[outbound]

Have the exact same set up as Z. Works great. Have gotten bad fuel and would alternate between changing them but was able to keep the boat going until we got wind. Went through 6 yes six filters with that episode. Impressed on me the need to carry as many spare filters for everything you can find room for. Fortunately have four fuel tanks so was able to switch to the other tanks for the rest of the trip. Learned to never fill all 4 tanks from the same source unless I knew it had good clean fuel.
The fuel filter mounted on the engine block of 4 hjte yanmars is a PIA. It’s attached with two bolts. Find getting the sensor out without chafing or tensioning the wires is easiest if you remove those two bolts. Then you can easily disconnect the wires, take off the protective steel cup and get to the filter.
Find it’s good practice to have a gallon or qt. of diesel stored in a separate container. You can use that to top off the racors without having to mess with the tanks after changing filters.
Also if you unbolt the fuel filter you have room to put something under the thing so you don’t get a diesel mess with a fuel filter change. Use sockets for this change and tighten lightly to allow me to do stuff with the thing held in my hand. I change the fuel filter with each oil change. I change the racors only when needed. I’ve found the smallest zip ties don’t scratch metal and are good for cleaning out most small clogged holes. Can take a razor blade to make them even narrower. Then run corrosion X then carb cleaner through them to clean out any residual junk.

 

[outbound]

Haven’t been filtering fuel before it enters the tanks. Does anyone here do that? What do you use?

 

[outbound]

We get yelled at if we take too long at the fuel dock. Try to run a tank down to 20% full before filling it. Figure that way mixing less old fuel with new and it gets new biobor right away. Try to wait until at least two tanks are low but sometimes until all are low if I know I can get a lower price in the near future (I.e. full up just after clearing out down the road at the next landfall). So may put in 100 to 150 gallons at a time. Just under 200 if really empty. At 2g/m that’s longer than any fuel dock will put up with so definitely see the logic of no prefiltering.
Every trawler I’ve been on has a for real polishing system and a day tank. You could have dead bodies floating in the fuel tank(s) and the engine would be fine. Has anyone here done something similar on their boat?