Made the bigger fuel tank out of 4 and 5mm aluminium sheet, the reason for the 2 sizes is I grabbed the two sheets from the same pile without checking the thickness of both sheets, so the bottom and one side is 5mm and the top and one side is 4mm and both ends are 5mm with the two baffles inside of 4mm. Aluminium is a structural type with good corrosion resistance with a high temper, was a bug..r to bend, even on a large computerised folding machine, had to do the radius in small sections as this ally would crack if you tried to do a 90 bend. (we did a test first, that's how we found out) The tank standing on its end shows the 10mm fuel sender hole, and inspection hole with the fuel pickup and a fuel inlet on that end and the end on the floor has a 16mm breather in it.
The lip in the first pic is on both ends and had 5 screws put through later in each one when I installed it, holding the tank down to the floor in the tank compartment.
I will add some more pics in the next day or so to this thread as it's after midnight now, hope this is what you wanted and haven't bored you too much.
Cheers
Ed.
Gee I wish you lived next door Ed. I'm working on a boat atm so I know all about the up down up down. If I had a boat your size the first thing I would do would be to build a good stairway with a landing for it.
Thanks for the pics, love your work. Looks like you used a rubbish bin for the bait tank mold.
PS What does your wife think of all this activity?
Thanks Jarrah Jack, your right, I used the base of a small 60lt wheelie bin, took the wheels off and placed a MDF board across the bottom to cover the plastic webbing on the base of the bin, added a flange 3/4 of the way up, a milk bottle cap for the drain recess, some modeling plasticine to fill the joins, followed by some wax and PVA, then good to go to gelcoat and laminate.
I originally had a mold which I built for the live bait tank but after building the the two bases for my first 23ft Scarab, the live bait tank mold was just sitting out in the weather and I could not think of any use for it so I dumped it at the tip in a clean out I did. I would have done the same with the seat base mold but it was coming in handy for washing the dog in and storing potting mix for my greenhouse so luckily I kept it.
As for climbing in and out, I just use a ladder 10-20 times a day sometimes, at least it helps to keep me fit and the chiropractor and masseuse in business.
My wife (Audrey) is looking forward to getting out in the boat and also to me cleaning up the yard, plus all the other jobs she has lined up for me that I have neglected since starting this project, fortunately for me she is very tollerant
What are you doing to yours?
I misunderstood what you wrote about the 2.7 towing it in your earlier post, I thought you were refering to the inflatableand not the Jeep. I haven't towed it yet with the Jeep but from what I read it should do it OK, it is a turbo diesel and puts out 120KW with a 5 speed Auto. I am not sure what the all up weight is. I am taking it down to a weighbridge in the next week or so to make sure I am not over the limit. The jeep is rated for towing 3.5T and I am estimating that the boat without fuel should be around the 3T weight so with fuel it will come close.
The next issue is just 'cause the Jeep is rated at that doesn't mean that it can tow it well, but I will know soon enough. Might have to put a mod chip in it to give it some more grunt if it is a bit slow, the mod chips apparently give up to 30% more HP and better economy.
Cheers
Ed.
Hi Ed
Love your work. That said may I ask if you are planning to sit your fuel tank up on some teflon spacers when you fit it? The flange, that if I understand your post correctly, was to be used to screw the tank into position looks like its designed to sit flat on the tank base.
Based on the need to replace a ss fuel tank in my boat that was fitted directly onto a frp base (because they forgot the teflon!) and that developed pin holes and then filled the bilge with fuel it might be worth considering teflon; if you hadn't planned on it.
Looking forward to your ongoing pics and text as the job progresses...........
Cheers
Chimo
What could go wrong.......................
Hi Chimo, thanks, as to the floor, sort of taken care of that aspect, when I reglassed the floor under the tank I put a series of semi circular 8mm x 25mm timber slats about 200mm long on either side and a few in the middle and angled them towards the back of the boat, then glassed them in as well, so the tank actually sits on top of them and is raised about 10mm above the floor, this way, if water ever does get in there, it will drain out the back and it also lets the air circulate so that the aluminium won't get chewed away as it will be kept dry.
Cheers
Ed.
Hi Ed This is what I'm doing, nearly finished.
http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...-Gets-a-Button
G'day Guys, got some more pics on the progress.
