moving gastank to the bow?

Picked up a 14' Valco with a 15" transom. Added a minijacker for my long shaft electric start 15hp Suzuki. Now it sits way too low in the stern. I pretty sure I can relocate the battery to the bow, but could I also move the gastank forward? The guy I bought it from ran a 8hp Johnson 2 stroke and I have no idea how the bow height was with that engine. I know the Suzuki is much heavier and mounted higher and further back because of the jack plate. Any ideas?

I'm not sure about the gas tank in the front. You can try it--but it could make your boat more susceptible to porpoising due to the sloshing motion of the gas. The battery would be a good place to start though

Ever put any consideration into a tiller extension? May help with your weight distribution problem a little.

Good luck!

I used a tiller extension once, but we use the boat in the Sea of Cortez and I just don't trust that the extension would stay on in any kind of chop. The idea of that falling off at hi speed is a bit scary. The gas tank only holds about 3-5 gallons so I don't think there would be a lot of sloshing around.

A buddy of mine did it with his Lund WC 14. Had to get a custom fuel hose made at a marine shop though. Makes his boat ride a lot nicer when he is by himself.

I have done this with a 12 and 14 boat.I would suggest putting it back a little bit from the bow if possible. You can buy gas line at menards here in Michigan and make your own.

I have my gas tank up front to off set the weight of my 25hp motor.

A fuel tank of 5 gallons or less will not have much of a "slosh" factor so that won't be a problem . I would run the fuel line in a 3/4" - 1" metal conduit from the front to the back above the water line . Make sure you have good seperation between the battery and the fuel tank .

Thanks for the input. 1 question, when you lenghten the gas line is there any problem getting the gas thru the longer line?

yakyak2010 said:

Thanks for the input. 1 question, when you lenghten the gas line is there any problem getting the gas thru the longer line?

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Not over the 10 ft or so you are going to use but remember quality fuel line is always better then cheap fuel line . Run it in light conduit and get a good inline fuel filter in a metal housing and you are good to go .

I used 3/8" automotive fuel line. I bought a 25' role on ebay cheaper than I could get the 14' I needed locally.