Gas tank locations

[John Berg]

Water tank

Karl, Yes that is a watertank, in its original spot. The fuel tanks are disconnected and just sitting there. This was a great thread. I sure found out how much I didn't know. Worth every bit of the $3 a month to be a paying Member. John

[westerner]

Good discussion guys. I've been pondering since I originally purchased my Westerner 16 express what to do about excessive stern weight. My two six gallon fuel tanks are stored neatly under the rear seats. It doesn't have a splashwell and in the area where one should be the battery compartment is situated centrally. When I add the 200 lb motor I'm pretty heavy, especially if anyone is sitting back there.
Originally the boat may have had saddle tanks midships as there is a filler cap on the deck on one side. The boat is extremely light due to it's construction, double fiberglass bottom with honeycomb running the entire lenght of the hull. Also honeycomb cored front deck and cabin top, advertised at the time as unsinkable with 600 lbs of weight in it.
I find however when I have passengers up forward or have extra weight from camping gear or extra fuel tanks there, the boat rides very well considering it's relatively flat bottom. The hull is almost identical to a Bell Boy 16. A friend fishing from the beach at Lagoon Point on a very rough day said my boat went through the water better than the Whaler and a Bayliner next to me of similar size, although it sure didn't feel that way to me at the time. I had weight up forward .
So maybe I'll leave well enough alone and just ponder the problem some more.