Auxilary fuel tank

[Maye Marie]

Has any one installed auxiliary fuel tanks on a 28T engine box? I have been making 70 miles plus runs off shore and need some extra fuel. The long tuna runs to the canyons and then a day of trolling leaves little for reserve. I am just starting to investigate what I want to do and was wondering if some here has already done so. Looks like you could fit two tanks between the stringers and the mid boxes. I think 23 gallons a side would fit. For this I would have to use a flexible fuel cell to fit. Also when not used I hope you could collapsed down giving some service access to the engine area.

[Anthony1013]

We have a 1999 28 Albin with the engine box and it was ordered new with the auxilary tank. The tank is 60 gallons and is mounted under the hatch in the pilot house (between the captain's and first mate's seats). There is a tranfer pump that moves the auxilary fuel to the main tank and the deck fill is right next to the waste pumpout (starboard side, mid pilot house). In 1999 the main tank was 132 gallons giving us a total of 192 gallons. I too run offshore out of Ilwaco Washington to chase Albacore tuna, our runs take us 40-70 miles offshore. I don't like to run with the auxilary tank fuel simply due to the additional weight of the fuel. We carry 200lbs-300lbs of ice and by the time you factor in the crew and the return weight with 20 or so Albacore, the additional 60 gallons of diesel is certainly noticeable. I have consistantly mananged 2mpg on these trips which generally leaves me with more than half of the main tank. I mainly use the auxilary tank for buying power when filling up.... some of the fuel docks in my area offer volume discounts.

Anthony
1999 28' Albin "MadMoney"
Ilwaco/Seattle Washington

[Maye Marie]

Anthony, glad you got back to me. We are running a good 70 plus miles to get on station and then trolling for a day total engine time 22 hours. Roughly 5 hour run out, 11 hours trolling and 6 hours back heavy seas. We arrived at the dock with 1/8th of a tank left. That is a typical trip for me. An extra 38 gallons would give me a lot more options to look for fish if first choice is not producing or some extra for a bad weather ride.

I am also concerned about the weight. I thought the extra weight along and just forward of the engine might make for a good balance. How close did they put the tank to the engine? Do you see any significant change in the balance with the fuel in your forward tank? With full fuel in the rear tank plus ice in coolers on the swim platform for the trip out, thought some fuel in the forward area would help out on the balance side.

[Anthony1013]

Terry -

That sounds like one heck of a run.... I love it!

When my auxilary tank is full I can notice a slight difference in the attitude of the boat at normal cruise speeds (17-19 knots).... it rides a bit more bow down but these boats ride with their noses in the air so it doesn't bother me. For me, it's the additional weight and putting the extra strain on the engine when traveling offshore to fish. For normal cruising, the extra weight is no issue. One thing I did is I ditched the coffin size coolers on the swimstep and replaced them with a Reliable Kill Bag. The Kill Bag is 48"x60" and I absolutely love it. I like to set it right on the engine box instead of the swim step when I am running which balances the boat nicely. Any additional adjustments can be made with the trim tabs. The auxilary tank is centered right below the hatch in the pilot house and is approx 2' in front of the tranny. So without the aux. fuel tank below the hatch, what is that space used for on your boat? Storage?

Let me know if some pictures would be helpful to better understand this setup....

Anthony