My boat lives on a mooring and I keep the outboard on the bracket year round because it's a pain in the back to carry it to the boat each trip. I've been taking the fuel tank home each time though because I don't have anywhere to store it on the boat that is out of the sun other than the cabin or stern locker ( that is connected to the cabin anyway). Apart from the safety concerns of doing that I hate the smell of petrol.

I've been considering building a fuel tank locker in to the transom, or set in to the cockpit seats. This would be properly vented and catch/drain overboard any spills.

Anyone have any other ideas?

This is my set up. I have a SS tank in the locker which has a handle on top so that I can pull it out to refill. (15 /20lt. ) . When not in use I fold the fuel line into the locker and close off the breather on the fuel tank. There is a partition between the fuel locker and the interior but not sealed. Never had a fuel odour in cabin. The blue arrow is a spill hole which I have blocked off with tape as water goes in .Boat is permanently in water

This is my current set up. I don't have any under bench lockers, just the stern locker but that joins on to the main cabin. Previous owner stored the fuel tank in there and the whole cabin stank of petrol - and he was a smoker too. I'm surprised he didn't blow himself up!

I'm thinking of making a dedicated fuel locker inset in to the top of the seat. I'll have to have a think about how to make it water tight and provide drainage.

Does it matter if there is a height difference between the tank and the motor?

Nah. Had mine stored in a deep rear lazarette on an older boat - never had a problem.

Jut so long as you're aware that petrol vapours are heavier than air, and can pool in the cockpit in very still conditions.
It's probably an extremely low risk and I'm sure someone will chime in and tell me how dumb I am, but nevertheless worth understanding. Might be an issue where you think that lower vent into the cockpit solves the problem but it really should vent to the outside of the hull (as per properly designed gas bottle lockers).

So if your tank has an ever-so-slight leak, and there's not a breath of wind, and you feel inclined to lie down on the cockpit floor and light a fag, well, don't.

Cheers, Graeme

After the problems I had with the outboard yesterday I feel like ditching the whole lot overboard and getting an electric one, then I won't need a fuel locker and won't find myself becalmed in the middle of the river at night yanking on a rip cord that eventually broke free and sent me sprawling across the cockpit.

I have the same set-up, with ferrying the 11 litre red fuel tank from the car to the yacht each time. A few times last year I left the fuel in the main cabin, with the theory that the shade and the breather closed (or open a tad?) would mean that it didn't evaporate. It worked well, but then too I have enough ventilation.
A broken pull-cord is a broken pull-cord and not enough to ditch the whole thing. You'd spend far more money and have less range with an electric motor. At maximum, I've had 120 litres of petrol in jerry cans in the cockpit just to do a 200 mile trip in a calm weather window. And refilling the red tank every 3 hours day and night.
Sometimes my fuel line comes loose or drips a bit when connecting, but it is far lighter (28kg vs 90) and cheaper ($1300 vs 10 000) than a diesel engine. The downside is less fuel range/efficiency and ferrying the fuel from the car to the yacht on the mooring each time, but it is not a big burden. A tolerable burden to make yachting cheaper, which means it is an affordable pasttime.

microbe, if you had a Honda or a Yamaha, I'm sure your attitude toward small motors would be different. Today I had a reason to start my old Honda geny, it hadn't been started for at least a couple of years, I went through the start procedure as you do it had fuel & oil, the fuel tap was still in the open position, I gently pulled the string to roll the motor & ensure all was good and the wee red beast burst into life ! I think the major difference between the better known gear and the knock offs is if your Honda or Stihl etc won't go straight away then you know you have a problem like a dirty filter or water in the carby, but with cheap s**+ , well you are probably tempted to keep trying because it all ways takes 10 goes. Ps I think electric is the way to go, but if you don't have a handy power point to recharge from then you are going to need the pull string generator

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wongaga said..
Jut so long as you're aware that petrol vapours are heavier than air, and can pool in the cockpit in very still conditions.
It's probably an extremely low risk ......

You are correct Graeme and I share your thinking. I went to the trouble of building a properly vented and legal locker under a seat near my transom to store LPG and petrol.
A sensible risk assessment evaluates both the likelihood that an explosion may occur AND the consequences of the explosion. Although it may be unlikely, the consequences are usually catastrophic.
Microbe: I recommend to build your locker once and build it properly. Then there is one less hazard to worry about.

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woko said..
microbe, if you had a Honda or a Yamaha, I'm sure your attitude toward small motors would be different.

Yes woko, that's spot on. My Parsun had some manufacturing issues early in its life, but as soon as I replaced the carby it has been solid and usually starts on 2nd pull. Its probably made me complacent and led to me not following up on maintenance - the current issue is probably the 5 year old spark plug, or dirt in the carby that hasn't been cleaned in a couple of years. The same budget constraints that stop me from buying that Honda also lead to me doing my own maintenance - the Parsun is good for that as it is a simple machine, with easy access to manuals and an online parts store in Australia :-)

However, I have started saving for the next motor - be it electric, 4 stroke honda petrol, or even one of those LPG motors

Gday Microbe

I have tools on the boat that mean I can clean the carby in a few minutes. I tend to pull the carby every few months - you get pretty fast at it. I have Yammies and they are darn good motors but I had my two stroke 8 go bad on me once - bad fuel and carby. Stupid me.

As for building a compartment - it is not that hard. You will need some 9mm exterior ply, 2 litres of epoxy, some glue powder, a 4 inch angle grinder, a jigsaw and a mask. A fillet knife made from a 30mm spatula with the end rounded over is a necessary tool too.

Then you can get into the joys of working on your boat. I would make a fuel compartment about 200 mm above the waterline at the stern.

Watch this to get an idea of how to secure the ply to the boat.

Water in the fuel is the major cause of issues with outboards it kind of stands to reason. Perhaps a fuel water separator would be a good addition to a semi permanent outboard arrangement

Takes very little water to stuff up an outboard. I use my outboard on the workboat/tender probably 4 or 5 days a week. The plastic tank is under the rear deck and out of direct rainfall but after the recent wet period I had some fresh water get in the tank. I have a cover that fits over the screw on cap so nothing gets in the air vent but a very small amount of water ran down the hose and got in the push on fitting at the pick up on top of the tank. I have removed the fuel line snap on connections in the hose and now have just hose from the tank pick up point straight to the fuel bowl/filter. I put a piece of cord with a clove hitch on the hose a few inches away from the pick up point so that any stray water drips clear of the tank.

My outboard sits on transom permanently. Three years ago had water in fuel . Purchased a $30 motor cover and never had a problem since. Tank is in locker per above.

I'm a big fan of the smell of petroleum stored inside when sleeping ??

Everything I've ever stored on deck has eventually gone missing.
By strangers hands or nature.