The first 3 pics are of the spare water tank, TIG welded it up, it also doubles as a foot rest for the passenger seat and the inspection port is so that I can throw in some chunks of ice, a small 10mm outlet for the electric pressure pump which connects to a tap and a larger 16mm outlet for draining the tank when we decide to trailer somewhere else just to keep the weight down, it holds about 30lt. As the inspection port is made from plastic, I added a pad of 7mm plate on either side to stop the middle flexing and possibly leaking when someone stands or presses on it with their feet. It will all be covered in carpet when it gets installed.
The second 2 pics are of a toolbox I whipped up for the front of the trailer to hold ropes and the ratchet type tiedown straps when not required. Has a s/s latch with padlock. The aluminium top is made from 5mm check plate so it's also can be stood or walked on.
The rear lounge has just come back a few days ago from the upholsterer, that is something I couldn't do myself, in light grey with a red and 2 black stripes, there was supposed to also be a dark grey stripe in that group to tone it down a bit but that colour was not available anywhere for over a month so did without. The side pads which I don't have a pic of yet also have a set of stripes to match. The carpet that I bought is a dark charcoal colour and the liner is a light grey, so hopefully it will colour co-ordinate OK. The speakers for the front of it only arrived today so haven't fitted them in yet.
I was looking for a darker liner but that also wasn't available anywhere so settled on the light grey one, at least when the LED strips under the gunwales are on at night the light grey will reflect a lot more light into the cockpit.
Went out today and bought a replacement battery for use as a house battery, it's a 40kg 150amp deep cycle AGM and weighs double what the original battery on the right in the pic does. Wont have any dramas about draining this one in a hurry.There were 2 starter type batteries in this boat so left one to start the motor and this second one will go into the back of the Jeep to power the electric winch on the trailer via a set of leads.
Cheers
Ed.
More pics:
Fitted the Insta-trim Trim tabs, the 1Kw TM260 transducer and the corner support, that transducer is a whopper, about the size of a house brick, reason I got such a big one is that it has about 26 times the sensitivity of the standard ones, also will help when we are fishing in 200m plus of water along the coral reef edges.
You might be able to make out the rod gimbal on the top next to the air intake port, that is where I will be sitting to fish so will use that to hold the bottom of the rod
Put some red striping on it, not exactly straight in a few spots but makes it look significantly better than the tattered black stripe that was on before, also it will match the red strips in the upholstery, besides, doesn't red make something go faster?
Last pic is the anchor winch setup on the front of the boat, I added a 7mm ally plate under the cleat and the winch to spread the load a bit better, underneath there is a 13mm piece of ply sandwiching the GRP of the deck.
Changed the earlier 150mm rego numbers to 200mm size letters to comply with QLD regs.
Also renamed the boat to "THUMPA" which is the sound it will make after it becomes airborn and lands back on the water, actually to tell the truth it is named after the rabbit in the Walt Disney movies which my girls loved when they were young, but I like my version of the story better.
Cheers
Ed.
She's looking great Ed, I take my hat off to ya. Not long now for the water tests
Thanks Guys, Two more pics and that will be up to date on the progress for the moment.
The first is the 10W LED lights underneath the duckboard, one on each side, this is to attract fish and squid at night when anchored somewhere, and the other is the live bait pickup setup I have.
Made up a pickup which goes just under the hull and bolted a 500 gallon/hr bilge pump to it, the pump has a float switch mounted slightly higher.
What happens is that when the boat is planing or moving reasonably fast, the water pressure forces the seawater to go through the pickup and the bilge pump and then through the hoses to the live bait tanks. When the boat is planing, the water goes past the float so the float just sits in the off position. When it drops off the plane the boat sinks into the hole and the float is forced up and activates the pump and seawater goes to the tanks, this way it becomes automatic and I don't have to remember to switch it on or off.
I had this setup on the previous Scarab I owned and it worked well, however this Scarab goes considerable faster than the last one and I don't now how the pump will handle the pressure of the higher speed, there is a 6mm gap from the pickup end to the pump impellor intake so I am hoping that the excess water will just shoot out the pump base slots. Just in case I am wrong I put a bit of ally angle to hold down the pump in case the plastic lugs on the pump break off due to excess pressure.
To drain the tanks:
I put in a silicone bung at the base of the tank, it is connected via PVC pipe which has a T piece, the main tube goes to the top of the tank from where the water fills the tank and the other goes to the base. As the bung is forced in and there is no pressure at the top hole, the water just fills through the top. To drain the live bait tanks I just turn the pump off, pull out the bottom bungs and gravity just drains them, then shut each tanks tap off, and then good to go.
