Hunter Ranger 245 (UK) .. fuel capacity

[Shearwater]

Hello sailors. It seems from a number of 'for sale' sites that the fuel capacity of this boat is either 25 or 27 litres.

I have been unable to calculate / judge/ assess this applies to mine. Can anyone advise categorically this is the size tank that Rochford fitted?

 

[blackbeard]

Mine's nominally 25 litres. Give or take a bit I imagine.
There's no guarantee that they are all alike but, given the space they have to fit into, I would be surprised if there's much variation. It's just possible that the 245 Ranger (mine) differs from the 245 Channel (which had a 2 cylinder engine instead of the Yanmar 1GM, and presumably used a bit more fuel, so might have justified a larger tank). (A few boats had an outboard, rather than inboard, engine.)
The tank is fixed in place by a plastic foam which sets rigid, so not much chance of getting it out.
The small tank has a major advantage - not much likelihood of diesel bug since it's likely that the contents will be mostly changed during a normal season.

I cannot categorically maintain that all nominally similar Hunters are necessarily exactly alike.

Why do you need to be sure of the exact size?

 

[Shearwater]

Why do you need to be sure of the exact size? endquote...

Only because I'm probably over cautious and keep topping up the fuel tank with 5 or so litres at a time and being aware I should run the level down every now and then. And also because I don't want to run out! Thanks for the info.

 

[Tranona]

Why do you need to be sure of the exact size? endquote...

Only because I'm probably over cautious and keep topping up the fuel tank with 5 or so litres at a time and being aware I should run the level down every now and then. And also because I don't want to run out! Thanks for the info.

Rather than worry about total capacity (2l is neither here nor there) it is perhaps easier to think in terms of hours running. If you have a 1GM average consumption is well under 1l hour - you can check by topping up right to the brim and then running for 10 hours before topping up.

 

[blackbeard]

Agree on fuel consumption though it's likely to vary a bit with "throttle" setting. More if you insist on long distances at near max, much less for slow speed manoeuvring in marina. If you are gentle and happy with about 4 knots then it will run indefinitely on the smell of a greasy rag, or so it seems.

Anyway, if you look down and left (aft) while in the loo (of a Hunter 245, no idea what other boats keep in the loo), you can see a bit of the tank and thus see how much fuel you have got. This is actually impossible while the boat is in still water, at least it is if your tank is as near-opaque as mine; but if anchored and the water isn't quite calm, you can just make out the fuel slopping up and down. If you can't see this, the tank is either almost full or almost empty. It's much better than a conventional fuel gauge; Sea Start tell me that inaccurate/unreliable fuel gauges are a major cause of call-outs from skippers who thought they had enough fuel.