Agi wrote: ↑Tue Jul 29, 2025 2:33 am
In general I would like to adjust following things in the future:
- bigger fuel tanks
- bigger water tanks -> does anyone have a good solution for this? The current tank takes only 60l
- and I would like to change the color an make it instead of blue - silver metallic -> what would you suggest with a membrane or to paint it?
- would you suggest one or two batteries? and what kind of batteries? would you even recommend a solar panel?
Hi Agi!
You are Welcome!
“We’re pulling for you! We are all in this together!”
Bigger fuel tanks are generally a good direction to take when aiming at extended travels as one of the most useless things is knowing there is fuel somewhere ashore but not in your fuel tank when you need it!
There are several threads, topics and Mods on this subject over the years available.
Moeller is a brand of fuel tanks with many different sizes and models available for just about any application or shipping location.
Various marine supply houses around the world stock them.
On Over Easy we installed two 12 gallon (US) fuel tanks and a filter/distribution system on our Mac26X. (See our project in Mods section)
While not directly applicable to a Mac26M it should give some ideas.
Try to only use ‘ethanol-free’ fuel if you can as it will attract less water into your tanks.
Use an external 10 micron ‘separating’ fuel filter with a sight bowl and drain. You won’t regret it… because you’ll not have your engine foul due to water or dirt in the fuel getting to it.
Bigger water tanks are also a good direction to take when aiming at extended travels but that should be balanced to what you’ll actually need. Most folks use 2-to-3 liters of water per day per person as a basis to determine how much water to carry aboard. Some, like ourselves, divide our water supply between bottled drinking water and hose tap washing water. Hose tap water tends to go bad after protracted tank storage time. Seldom can one fully empty and dry out storage tanks in actual practice. We take the cautious route with keeping to separate drinking water being bottled. For our hose tap tank water we disinfect it with Clorox. (To disinfect a gallon of clear water using regular, unscented household bleach (like Clorox), use 8 drops or 1/8 teaspoon of bleach. For cloudy or murky water, double the amount to 16 drops or 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. Ensure the water is thoroughly mixed and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before drinking. A slight chlorine odor should be noticeable after this time.) We prefer hard shell approved water tanks as the collapsing type tend to get punctured, crack and leak. (Personal experience
) several smaller tanks or jugs are easier to store, use, fill and clean from our experience rather than a large tank.
Regarding painting….While it’s your boat and your rules might I suggest some hesitation on repainting with a metallic paint. From experience and observation metallic paints can be / are problematic to apply and over time. They tend to need qualified professional preparation, application and equipment to look half decent. They also tend not to age well over time and exposure. Being applied over an aged gelcoat/fiberglass substructure doesn’t help either. Most boats you’ll find are gel coated white for a reason…. It lasts the longest from constant exposure to sun, wind and weather… it’s also quite durable… and white also reflects off solar heating of the surfaces which protects the fiberglass and resin from thermal degradation. It’s your decision.
Now getting to the batteries… personally we chose to go with two lead-acid dual purpose (start/store) 12 VDC batteries that are switch selectable for either or both to be used at the same time. This is an approach that gives us redundancy and simplicity. These batteries are commonly available from multiple sources and generally readily available off the shelf and at a reasonable cost. (Look for our system in the Mod section). Our electrical needs are relatively minor and our primary concern is engine start. This approach provides us with redundancy and flexibility without complexity for our application needs. As regards solar panels it depends upon your own use needs. We run our engine as we operate in ‘motor cruiser mode’ so batteries are charged from the engine. We also tend to have our boat in a slip with shore power available so we utilize an automatic battery charger/maintainer system (also in Mods section). As such the practical aspects of adding solar don’t really have much cost benefit for us. With that said though what I might suggest if you are concerned about your battery(s) going flat during storage and not having shore power available is the use of a small solar battery maintainer that are generally available at an auto parts, hardware, on-line store. They are generally to be had for about $20 to $50 (US), automatic and simple to use. Going to a 100 watt or larger system would make sense if your electrical needs are larger like running a refrigerator while at anchor etc… there are 100+ watt portable solar system one can store away when not needed but easy to setup and use when desired. There are also more permanent options available by several sources if desired but they tend to be bulky and can get in the way.
So there’s our two bits to do with as you please.
Hope this was of some help for you.
Remember, this is your boat and you decide what you want to do with it!
Have Fun! Be Safe!
Best Regards,
Over Easy
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or not?
