MacGregorSailors.com

Hi. My wife and just purchased a 1988 Mac26D. I don't like having the gas can in the cockpit. I was thinking about putting it in the aft locker. Has anyonr done this and what kind of ventalation have you added.
Thanks Rod.

Congratulations on your new boat and welcome to the board Rod!

I'm also about to attempt to move my fuel tanks to the lazarette.
I want to build some type of floor and/or shelves to make the space
more user-friendly. I'm 6'2" and I can't even reach the bottom of the
stern locker. I found a really nice mod on a boat called Jemardo II.

Check it out here.

I plan to pretty much copy this mod but I think I will add a higher center shelf for my fuel tank to make it easier to fill or remove. I'm planning on using pine with a couple of coats of polyurethane on it.

Jared

I keep my tank on the seat accross from where I sit to motor so dont really know how to put the tank in the laz - but have seen some good discussion on other BB such as sailboat owners.

Some caution is definately needed as both gas and propane fumes are heavier than air and I dont know if a 26C has every blown up but in the year Ive been watching this, I saw news of at least two sailboats which blew up from propane explosions.

I would keep researching the safety aspect but it seems that people add an extra nipple and hose to the gas tank and use new hose to vent the tank external to the boat. Ie, the vent which came with the tank is shut off and only the new external vent is used. Also, seems the "rules" say you need an air vent in the lower 1/3 of the compartment but this is difficult to achieve with the 26C laz. Seems that you can put a passive vent in the motor well area and get it fairly low without creating a new safety risk of water comming in during a knockdown. Then put in a additional vent higher up and you "sort of" come close to what the rules say (but I really dont know what the rules are - keep looking as you are doing this at your own risk).

In addition, you may want to use spray foam to seal off the laz area from the cabin of the boat and I understand the main reason here is simply to keep the gas smell out.

If you search around in this forum and other Mac forums you can find a lot more information on the safety aspect - and of course you should consider this very important before putting the tank in the laz.

I think Jack Sparrow has both gas and fuel below deck but the mod page is still down so you could probably contact him.
Would rather have it all in the cockpit personally.

I have an '88 D with the fuel in the lazerette with 2 vent scoops on the aft deck, on facing forward the other aft.

Am in the process of adding flooring and a shelf to make it more secure and easier access.

I haven't noticed any build up of fumes with this set up.

I mounted an 18 gallon tank on a small level deck on the lazarette in my 26S. I put a Perko deck fill with built-in vent in the side of the motor well. To meet USCG requirements, I put in two vents to the laz. The front one is in the center of the bulkhead under the tiller, just above the level of the seats, and scoops air into the laz. The other is in the aft starboard corner of the laz hatch, and has 3 inch flexible duct going down to within 6 inches of the deck. The ductwork has a 3 inch power blower in it. The blower may be overkill, but better safe than sorry.