How far is too far.....to Move Gas Tanks

[Unclepaul]

Im concerned about weight. I Have a 16ft Alumacraft (1961) with a 50hp Merc and a 10hp Johnson,and a board with 2 manual downriggers,mounted on it, I also need to carry 2- 6 gal Gas tanks for the main motor and a 2 gal for the kicker. Do I need to move the tanks up front and if so how far canI move them?

 

Thanks

Paul 

[rolmops]

If it is a 15 inch transom, you can put the tanks near the bench. If it is a "luxury" rig with 2 front seats, put them just behind the seats. Since you run a 50 horse merc it may very well be a 20 inch transom in which case I would just change the angle of that engine a bit so she goes down and on plane a bit faster.Just don't over do it because she will stick her bow into  the waves instead of over them

Is this a Monaco 16?

Edited January 30, 2014 by rolmops

[Unclepaul]

It's a Queen 16 that has manually adjustable trim tabs. The boat is currently open with no seats so I can set it up any way I need to

[gwpjr]

The Queen has a 20" transom, so it isn't too big a deal in most situation. I have Starcraft SS 16 with a 60 HP Mercury and it should be pretty similar in the way it behaves. I run two 6.5 gallon tanks in the stern, plus my primary trolling battery. With full tanks, I can sit on my transom and it only and still have at least 6" of transom above the water. If you fish bigger water routinely, you might think about moving the the tanks up to mid-cockpit area, but it isn't a necessity if you know how the boat handles and what situations to avoid. Balancing the boat left-right will also help. If you are worried about the length of your lines, I've seen people who have 10' of run and the fuel pump can handle it, just as long as the pickup tube stays submerged.

[Sk8man]

When I had my 13 ft Whaler I had (2) 6 gal tanks ahead of the front most bench seat resting on rubbermaid car mats (preventing any gas/oil spillage and protecting the floor of the boat) - one on either side and about a 10 ft. gas line attached to each of them that ran along each side of the boat just a few inches off the floor held with industrial velcro.  This distribution of weight helped keep the bow of the boat down when underway and gave me considerable range (12 gal of fuel for my 35 horse/9.9 ) when out on Lake O. It also allowed the option of changing lines or tanks if a problem occurred with either of them.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Sk8man

[LongLine]

Have you considered moving one of them way up front?

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[rolmops]

A Queen has a 68 inch wide and 20 inch high transom. It is rated for a 80 horse engine and and a 1524 pound overall load. I think that you are ok  by just leaving everything in the back.

With the closed bow ,you want to keep as much open space as you can. Besides,your flotation material (if it is stiill there) is styrofoam. Styrofoam does not like gasoline. It will melt on contact.

Edited January 30, 2014 by rolmops

[Unclepaul]

You Guys never cease to AMAZE me.... All I need to do is ask.... and I get an incredible amount of help, knowledge and advise back immediately.! 

 

Thanks so much!

Unclepaul