CONTINUOUSWAVE

I have an opportunity to get a really great deal on a Revenge 22 W-T but the boat needs a new fuel tank. I called a bunch of places and learned it will cost about $3,000 to have a new fuel tank installed and have the fuel hoses replaced. Money is tight, and the shops I talked said they probably would not be able to do the work until middle of summer.

I found a 22 gallon deck mount fuel tank. If I take out the aft bench seat [in the cockpit] two 22-gallon fuel tanks could be mounted side by side in place of the seat, and because of the shape of the tanks they wouldn't even take up too much deck space.

I assume I would have to switch from one tank to the other. A capacity of 440gallons is a decent amount of fuel so I wouldn't have to go running to the fuel dock every half hour. The best part is the cost would be about $600. My long-term plan would be to have the original fuel tank replaced during the winter when the shops are slow because I'm sure it'll be cheaper than having it done at the height of the busy season.

Does [running a REVENGE 22 W-T from two 22-gallon on-deck fuel tanks] sound feasible and workable?

Am I missing something?

I am often a master at missing the obvious, so, if these a stupid questions, I apologize in advance. Any advice or comments will be greatly appreciated.

If [the REVENGE 22 W-T] has an aluminum tank I would replace it yourself.

I am in the process of replacing a fuel tank on a different boat. See

http://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5505#p32017

A REVENGE 22 W-T should have an aluminum fuel tank, made by Florida Marine Tanks or FMT (with their fabrication plant now in Henderson, South Carolina, I believe). The original tank would have been a 77-gallon capacity, unless for some reason the boat was ordered with the optional fuel tank, with a capacity of 129-gallons.

To know if using two 22-gallon on-deck fuel tanks will be workable, readers need to know the horsepower of the engine and the particulars of the engine. Without this information, there is no basis to know what sort of rate of fuel consumption might be needed to propel the boat.

I will speculate: typically, I would expect a 22-foot hull to have a 200-HP engine. If the engine is a typical two-stroke-power-cycle engine from the 1990's, its fuel consumption rate will be as much as 20-gallons-per-hour at full-throttle. Of course, you won't be running at full-throttle very much, but those older two-stroke-power-cycle engines were not particularly fuel efficient at lower speeds, either.

From my own experience with a 1990 REVENGE 22 W-T Whaler Drive (a hull that is two feet longer) and a 1992 Evinrude 225-HP engine, fuel economy would peak at certain fast planing speeds at about 2.1-MPG, but fall below 2-MPH at slower cruising speeds. Using an average of 2-MPG as a basis for fuel consumption, two 22-gallon tanks would probably give a usable 40-gallons of fuel, so the boat's range would be 40-gallons × 2-miles-per-gallon = 80-mile range.

A REVENGE 22 without the Whaler Drive would probably get somewhat better fuel economy as the hull is two feet shorter. If the engine were a modern outboard engine with much better fuel economy, the range could be much greater, perhaps almost double.

Fuel management with two on-deck tanks will require installing fuel hose connections from each tank to a valve or valve system which will permit one tank or the other to feed the engine. You must not just connect the two tanks in parallel; a three-port valve or two two-port valves must be used to permit the empty tank to be isolated. This will add to the costs of the on-deck fuel system project.

I have a 1988 Revenge 20 W-T. When my fuel tank developed a leak I ran two topside fuel tanks for about a year with no problem. I made a raised deck in the aft end of the cockpit in place of the bench seat. Both tanks fit on the raised deck and are secured in place. I still take a tank with me now, even though the main fuel tank has been repaired. It gives peace of mind in case of intrusion into the main fuel tank.

I find a plastic 22gal tank costing $300 a bit much. Your other option is a bladder tank which you just put where you want, possibly where the old tank is.

Thanks for all the great advice! David