Jerry Can Deck Storage Ideas?

[goldenstate]

I welcome any ideas/input/photos of contrived lashing or rack storage systems for 5 gallon jerry cans of fuel or water to be stored on the foredeck.

I am concerned with interfering with access to my stanchion-mounted spinnaker pole, with impairing travel along the side decks, as well as creating a storage system suitable to hold heavy jugs on a boat flinging around at sea.

 

[Christian Williams]

Tom knows this already, but for the record:

A brief blog entry.

A 2x4 between stanchions is the shortcut, but puts the jugs a bit in the way and subject to dousing. I built deckhouse racks for 32-3 and 381 to raise them up and bit and out of the wy, and they worked such that only small adjustments were made in three Hawaii voyages.

I used 1/2" exterior plywood and Gorilla glue and drywall screws, then house paint. Entirely expendable. However, despite living in a dusty shed for three years--the racks, not me--I found the 2017 version was still ready to go for 2021.

Padding at deck contact is hardware-store pipe insulation, either placed on the grab rail or glued to the bottom of the rack. The "design" relies on a cantilever out from the deckhouse and then vertical support from the stays, with lashings to keep everything in place. Trial and error install reveals the compromise and placement of battens necessary for the proper sit and fit.

It's not rocket science. If interested the racks are on continuous display in my three Hawaii videos. (I have a standing apology on file for putting diesel into red cans instead of yellow, consider it invoked here).

E32-3 racks
......
E381 racks

 

[Mr. Scarlett]

On my 35-2 a jerry can fits perfectly in the aft section of the cockpit. Just the right amount of friction and it just stays there. I do keep a light lashing to the rail.

 

[toddster]

Some ideas, but no really good ones. I hate stuff on deck but have just about become resigned to it, what with limited tankage, scuba tanks, the compressor, the folded dinghy... something's going to end up on top. I'm also reluctant to block the view out from any of the ports. But of course, when the kayak rack is in use, it does that too. Christian's clever platforms won't work on my boat since it has outboard shrouds.

Two fat plastic gas cans fit neatly into the back of the footwell, aft of the rudder. Actually three cans can go in there. But a. probably not a great idea to keep gas in the cockpit and b. I had my eye on that space for the scuba compressor when underway.

The path of least resistance is a 2 x 6 fender board lashed to a couple of stanchions and doubling as a can holder. Opposite or below the spinnaker pole. It might even double (triple?) as a passerelle if needed. But then what do you do with the cans when you need the fender board?

A perhaps equivalent idea to Christian's, might be to install "granny bars" at the mast and lash cans to the back of those. Or design some custom structure that serves both functions.

Another idea I've toyed with but don't like is to mount a cargo rack (Yakima or its ilk) somewhere on the house or foredeck. Or across the back of the cockpit (would likely interfere with the mainsheet on my boat.)

Probably a really bad idea I thought of is to cantilever a rack outboard of the stanchions, similar to the kayak rack, but solid. Probably the worst possible way to stow anything heavy, and it would surely get dunked with great force.

Then finally there are those clever but expensive "RotapaX," "Wintool," and similar modular fuel and water cans that have their own mounting systems. I think they were originally designed to mount to motorcycles but the vanlife kids seem to like them and they come in all sizes now. Possibly all sorts of places they could be mounted, but it occurs to me that they're thin enough that they might go along the rails and not block the side deck.

Ultimately, I think the solution is to have a custom tank made to fit some odd space down below the water line. But I guess you need at least one can for each fluid that has to be carried to the boat.

 

[goldenstate]

Thank you everyone for the input.

Christian - I had looked through your blog (even the index!) but managed to overlook that entry, so this was very helpful. If I build the inboard boxes then I really need to "serve and parcel" my dyneema rigging to eliminate chafe. I need to puzzle through whether it makes more sense to put the cans on the rail at the beam. If I am moving forward on jacklines inside of the shrouds anyway, perhaps the outer location makes more sense.

And Toddster - thanks for the name brand references on the other Jerry can systems. Those versions with the center-lock mechanism have some appeal.

 

[Christian Williams]

Yes, not a good idea with Dyneema. The steel shrouds rub continually on the plywood, which is sacrificial in that area (and wears away 1/4" eventually).

For fuel transfer the $10 rattle siphon is the answer.

 

[gabriel]

+ for the rotopax suggestion. I don’t really like them for over-landing, but with the dimensions and mounting possibilities, they make sense on a boat.

