Six years ago, when we retired early and decided to become full-time cruisers, we faced a problem. Where would we find a boat that was seaworthy, comfortable, economical, and spacious enough to carry us offshore at a price we could afford? We needed a good boat we could be proud of, yet we needed to have enough funds left to go cruising.
- lifestyle
- PMM
- liveaboard
- Construction
- refit
- remodel
- shipwright
- range
- interior
- boat buying
- flopperstoppers
- seaworthy
- update
- electrical systems
- pasagemaker
- Goodrick
- fulltime cruisers
- powerboarts
- longdistance cruiser
- gardner diesel engine
- brisbane
- australia
- working fishboat
- building
- timor sea
- letti island
Fuel is of little use if it can't be safely and reliably stored and transported from the vessel's tank to the equipment that craves it: engines, gensets, wing engines, heating systems, and so on. The guidelines set forth by the American Boat & Yacht Council concerning the design and installation of fuel tanks, plumbing, filters, and associated gear leave little room for interpretation. The boatyard that I manage and many other boatbuilders follow these guidelines to the letter, but, regrettably, not all yards and builders do. The fuel equipment on many boats that I inspect violates these important standards, often on several counts.
