Anyone on board that can explain how one of these works? It is on a 90 foot Hatteras sportfish and I am trying to make sense of it. Thanks!
Never seen that set up before. But from looking at top set of valves, apparently used for ballasting or consumption of fuel.
UPPER 4 valves.
The first valve on you left would be the first valve you start with. You get to choose on drawing fuel FROM 3 options:
A: From Aft Mid Keel
B: From Fwd Keel
C-E: From either Fwd Mid Keel, Aft Keel or Cockpit. (If you choose this option, youâll need to specify which of these 3 tanks, C, D or E, using the valve all the way to your right.)
Third valve from your left. This would be the valve you touch when choosing where to pump fuel TO. You have 3 options:
A: To Aft Mid Keel
B: To Fwd Keel
C-E: To either Fwd Mid Keel, Aft Keel or Cockpit. (If you choose this option, youâll need to specify which of these 3 tanks, C, D or E, using the valve second from your left.)
Better instructions should be posted. Maybe a line diagram? Disclaimer: Donât take my word on this, read the instructions, not liable if you run an engine dry or fill a slip with fuel.
The BOTTOM three valves look like theyâre used for the Dirty Oil Pump when doing an oil change or transferring dirty oil to shore. I really canât help you with this because the labeling is too blurry at the bottom & I think the valve handle on the left is covering an option & the guy taking the picture right foot is too distracting. He should put on some shoes or put some lotion on that crusty thang.
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Thanks for your take on it. The top 4 are the ones I am concerned with for the fuel flow. Previous captain, (the one with the feet!), said the engines and gens all pull off of tank A and you have to transfer fuel to that tank. Itâs just not making sense to me, I may have to call Hatteras on Monday.
In that case, if youâre not ballasting or loading, that manifold just got a lot easier.
The second from left valve, âTransfer To C, D, Eâ can be forgot about. You will not be transferring to those tanks or using that valve. Put tape on the handle & forget about it.
The 3rd valve from left will always be in the A position. A is the only tank youâll be filling. Tape the handle in place & forget about it too. Only fill tank A.
If you want to suck out of B tank: on the first valve on your left, select B & start filling the A tank.
If you want to suck out of C tank: Put the first valve on your left to C-E. On your very right valve, select C & start filling the A tank from C tank.
If you want to suck out of D tank: Put the first valve on your left to C-E. On your very right valve, select D & start filling the A tank from tank D.
If you want to suck out of E tank: Put the first valve on your left to C-E. On your very right valve, select E & start filling the A tank from tank E.
I couldnât find anything YouTube but if you figure this out you should consider posting a video on there. Also, search on a yatchy or Hatteras forum, maybe someone with hands on experience was confused too & posted what they discovered. Good luck.
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That makes a lot of sense and I appreciate your help on this. I will be back at the boat on Wednesday of next week and will give it a go. If it works properly I will make sure and post a video also. Thanks for the input!
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Iâve been thinking about this manifold & how yachties might do things. The way the manifold is set up now in the picture is to pump out of A, going into D. Thatâs contrary to what you said the departing captain mentioned. Also, I assumed that this manifold isnât connected to the engines & generators. Do the gens & mains have another manifold where they draw fuel or are they hard piped directly to the A tank & nothing else?
If the manifold in the picture is used for engine fuel supply & return too, then it would need to be left at: First valve on left at position A & third valve from left at position A while underway or when the generators are running.
I really need to get with the folks from Hatteras. The way it was explained and looks is that both engines and gens run directly off of the A tank. I had not even thought about the return aspect of it so I appreciate you bringing that up also.
@Ranger1 Contact Sams Marine. They are the authority on older Hatteras yachts. Their service is excellent. It helps if you have the hull number as they have the layouts for most older Hatteras.
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Thanks for the tip. I will try reaching out to them tomorrow!
It is a transfer manifold, transfer is the magic word, the valve labels clearly indicate the source and destination. Donât overthink it.
Some place else will be a switch to control the transfer pump, on or off. There should also be a means to select which tank or tanks feed the consumers. The returns are what you really need to understand.
The returns ARE the critical piece here.
The engine(s) and generator(s) themselves likely have their own manifold somewhere. It might have ganged valves that send the fuel return back to whatever tank you are sucking out of. It also might not, you may be able to return fuel to whatever tank you choose.
Not saying I did this, but if it is the latter it is not hard to return fuel to the wrong tank which might happen to be full and leave a nice expensive trail of diesel behind you. Speaking of dumping fuel, what stops you from transferring all your fuel right on out the vents? That may well be possible.
What I did when faced with a delivery and a strange to me valve system like this is spend a few hours tracing it all out and making a nice printout on a laminated sheet that I hung on a line off the manifold and it had a table of valve settings for desired functions. Calling the builder isnât a bad idea either 
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I appreciate all of the help. Spoke with Ed at Samâs Marine and he was very helpful. I should have this worked out this week and will keep the thread updated.
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Not sure when they started doing it but Hatteras used to supply a manual and drawings at delivery. Might be one aboard in a binder that would be helpful for this and other systems / gear.
Sand Pebble explained it properly above.
Pay attention underway because the service tank is consumed relatively quickly and you have to keep fiddling with the transfer pump and fuel management every few hours.
The 90 is kind of an odd duck sportfish at 120 tons displacementâŚ. Bet the wake is spectacularâŚâŚ
Hatteras built a few battlewagons and models the devotees liked. They built some dogs too that couldnât get out of their own way and the models were discontinued after a few hulls.
Last Hatteras 77 conv I was on burned thru entire service tank in 3 hrs at 20 kts and 90 minutes at full boreâŚâŚ so pay attention
Shame how Hatteras flamed out. I built a bunch there for Owners and I really loved the people and relatively straightforward nature of the boats in the heyday⌠itâs all gone now.
Good luck with the new ride CapâŚ. And watch that fuel in the service tk cause that pissant fuel transfer pump is barely going to keep up with the burn if youâre running hard.
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iâll just say, âlooks hopeless to meâ, I think loading a tanker is a bit more self explanatory!!! hahahahha
Delivery jobs can run into plumbing and wiring that is nuts to anyone but some guy who is not there and no one can find.
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I was Jr. eng. on the Miller Freeman and discovered mis-labled F.O. manifolds ⌠idk how the hell Chief Steve got thru that but maybe âEDâ 'compensated. ⌠anyway this may of been about the time we had to dip into some old fuel and we had to run both purifiers about 2 weeks till we got the bacteria out of them. Iâd NEVER want to go thru that bs again.