Fuel Tank in 28's

[dougl33]

Having a discussion with someone on another site.

He's contending that 28's came with either 2 or 4 tanks. He claims he's seen a few setup like this.

I owned an 81 28 for 2 years. It had one 195 gallon tank. Any of you other 28 owners have more than one factory installed tank?

[Raybo Marine NY]

I thought some had a tank forward as well?

I could very well be wrong as I dont pretend to know all the bits and pieces of every boat.

[cmccool]

I have a pair of monel tanks on center line under my cabin sole totaling 45 gallons but they certainly aren't stock. Previous owner had to butcher the sole to get them in.

I have never heard of factory tanks forward - you would have to do significant surgery to replace them.

Cliff

[Ed Curry]

I have a 165 gallon center tank. There is a 25 gallon water tank under the cabin sole that was stock from Bertram.

[dougl33]

That's pretty much what I figured.

I know they all came with one tank. Sure, some may have aux tanks added over the years, but there's no way they were OEM. He really lost me when he said he saw one with 4 tanks!

You can only go back and forth on these forum "discussions" so long.

"Sorry, you're wrong."

"No. You're wrong."

Its like getting into an argument with a 5 year old. You'll never win and you should know better than to get into one in the first place.

[daydreams]

Have a 1983 28. 1-190 gallon approx at the rear and 2-25 gallon water tanks under the cabin floor [all original] easily swapped to 1 or 2 gas tanks. also room for saddle tanks in the rear.

[Raybo Marine NY]

so what I must have heard were people converting the water tanks to fuel tanks.

[Jack]

My Bahia Mar came with 2 tanks. The main tank is 185 gal, and a 75 gal aux tank immediately in front of the engines. Haven't seen any others like it, but they did make some.

[PaulJ]

I have seen a B28 that was reported to have been customized during initial construction to contain three (3) tanks under the cockpit sole. The primary tank ~175 gal sits between the two stringers and runs from the engine bulkhead to the stern, leaving room for stearing mechanisms. To the port and starboard sides of each stringer were two (2) 24 gal tanks that ran from behind the shaft port to the rudder shelves. All 3 were fiberglass tanks and fuel lines ran into the engine compartment and had shut-off valves to allow draw from any combination of tanks. Total fuel capacity was ~225 gal.

I have also seen a B28 with auxillary tanks (several hundred gallons) strapped down in the cockpit. However, the resultant load drops the cockpit deck below the water line. The thrill seeking captain had made oval shaped plugs for the scuppers to keep the backwash from sinking the boat. I would not advise this.

My B28 is standard. ~175 gal tank + 30 gal aluminum water tank under first cabin hatch.

[Charlie]

My 28B was exactly as you describe. One big center tank and two fiberglass saddles. Each saddle was 30 gallons not 24 gallons. Only problem is the saddles were aftermarket not Bertram's. What tipped me off was they had no marking, name plate, or other manufacture's marks. I called Bertram and they told me they never built any 28B's with any other fuel tank except the main belly tank. This information was gathered in 1995 shortly after Bertram stopped making 28B's (1994). One of the biggest problems with the 28B was range. They were not very NE canyon capable with only a 165 gallons. Even the later boats with 240 gallons were still short on fuel for the Hudson run. Therefore many boats had additional fuel tanks added. Few by the way would meet with Coast Guard regulations in place at the time; but run to the Hudson we did.

[Tony Meola]

Charlie

The 31 also came up about 30 to 50 gallons short on gas for run to the hudson. I can still see the extra fuel we used to carry on board and yelling please, no smoking. That was before I got older and wiser.

[jspiezio]

Charlie

The 31 also came up about 30 to 50 gallons short on gas for run to the hudson. I can still see the extra fuel we used to carry on board and yelling please, no smoking. That was before I got older and wiser.

Two 55 gallon drums full of petrol on the way out. Would stop and transfer, then sink the empty 55 drums. Different time and place.