Posted by Willilam Bryant (wcbryantjr@…>)
In case any of you Freedom 38 owners haven’t noticed, and it could be other models as well, since the fuel intake which is located on the aft port corner of the fuel tank, a port sailing tack with just 50% or less fuel in the tank, allows the vertical fuel intake to come out of the fuel and thereby lets air into the fuel line. This of course will kill your engine when you eventually go to start it, requiring a lengthly bleeding of the fuel line. The problem can be avoided by keeping the tank full all of the time, but you effectively lose using the full capacity of your 35 gallon tank. Freedom suggests putting a “day” tank in the lazarete which would pull from the main tank, but this seems like a less than satisfactory approach. Has anyone figured out how to attach a hose to the fuel intake that would “follow” the fuel as it goes to starboard when on a port tack? If this approach is not feasible, then I would be interested in
the details how anyone has installed a “day” tank; ie location of fuel pump, type and size of tank, routing of hoses, etc. etc.
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