower the cockpit floor 3 or 4 inches!
Mike
 
Thomas-

I totally understand what you are thinking. Yes moving fuel to saddle tanks really opens up valuable room in the back, and substitutes realitvelty dead space use for the fuel. In a small boat such as the 22 foot, layout is everything. That is probably why the 16 foot guy took the initiative here because space is even scarcer to them. Also, I think I saw some of the very old original C-Dory's with saddle tanks, if I remember right.

Sincerely,

Jim
 
...interesting how comments (ie. Mike's comment, above) sets one to thinking:

If you put a saddle-type tank along each side, and made them somewhat wider - you could turn the top of the tank into a full length "step" for boarding or exiting your boat!

Hmmmmmm..............

Casey
C-Dory Naknek
Lake Montezuma, AZ
...the place that damn near got flooded-out an hour ago!
 
That is an interesting idea...the space under the gunnel down to the deck
is largely wasted on a CD-22 anyhow...

I'd love to stick with the "plastic" - wonder what volume we would end
up with...

Be nice to go with saddle tanks amidships. Our deck chairs and
cooler fit right along the back, and of the course the door towards
the bow....

Mike
 
Alasgun":19lo1q0q said:
I have considered thinning my tank down some in order to lower the cockpit floor 3 or 4 inches!
Mike
Click to expand...

Um, might that turn the self bailing cockpit into a self filling model?
just sayin'
 
I guess Milehog's statement has some merit and with out thinking ahead your right, you would loose your bailing abilitys.
Look at all the other upgrades applied to my boat and you will soon discover that I am not the kind of guy who doesn't know whether to wind his a-- or scratch his watch.
Mike :disgust
 
Alasgun":21gclzg0 said:
Look at all the other upgrades applied to my boat and you will soon discover that I am not the kind of guy who doesn't know whether to wind his a-- or scratch his watch.
Mike :disgust
Click to expand...

:?: :?: :?: Easy there big fella, nobody's calling you a fool.
The "just sayin'" in the second line of my post is sorta like a rolleyes smiley, a tounge in cheek kinda thing.

Well, gotta go, I think I may be sittin' on my watch.
 
Casey":3dgthrdy said:
I fabricated a "roof rack" that accommodates four 6-gallon tanks, and attached to the topside handrails. It didn't rest directly on the roof, the weight was distributed to the handrails (sturdier than the center portion of the roof). The rack was constructed so it simply bolted-on, and could be easily removed.

Sorry, I haven't found any picture's of the project. I suspect there might be some (ie. Wanderer's Inside Passage program...) somewhere.

Casey
C-Dory Naknek
Lake Montezuma, AZ
Click to expand...

For a pic of Casey's roof rack go to photos, "Cruises and Events" (page 3), North to Alaska, June 2006 (photo 79 of 90 on page 4). Bingo!
 
Just curious if anyone has explored the option of bow tanks under the v-berth floor? I realize this is reserved as a foam filled floatation area but if two saddle tanks were fabricated out of fuel bladder material ( and kept to a reasonable size ) as are used in aircraft wings, one could incorporate hatch access and still fill the remaining void with foam. As I recall, this area is notoriously lacking in foam from the factory anyway so it may be possible to get the best of both worlds with this mod, as long as sealed hatches are incorporated and the bladders are supported thoughly. Also keeping the weight of fuel this far forward will have obvious benefits.
 
Dutch,

My 1984 22-foot C-Dory had a 28-gallon aluminum fuel tank under the V-berth, just forward of the porta-potty niche. Mark Toland said in an email that five boats that year included a factory-installed fuel tank in that location. I cleaned the tank, put in a sending unit and re-plumbed it only to find out that it had very small leaks in the tank where ferrous material left on the forming machine was pressed into the aluminum. I took it out, recycled the metal, and vowed never to store gasoline in the cabin again. I now have lots of glassed-in storage lockers in the V-berth, and a big one where the gas tank used to be.

I'd have to review the regulations again, but I don't think the USCG boatbuilder regs allow fuel storage in an unvented area like one would have under the V-berth. I don't have time today to find the specs, but you might start here on their site to see what they recommend. http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/boatbuilder/ventilation/183-605.htm

Tom Herrick
 
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