Project Log: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
As I continued work on new tankage design, I decided I
ought to build some basic mockups of the proposed
tankage outboard of the engine room before I progressed
too far in the basic design and concept. Seeing
the basic measurements displayed in three dimensions
would go a long way towards confirming the overall
sizing, or perhaps lead the way to some design changes.
To help keep weight distribution as even as possible, I
planned to split each space (port and starboard) into
two tanks: one each for diesel and water on each
side of the boat. This arrangement would be
necessarily more complicated, but I worried about the
potential unbalance that might occur otherwise; listing
boats are just unacceptable. Still, I vacillated
on this issue, and hadn't made any final decisions yet.
One ongoing goal I had was to keep things as simple as
possible, though without sacrificing utility in the
process. "As simple as possible" doesn't always
mean inherently simple; it just means avoiding undue
complexity wherever possible.
Why this additional tankage, one might ask?
Convenience. With this boat more reliant on engine
power, and therefore fuel capacity, I didn't want to
become a slave to the fuel dock while cruising.
Since we tend to prefer more isolated, out-of-the way
anchorages while cruising, the last thing I wanted to do
was end up being forced into ports with fuel docks more
often than necessary--even if one was just around the
corner.
To a lesser extent, the same issue applied to water.
The more we could potentially carry, the better, not
only in terms of fewer fill-ups, but also in terms of
reduced concern over consumption and rationing.
Fueling and watering are things I'd prefer to minimize
at all times; having become used to cruising without a
need to ever stop for fuel and water over a two-week
typical cruise, I was loathe to give up that freedom.
So, more tankage it is.
For the moment, I decided to build a single mockup for
the entire space, just to check my measurements and see
what changes, if any, I might want to effect. From
scrap cardboard, I slapped together a rough mockup of
the port-side tank using the basic measurements I'd
taken earlier. The side facing the bench in these
photos doesn't even have a side installed. |
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The full-size mockup fit easily through the pilothouse
door and into position on the port side. I'd
intentionally left a good bit of space above the
proposed tank to allow me to access the underside of the
deck, bolted-on fittings, and so forth, but my initial
thought upon seeing the mockup in place was that I could
easily add a few inches in height, which would have a
significant impact on the tanks' potential capacities.
Also, the triangular shape of the ends of the tank left
a bit of wasted space against the curved hull--more than
I wanted. So I thought my next design would
include a two-sided edge against the hull to help
utilize some of this space. |
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Note that there's empty space aft of this "tank" on this
side. Because I want to make the new tanks for
each side identical (except, of course, reversed), I
chose the smallest fore-and-aft dimension for the
overall length. The starboard side was configured
a bit differently, with an enclosed locker
(originally for propane bottles) at the forward end of
the cockpit that closed off the aft portion you see open
on the port side.
The quick mockup served its purpose well: it
confirmed the basic dimensions, but also highlighted the
potential for useful changes that would improve and
increase the tankage. I'd use the information
gained during this brief exercise to construct more
accurate mockups of the next designs.
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Total Time Today: .75 hours
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