Towing Diesel Fuel

[john-o]

Is this even legal, not to mention safe?
Has anyone considered towing a small dingy, with extra diesel fuel in it. How much fuel I don't know. The gist of this thought would be "extra" fuel to avoid running out. On the other hand, with all the marinas around and up and down the East Coast even with the virus situation, I wouldn't take the chance. If ever stopped by the CG, how would this be handled?
My question is purely a "what if".

 

[Pete Meisinger]

On the East coast I wouldn't bother. But that wasn't your question was it.

Guess I would have to say the risk isn't worth the benefit. Two figals on the aft deck or swim platform would give me 30 or 40 miles. A lot easier to deal with in many ways.

pete

 

[Arc]

You can do it if you want. I doubt CG would bother you if you didn’t exceed the wt. of the dink. Local might BYB’s . Using a certified container might be the problem. A bladder would be best

 

[Nomad Willy]

A FD dinghy loaded w fuel would create a lot of drag. The dinghy would be well above hull speed.
Even planing dinghies would cause too much drag.
If the dinghy was really big (like 24’) I could work.
However there’s certainly far too much chance the dinghy may capsize.

Carrying the fuel on the big boat would be fine if one could find a good place for it. Not likely IMO. No good place down low. And on deck there’s the problem of the heavy fuel tanks causing heavy rolling or worse.

No. I’d say forget about it.

 

[READY]

For me the big "what if" would be What if you caused a fuel spill. You could be hit with 6 figure fines and I suspect your insurance would find cause not to cover it.

 

[john-o]

The reason for asking this, is I saw a video of a skipper for a Nordhavn, purchased a large fuel bladder, store it on deck, and fill it with diesel. I guess the bladder was localized on the centerline of the Nordhavn, for balance, maybe. But the idea of needing fuel for a long
voyage had me thinking of alternatives. I wouldn't attempt such a plan, but then on the other hand I don't have the experience of considering carrying large amounts of extra fuel to begin with.

 

[READY]

Years ago to extend the range of my former Hatteras MY for a San Diegio to FL passage we used a large fuel bladder. It was secured under the master berth and then pumped to the main tank with an electric transfer pump. It worked but that was a very special situation.

 

[rslifkin]

The reason for asking this, is I saw a video of a skipper for a Nordhavn, purchased a large fuel bladder, store it on deck, and fill it with diesel. I guess the bladder was localized on the centerline of the Nordhavn, for balance, maybe. But the idea of needing fuel for a long
voyage had me thinking of alternatives. I wouldn't attempt such a plan, but then on the other hand I don't have the experience of considering carrying large amounts of extra fuel to begin with.

Carrying extra fuel can be done, but towing it is probably just not practical, as there are too many limitations and too many ways for it to go wrong. As far as carrying fuel on the boat itself, it would come down to how much you need to carry. Small amounts are easy. Large amounts, not so much on many boats. If you've got a cockpit, that's a low place to put a bladder. Without one, you just may not be able to carry a large amount of extra fuel safely.

 

[Frosty]

Any time I've towed a dinghy, I've been mentally and physically prepared to cut it loose at any moment. Things can go south for many reasons. That would be a problem in a powerboat if it were a fuel supply you needed.

 

[High Wire]

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Comodave]

I think you might have some liability issues if the dinghy come loose or capsizes and you get a fuel spill. There was a thread a little while ago about spilling a small amount of diesel and the costs associated with the spill. Besides you couldn’t carry enough fuel to make a difference unless you are towing a very large dinghy. Say you carry 10 gallons, how far is that going to get the big boat? Not really very far. Just plan your refueling destinations and refuel before your levels get too low. Much better plan IMO.

 

[psneeld]

Yes it's not a good idea for many reasons...but not fuel carrying capacity.


My 10' dingy can carry a 1100 pounds (which equals a bit over 100 gallons, a tank to hold it, and the motor). A 100 gallons would almost double my range.


For me that would be about 330NM extra.


It would also make it ride better in some situations.


But again...a pretty scary idea overall.

 

[Comodave]

I didn’t think anyone would consider towing 1000+ pounds in a dinghy. That could be a huge problem if there were to be a spill. Yes 1000 pounds of fuel could be a game changer in distance, but the towed weight and potential liability would make me just stop at a fuel dock sooner. Besides the potential spill during fuel transfer of 1000 pounds of fuel would add some concerns. I was thinking more along the lines of a couple of 5 gallon jerry cans of fuel.

 

[psneeld]

I didn’t think anyone would consider towing 1000+ pounds in a dinghy. That could be a huge problem if there were to be a spill. Yes 1000 pounds of fuel could be a game changer in distance, but the towed weight and potential liability would make me just stop at a fuel dock sooner. Besides the potential spill during fuel transfer of 1000 pounds of fuel would add some concerns. I was thinking more along the lines of a couple of 5 gallon jerry cans of fuel.

It's a rare mother boat that can't carry 2 jugs of fuel aboard.... I figured the guy was interested in some serious capacity to even consider a dingy full.


I did say it's not a great idea...but as usual...on the surface it's not but a larger dingy, modified correctly.... then the answer isn't much different than tugs towing fuel barges. You just have to think outside the box sometimes.


Most of us would just say buy the right boat to begin with... if it's a one time shot to do something pretty exciting....then a little out of the box thinking is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[MYTraveler]

My last boat was a big sportfisher with a 1,000 gallon capacity. At 25 knots, it had a range of about 250 miles. At slower speeds, the range increased, but not by enough to allow me to reach the offshore banks (and Guadalupe island), fish for a few days and return. That got me to thinking about how to carry more fuel. One possibility was to have some fuel tanks fabricated to put on my bow in place of a dinghy and two jet skis for the fishing trips. But even the weight of the jet skis adversely affected handling, and the equivalent weight of diesel fuel wouldn't extend my range enough to justify the cost and effort. I think considered towing a custom made tear-drop shaped 950 gallon container. The biggest problem was that it would interfere with trolling for fish (though I intended to transfer its fuel to the main tanks once their fuel was sufficiently burned down, and then carry the empty tank on my bow).

At the end of the day, I concluded that a boat with more range was called for. Hence my current boat, which caries 2,300 gallons and has a comfortable range well over 2,000 nautical miles.