Fuel tanks

I am in the process of refitting a 1977 26' John Allmand with a single 350 Crusader. The boat came from the factory with a 60 gallon fuel tank mounted in the stern. Due to limited range I am planning on installing two new 50 gallon tanks, one mounted on the port side and one on the starboard. I estimate there will be approximately 18" clearance between the tanks and the exhaust manifolds on the engine. My question is does anyone see a problem with this configuration, or is anyone aware of any regulations requiring a minimum distance between tanks and engines? Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

zack

 

Look at ABYC H-24 Gasoline Fuel Systems. Gasoline fuel tanks may not be installed in engine compartments.

 

My 26' Chris Craft has this same setup only I have twin engines. The manifold to tank distance is about 10". No problems.

 

This most likely applies to newer vessels. The Allmand, my Chris, older Bertrams, Hatteras, and numerous others all had (gasoline) fuel tanks in the engine compartment. This isn't a problem as long as everything is accessible, tanks are properly vented overboard, all hoses are double clamped, and you perform proper maintenance. Of course, you should always run bilge blowers 5 minutes before starting engines, regardless of where the fuel tanks are.

 

There is a good reason to keep fuel and exhaust separate. I believe it is wise complying with regulations. Allmands have rather narrow sterns. Have you considered it may squat?

 

I wasn't advocating noncompliance, just pointing out that the original configuration of numerous boats included fuel tanks in the engine room. I believe that Allmand would have the engine and tank in the same compartment no matter where you mount it, as the boat is open below deck from the engine room bulkhead to the transom, and there isn't sufficient room below the cabin sole to mount fuel tanks. (A friend of mine had an Allmand 26). Anyway, the options are pretty limited.

 

Plywood bulkheads between the tank and exhaust would put them in separate compartments.