We were looking for a way of storing extra kersene for the stove. Since we were cruising, the gallon or so in the tank that goes with the stove didn't hold enough for us. I really didn't want to just stuff cans throughout the boat, I wanted to find a place that was not usable for anything else and store it there.

Searching nooks and crannies of Rainbow Chaser I located an ideal spot. In the very back lazerette, below where you sit when steering, on the starboard side, is a void that is not good for much. There are upright plywood braces on either side, the steering quadrant in the middle and on the starboard side ... nothing. It's an odd shaped place and anything you 'd store there would fall out into the void under the quadrant. Ideal!

I made a template of cardboard, cutting it to fit each side. I taped them all together and tried it. It was even with the front of the ledge above and filled the entire odd-shaped hole. It even passed the test of whether I could get it in and out of that spot. After all, if I welded it up and I was unable to work it in, what would be the point?

I took my template and cut each piece out of an old road sign. I took the pieces to the local technical school where I was taking a class to weld aluminum, then welded them all together. After drilling a hole in the top and screwing a filler cap device to it, I tried it. Great fit!

Now, would it be worthwhile? I got a gallon container and started filling it. 7 1/2 gallons later, it was a great success. That much kerosene would work just great.

After our first cruise, Nellie was fed up with our kerosene stove. I received an ultimatum - go propane, or don't eat. Now, that got my attention, so it wasn't long until we had a nice new shiny propane stove. But, what about the kerosene tank? Did it become a total waste? Not really, because it does just as good a job of holding diesel, and we can always use more of that.