Tankage and usable fuel

Like those sight gauges. Had Jim Smith with a large fuel tank under aft deck with fuel fill on the deck straight into the tank and a side deck fill. It was perfect for fueling and had a calibrated stick. I rigged a fuel filter with my Oberdorfer pump to polish the fuel after fishing on a bumpy day it would stir any crud in the tank for polishing. It was the best fuel tank setup of any boat we have had.

I used to empty the diesel tank on my sailboat, wipe out any crud with paper towels, then use windex glass cleaner and more paper towels to get the inside of the tank dry and clean enough to eat from it.
Never had a fuel problem during or after 27 Bahama cruises and another 30 Florida Keys journeys over the 14 years years I owned her.

How big was the tank? My arms aren’t long enough to reach the end of a 6’ long tank especially with baffles.

Small tank, sailboat: 50 gallons but only 40 usable as the suck-up tube was several inches above the tank bottom to avoid sucking crud.
In an emergency the tube could be pushed down to suck up every gallon.
(The previous owner was an experienced circumnavigator, I inherited his smarts

Good for you.
Sailboats however tend to have old fuel and have more problems because diesel
is secondary to wind and the sailboat fuel goes stale and more abused than any power boat's fuel.
Had a neighbor with an old sailboat and 20 year old diesel fuel: It started and it ran, but probably more luck than brains.
(He made it to Bimini and he was proud, I think he was reckless however)

I have also seen numerous boats, sail and power, sitting for years, then a new owner's go for a cruise and the whole thing shuts down because crud in the bottom of the tank gets into the filters. Game over, call Sea Tow.

Yes, there are many cheap ass sailboaters, some of them homeless and with mental
issues, but the same of course goes with cheap ass stink-potters on old beaten up trawlers with duct-tape holding it together.

I have seen hundreds from both camps, usually in the Keys and off the ICW North
of the Keys: North Lake and South Lake, pretty much midway between Fort Lauderdale and Miami: Some are sunk, some are almost sunk and some will be shortly.
Being an old live-aboard sailboat hippy in the Caribbean from the 1980's, I know how tough it can be to maintain a boat on zero income, been there, done that.
Some of these guys are not trying however, white trash on drugs, or good people on hard times, or both.
Sad either way, no respect for polluting and living on a piece of junk.

Yeah, we don't live in a perfect world, with responsible people operating well maintained boats, in a nice New England sea-side suburb, with a white picket fence, a lovely wife, 2 adorable kids and cute golden retriever with everybody living the American Dream in a clean and responsible manner: No drugs, no more than 2 drinks, never cheat on taxes and thou never screw da neighbor, break the speed limit or curse the Lord.

Perfect OR boring?