Poor Man's Chartplotter install

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by SailorChlud

. . . Not that it is that accurate - it reads 1/4 when I am still over half full!

When I first got my Seafari back in 1975 (in the days of 50:1 premix, way before oil injection!), I removed the fuel tank, cleaned it and coated it with epoxy after repairing a corrosion spot where the bare tank was sitting on top of a brass 10-32 nut that someone had evidently dropped in the boat before the fuel tank was installed!

After reinstalling the empty tank, I leveled the boat, made sure the battery was fully charged, and placed a piece of white tape across the top and bottom of the gas gage. I then filled it in 6 gallon increments, marking the tape where the needle was after each 6 gallons. It was accurate enough that when buying gas at marinas on subsequent Bahama trips, I was able to predict how much fuel it would take within a couple of gallons. This was pretty handy when you had to add a pint of oil to every 6 gallons! I would just fill the tank in 6 gallon increments until it was nearly full and then use 6 gallon jugs to top it off so I always had the right oil mixture.