Petrol locker Bsc Fail

[Doodlebug]

Hi all, BSC coming up and we are going to fail.

 

The boat was built with two petrol lockers (powering an outboard) on the back of the boat. There is a drainage hole which when we bought the boat was half above and half below the waterline.

 

It is now 2 inches under the water. We have worked out a whole load of stuff we can move to the front of the boat and can get it near the waterline but not above.

 

Does anyone have any idea what I can do? Drill new holes? Can this be done with a hand drill?

 

Am I allowed to store petrol on the deck if it is positioned in a way that any spillage would go overboard? We have a platform on the back which it could be situated in.

 

I'm at a loss with this one!

 

Cheers

 

Doodlebug

[station tug]

the vents in your storage locker need to be above or on the water line.....get a rachet strap and ratchet the boat over as much as possible and cut some more vents or extend the old ones.....it will be daft to use a 240v power tool so close to the water or listen to what iv said in this post without atleast putting some pics up so we can get a firm idea of what you are saying though... a dry locker will be better than one thats half submerged....

[Paul C]

If you can get a round hand file into the existing hole, then it could be enlarged into a slot and partly sit above the waterline.

[Alan de Enfield]

Presumably than you have 2" of water in the bottom of your locker - that cannot be good for storing cans of fuel.

 

What have you done to alter the trim of your boat by 2"+ ?

[Doodlebug]

Thanks for the ideas. The trim has changed from moving our stuff inside! We are very small so it's not taken much. Could I not relocate to the platform? Yes your right the lockers always had some water in them but have two inches of water. The fuel cans seem ok but it's not ideal.

 

Filing sounds like hard work! It's a badly designed locker really.

[Captain Fizz]

Yet another excellent reason for not putting the stove in the cratch and further sodding up the trim of the boat.

On a small boat, you have to be really carefull about trim.

You would be better to build a locker to fit on the stern, behind the rudder.

[Doodlebug]

The cratch is at the front of the boat. The lockers at the back. When the stove is changed it's going to make the problem worse. My ideas may be out of the box but they do work. The only reason for changing the stove is for space. Current one takes up 1m2. The new one 0.25m2.

[RLWP]

You need a bigger boat

 

Richard

[Doodlebug]

So true. We almost bought a wide beam but can't take it all over the uk. Then we almost bought a 60ft boat to restore. But then decided we do love this boat. It was better to spend money on making this one perfect than getting a big one "good enough"

[RLWP]

And really, you are having to make big changes to accommodate the things you need to live by having to worry about trim, stove locations and on and on

Sounds like an awful lot of stress, this boat had better start earning the love you are giving it

Richard

[Paul C]

Plenty of boats have/had gas lockers with a slot in the bottom for ventilation, and the floor of the gas locker was so arranged that it is almost on the waterline- so depending on fuel load, other items etc may be underwater by design. This is a REALLY bad design in terms of corrosion resistance, since the base of the gas locker is at the worst place for corrosion, and its failure would lead to a sunk boat. Our boat was like this, and it was picked up on the survey, to the point that the surveyor deemed it unsafe. Luckily, we'd not bought the boat at this time so the work was done to raise and rebuild the gas locker floor, so it was clear of the waterline, free of charge (the seller paid). This job involved the boat being dry-docked and welding the new floor, and cost I the region of £800 or so. Apparently at the place we had it done, its quite a common job.

 

As I understand it, we could have simply cut a slot for the drain hole, and 'patched up' the badly corroded existing floor - but we took advice and had it done properly.

 

Obviously the above relates to a gas locker, the requirements for a petrol can locker are probably very similar.

[mattlad]

You need a bigger boat

 

Richard

Is the shark really that big?

[David Mack]

Can petrol tanks simply be supported in cages on the outside of the transom like gas bottles are sometimes?

[Doodlebug]

Can petrol tanks simply be supported in cages on the outside of the transom like gas bottles are sometimes?

 

If its allowed that would be perfect.

 

I wouldn't say theres that many problems but the BSC does present us with a couple! Once its all finished ill post photos