 

[Loren Beach]

Here is our solution:

O34 - Carrying More Diesel

I note that another blog here has illustrated a much nicer way to carry more diesel than my, um, cruder one -- lots of line and lots of knots! Still, we did use a "rattle syphon" to move fuel from the tank right by the deck fill when we were...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[goldenstate]

Here is my implementation: trex between stanchions held by u-bolts with recessed bolt heads. Still need to lash and go for a shake down. 5 gallon off road style jugs from Amazon.

 

[nquigley]

I know the board & stanchion solution is tried and true in the cruising world, but I've always wondered if that weight would constantly work against the stanchions, and therefore at their bases. Doesn't that eventually risk cracking the stanchion bases or at least introducing a leak at the bases?

 

[Kenneth K]

Almost every deck fitting I've removed and/or re-bedded has had somewhat "loose" fasteners. The fiberglass & core seem to compress over the years, and not spring back to their original thickness.

Might seem like a good idea to at least tighten up those stanchion base fittings, if not to re-bed them altogether first.

 

[Loren Beach]

Regarding stanchion bases... Given the time that has passed it's a good time to remove them. Overdrill, epoxy fill, and redrill. One further and significant benefit of this is that there will not be any compression of the deck under them going forward and about a zero % chance of having a leak.

 

[nquigley]

Tom knows this already, but for the record:

A brief blog entry.

A 2x4 between stanchions is the shortcut, but puts the jugs a bit in the way and subject to dousing. I built deckhouse racks for 32-3 and 381 to raise them up and bit and out of the wy, and they worked such that only small adjustments were made in three Hawaii voyages.

I used 1/2" exterior plywood and Gorilla glue and drywall screws, then house paint. Entirely expendable. However, despite living in a dusty shed for three years--the racks, not me--I found the 2017 version was still ready to go for 2021.

Padding at deck contact is hardware-store pipe insulation, either placed on the grab rail or glued to the bottom of the rack. The "design" relies on a cantilever out from the deckhouse and then vertical support from the stays, with lashings to keep everything in place. Trial and error install reveals the compromise and placement of battens necessary for the proper sit and fit.

It's not rocket science. If interested the racks are on continuous display in my three Hawaii videos. (I have a standing apology on file for putting diesel into red cans instead of yellow, consider it invoked here).

E32-3 racks
View attachment 42338...View attachment 42339...View attachment 42341
E381 racks
View attachment 42340

Hi Christian,
In the next month or two, I will be building similar diesel jerry can storage boxes to those you made. If doing it again, are there any design, features or materials that you would change if doing it again today on my 32–3? (I see that for version 2.0, you extended the side panels up to the height of the back panel.) you said that a little trial and error was necessary to optimize the installation.
Thanks!

 

[Christian Williams]

The only thing important, I found, is to build the base such that the cans are held erect. Probably means a bit of a built-in angle at the base, with suitable padding. The base can be elevated a little over the grab rails. (I used the shrouds to hold the cans vertical. They can add support, but it works better if the base does most of the work.

Two-by-fours connecting stanchions also work, but cabin-mount frees the decks and makes for good passage forward, which I found useful especially at night.

 

[mbacon]

Here's a photo of a setup I saw last year. Snapped it because I thought I might want to attempt to replicate it down the road...
These are military style 5 gallon / 20 liter containers.

 

[Christian Williams]

Looking back, I see that the deck is different on the 32-3 (from the E381), so vertical seems too much to ask

In any case, I had no issues with the above design, whereas the current boat required an amendment.

You can always scan the 32-3 Hawaii video to see how they performed.

Regarding the photo in the previous post: I would not like that at all. Groping forward at night, or jibing a whisker pole, or just for a look-see at the bow, would be hugely restricted by blocked side decks. You want scamperability, and you can't scamper over those things.

 

[nquigley]

Hi Christian, I have my jerry can storage boxes built. Next step is painting
Did you include a drain hole in one of the corners of the base?
It occurred to me, that, since they tip out words, rainwater and spray will accumulate inside the lower after corner.

 

[Christian Williams]

My line attachment holes happened to work as drains. But yeah, drain holes at the proper place.

I used exterior plywood with drywall screws and house paint, figuring the racks were to be temporary. When I built another set for a subsequent voyage, it took a sledge hammer to break up the old ones.

 

[nquigley]

Great. Thanks.
Only after selecting 7/16” plywood and building my boxes, did I read that you had used three-quarter inch marine grade plywood on your second set. So, I have wrapped the outside of my boxes with a layer of fiberglass cloth. And I glued quarter round on all inside corners to, try and increase the strength of the boxes. Fingers crossed.

 

[Christian Williams]

No worries, they have the integrity of a partial box structure. It is grand to be building something in prep for an adventure, ain't it?

I have just completed a tiny step-stool for the V-berth, and although the adventure is, uh, only sleeping, I feel highly worthy. Highly!