^^^ ugh. That's... not pretty.
Attempt #1 at trying to suck (whatever) from the bottom of my tank was unsuccessful. I couldn't "steer" the hose from the suction pump with any degree of control. I may try taping the hose to a piece of dowl or stiff tubing and try again. Sorta low on the priority list at the moment.
What's moving up my list is rethinking the configuration of my fuel system. My primary (Racor) is port-side in the engine bay, about even (fore and aft) with the shaft coupling, and low. Bottom of the bowl is only an inch or so above the stringer in the bilge. The secondary filter is on the starboard side of the engine. Both are not easy to get to. Having just changed my fuel-filters last weekend, and having the aches and groans associated with wedging myself into unnatural positions to do it... I'm pondering whether there might be places I could mount the filters that would make the whole process easier to do.
One thought is to build an "upright", as I did for the sea-water strainer, and mount the filters on it where they will be visible and accessible. I'm not sure yet where would be a good spot for that upright, as I don't want to block access to heat-exchanger, transmission, shaft-coupling, etc.
But... before I even go down that path, I'm curious to know whether there are important reasons for having the filters in their current locations. Does the primary have to be lower than the tank? Does the secondary have to be within some max-distance from the injector head? Does the lift pump have to be between the primary and secondary? Is there any reason NOT to have the lift-pump, primary filter and secondary filter all side-by-side (or stacked?) on the tank side of the engine bay?
My fantasy is that I'd be able to pull the quarterberth panel, see at a glance whether there's water or sediment in the bowl, and drain/change/bleed as needed, all at eye-level.
Hey, a guy can dream...
Bruce