Fuel tank removal
 

WELL MY 86 V20 IS BACK ON ITS REBUILT SHORELANDR TRAILER. NOW TO REMOVAL A FUEL TANK THAT WONT COME OUT. IT LIFTED THE BOAT OFF THE TRAILER AND IT STILL WONT COME OUT. :cry: GOING TO START CUTTING IT UP IN PIECES.

Be careful not to blow yourself up by making a spark and igniting the gas fumes while cutting the tank.

I believe those tanks were foamed in place. You are gonna need to somehow cut through the foam to release it. Guys here have done it successfully and I am sure they will chime in to help you sort it out. Don't give up!

Try a pressure washer around the perimeter.

we filled the tank with water prior to any cutting to get rid of vapors, even though the the tank was empty for over a year. i did try the pressure washer but that didn't help much. will be making a cable saw with stainless steel wire to try to cut foam once i remove the side panels of the tank.

you gave up too soon. Its just foam. Once you get enough away from both ends of the tank it WILL rock out.

You should not ever have to cut tank or deck.

Handsaw or even sawsall with 12" blade along with a pry bar to remove the chunks of foam will get it out in very short order.

Yes, cutting the foam along the sides of the tank made a world of difference. Also I see you have a setup to pull the tank, I found that pulling up on one side while cutting around the tank at some point it began to break free of the foam and that was all she wrote. After its out make sure you clean the compartment out completely, then you may want to re-glass the interior or reseal it to your liking. Good luck and keep up the pictures!!
:nice:

well after using a power washer to remove some foam, a saw-all to cut some foam out, a engine lift that ripped out the fuel sender. and a come-a-long lifting the boat off the trailer. WE GOT THE TANK OUT! we cut out the top of tank, removed some of the baffles and drilled large holes into bottom of tank and cutting from hole to hole. we were able to remove some panels from bottle and lift the end of the tank with a come-a-long. hope the pictures explain better.:beer:

here is the tank outside the boat
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR ADVICE IN REMOVING THIS GREAT BIG "PIA" LEARN ALOT
JET:nice:

Congrats on getting the tank out Jet. One job scratched off the list. :beer:

Welcome to the elite order of the Wellcraft V20 in deck fuel tank remover guild.

Now,

Next time siphon all 60 gallons ( it never happens when you come back from a tuna trip and only have 10 gallons in the tank does it?)out the sending unit hole through the garboard drain plug and into every gas can, milk jug, and other unapproved containers to run through your truck, lawn mower, wife's car, etc. Flush the tank with copious amounts of fresh water which will get all the remaining gas out and help to kill all the grass next to your driveway for the next three summers, except for the dollar weed. Go to the local car wash and drop 10 dollars worth of quarters into the machine, put on your scuba mask and commence cutting out the foam and relocating it into every orfice of your body. Leave your truck running so you can make a quick getaway when the owner of the car wash sees what your doing. You may or may not want to disconnect your bilge pumps because all that loose foam is gonna clog up your drain hole and all that water on the ride home is gonna slosh around triggering your float switch and dump slimy bilge water onto the car next to you at the corner of Keene Rd and Belleair in Clearwater Fla if you go to the same car wash I did. If you're lucky it will be a convertable Toyota Solara. When you get home cut a few holes in the top of the tank that will rip out when you put the chain through them to jack the tank out with the floor jack you have set on the large beam laid across the gunnels. Watch your deck flex and then crack as you continue jacking trying to get out the tank which was set off kilter at the Wellcraft factory back in 1985 on a Friday afternoon at 4:55 pm. When it finally does "pop" out chunk it in the front yard and go grab a cold beer.

You're a member of a prestigious fraternity now.

:sun:

I don't know - that tank looks pretty good. You should probably just put it back in.

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

if I did that I would have drilled right thru the hull...:nut:

Congrats, now get that baby runnin':clap:

it was an experience learning and reading the different ways other owners have used to remove their fuel tanks. But i do owe a bunch of thanks to my girl friend's dad who was a commercial fisherman and a boat builder. i was a bit worry about drilling through the tank and into the hull, but we we determine to get it out once and for all. As for why its removal. it was over 15 + years old and i didn't know how the PO had taken care of the boat. The aviator in me wanted a peace of mine, I want to zero time this boat as much as possible. so now i have nothing left in this boat, motors gone, wires removed, tanks out, all wood removed and ready to be sanded,and refinished, fuel lines out, bow rail off for cleaning and polishing. wire and cable ready to be picked up at west marine, and will start looking for a good deal on 60 gal fuel tanks. Again thanks everyone for your help and advice.

Jet, sounds like you're on the right course. Good luck with the rebuild and keep those photos coming. As previously stated, we love boat porn here.
Tight lines and clear skys.

I have an almost new custom made tank in my garage for going on 4 years now. These posts almost motivate me to actually change it out.......well, almost.

If your bow rail mounting hardware is corroded you should consider going to www.marinepartdepot.com (look in "Bimini Hardware") and getting some new stainless steel stuff to replace it.

I was pulling myself up onto the deck and broke one of the crappy Perko type pot metal pieces. It wasn't very expensive to replace - each part was a few cents less than $10.00. It's a little more important on mine because I cut out the front section of the rail, so there's more stress on the fittings when the rail takes a load, but it looks nice too.

well i got a new alum. 60 GAL. fuel tank on its way from the original mfg. (now called RDS,) I had the model nbr and they had a new tank with the same model nbr in stock. now to figure how to reinstall it , no way on:nice: foam for me.

what kind of cost did you have to pay for a new tank?