Gas tank in the bow

[Scott]

Why do I see so many hunting boats set up with the gas tank in the bow??

 

[Bill Burruss]

Scott,

Can not speak for everyone else, but I have the gas forward on my Broadbill to help maximize use of space (and in this case, not have to fight with the gas tank to hunt the boat low blind), as well as push the center of gravity forward to help with some porpoise issues I was having. Started out the same way on my BBII for the same reasons, but have since concluded that boat handles rough water better with the gas in the back. The BBII is roomy enough that having the gas tank in the rear does not cause too much clutter, even when hunting 2 people.

-Bill

 

[Mike Petitto]

The search for balance is usually the reason the tank ends up near the bow. In my BB III with the full six gal. tank, deep cycle battery, motor, and myself all at the stern, the boat will porpoise without moving all the other stuff forward. Since my tank is in the stern I have switched to a lawn tractor battery for running the nav. lights. If I were to swithch from my old Johnson 25, two stroke, to a new fourstroke motor I would deffinately move the tank forward. The weight difference between the two motors is too great to ignore.

Mike

 

[Ed Askew]

Balance. My tanks are up in the bow as well. My Prodrive weighs 200lbs, I weigh 220, the battery 25 lbs, gas tanks 60 lbs when full. The typical thing to do is set them all in the rear. That's 505 lbs in the back, nothing in the front. I'm looking to draw minimum water; last weekend with a hard north wind blowing all the water out of the marsh for 2 days, didn't even have the luxury of much water was running through mud only. Probably wouldn't have made it with everything in the back.

Ed.

 

[Andrew]

weight and practicality. The space in the bow is tough because of the "V" ... so, I added a shelf for the tank to sit on. The anchor sits beneath the shelf snug as a bug. I use the rear "gas space" for trash, decoy bags and other stuff that will inevitably get wet because it's a very wet space.

If I want to get the bow up for safety I simply adjust the motor.

 

[Carl]

Balance!
Also, getting weight out of the rear of the boat will give you a little more draft at the stern. In some spots, that means the difference between floating & pushing mud, which is a big difference when you are poling.

 

[Bill Ferrar]

In my barneget I keep the gas tank in the back so that I can pull the bow into the marsh and hunt facing the stern. If the tank was in the back my feet would hit the tank.