How to calculate the size of your fuel tank!

First things first - this calculation is for boats where the stern is rounded and the tank is formed by the last couple of feet of the stern. The tank is therefore shaped like a piece cut off a round cheese - see diagram

If your tank is a different shape then sorry this won't work for you - This does cover most narrowboats on the cut though.

First you need to take three measurements:

1. the height of the tank - either scramble round the engine compartment or use a dowel to dip the tank until you hit the bottom

2. The width - depends on the design of you boat but you should be able to get a reasonable figure for this.

3. the depth - from the stern to the front of the tank

Obviously the more accurate your measurement the better the final calculation - however for a reasonable solution measurements to about 1/2 inch would be OK.

In order to calculate the actual volume I have created an Excel spreadsheet that you can download (right click on link). Don't worry if you haven't got Excel - if you are handy with maths you can see the spreadsheet by following this link which explains how to do the calculation. If you're not into maths then don't panic - if you really want to know the size of your tank - send me your measurements - email Chris - and I'll calculate it for you - I'll try and do it as quick as possible but please bear with me!

Hope you find this useful!

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