Hope I explained it OK, and that this makes sense! it really is a simple system.
I will put a main tap just inside the boat next to the tansom wall so I can block the main hose off if I want to and then there is a T piece to provide water to both bait tanks, each tank has another tap just before it so I dont have to use them both at the same time and one more tap and T piece on one side only so I can divert the flow and use it to wash down the deck if necessary or myself as a shower rinse off on the duckboard.
Once the boat gets a sea trial, I will look at how high the water level goes up the transom and if there is enough clearance, then I will make a flapped hole in the transom and the floor will be self draining.
Cheers
Ed.
Hi Guys, So finally took it for a spin on the road to a petrol station and just loaded it up with 100lts just for starters as I estimate that will be the average of fuel left from a trip when we go out, the Jeep towed it reasonably well considering, but might look at getting a mod chip for the Jeep to give it more grunt. It was a bit wobbly on the trailer getting there so checked the tyres and they were down so boosted them up from 30 to 40PSI might go to 45PSI next time.
Took it over the scales so that I would have an idea of the weight of it as up till now it has all been guesswork and I think the reason for the wobbles above 80Km is there is only 180kg on the ball, all up weight is 3.12T, so the 180Kg has to be increased, there is still more weight to be added to the boat, The rear lounge which will actually make it worse as it is on the back side of the axle, the two front seat bases with live bait tanks, (the seats should negate the weight of the lounge), carpet and liner, electric toilet and holding tank and a couple of more anchors and chain, chartplotter and the footrest/spare water tank, electric trailer winch,inflateable plus personal effects. So all up it should come close to the trailer 3.4T capacity. Will get another weigh bridge test when I am done to make sure I am legal.
I should be able to move the boat up a bit forward. I have to modify the winch post anyway to put the electric winch on and so that will just leave moving the last set of wobble rollers forward the same amount and it should be good. Have it booked in to the marine yard on Thursday so they can do their bit on installing the new instruments, so getting closer.
Great to see her back on the road Ed. Yeah with that big donk in the back you will need a little extra on the ball and you will be sailing pretty close to 3500KG all up with some more fuel and those extras to go in. Are you surprised at the weight?
Anyway you need to get up in the high 200's KG Min on the ball for stability or low 300's better as you no doubt know. You may need to consider a levelling kit like I have fitted for longer hauls once you have the correct weight on the ball but see how it feels and check you still have enough weight on the cars steering etc. They do make a big difference with mine and steady everything up nicely.
How long till the water test???
Hi Johncar, I wasn't surprised at the weight as I had estimated about the 3000 to 3100Kg so very close, but it is one thing guessing and another knowing, at least now I know, so I will just move the boat forward a bit further up on the trailer and with the rest of the additional weight it should come to about the 320 to 340kg on the ball and it should be spot on. Today it steered OK up to 80km but higher than that it got a bit of the wobbles, especially on the crappy road as its full of bumps and small holes due to all the rain we've had here, with the extra weight on it shouldn't cause any further steering problems. I might also have a look to see if it is possible to add some shockers easily to the axles just to dampen it down a bit.
As to the water test I would say in the next 2 weeks. I pulled the old toilet out and whilst removing the old corroded taps the actual though hull pickup and outlet moved a bit, so have to reseal those. I will get the mechanics to pull those out and I will reseal them and add new taps myself, depending on the weather that will all be done on Thursday, I hope, and by the weekend I should have the new capets and seatbases/live bait tanks installed and plumbed. The actual toilet installation and me making the holding tank can wait for a fews weeks or so. So at this stage I am looking at sometime after next Monday, and I think I will be then good to go for a sea trial (depending on my wife having a day off). This is of cause depending on it if all goes according to plan.
Looking at your avatar, you seem to also have a decent size boat, what is the size, weight and what are you using to tow it, fuel consumption ect. and any issues you came across?
Cheers
Ed.
Ed you have seen my tinnie, I am just around the corner from you. Thought you would have recognised the name, but yeah it is similar weight to yours although I need to get to the weigh bridge shortly to see how it all balances up after a few little changes to the trailer. That is excellent that you are close to the water tests, always a nail biting time, not sure whether I want to be there or not always get a bit nervous on those first launches but i am sure all will be great.
Hey John, I didn't realise it was you, it's a small world isn't it. I saw the name but no location so didn't put it together as I didn't know you were a member on this forum and the missing digits from your name also threw me.
Cheers
Ed.
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