fuel tank repairs

[woodbutcher]

THis tank is a 40 gal I am told. It is 48" long just under 32" wide and and average of 8" deep thats only a little over 7 cubic feet. It has been pulled back in the bilge. I will have to come up with a way to drain the ramaining fuel out of it then get it up and out. Here are some questions for those guys out there with more experiance than I,
1) There is no tank coffin, Should I build one?
2) I have read where people supported thier tanks with neoprene or other materials, What last longest?
3) current tank is aluminum, can I replace it with a plastic tank?

[woodbutcher]

ok the tank is out. I was talking with a friend about the boat he got me hooked up with a 60 gal tank to replace the 40 gal one with. After getting as much gas as we could hold in 2 cars 2trucks and my buddys trihull my wife and I decided to just go ahead and replace the stringer too. When we got the tank out we were glad we made that decision as the glass is seperating from the wood where there is wood then there are places that it is just plain broken.
The nice thing about this project is it is a family affairyou will see my youngest son working theball to empty the tank, and my wifes foot as she helped me get the tank out. then I cut the bulkhead out that was in frount of the tank. you can see it gives me another 16 inches to move the tank foward that space is completly empty. I think the next one is empty too, however I have not verified that yet. I came in to get a shower and wait till I have the proper protective gear then I will cut up the deck. I am also thinking of cutting out the twe boxes in the rear of the boat that are on the sides. I hate them and they take a huge amount of space I can use for .... idont know something i'll think of it later.

one more thing when I got this boat everyone told me there was not foam in it you can see from the pics there is foam in the boat. What i was amazed by is the foam is dry. well was dry it will rain tonight and get wet I dont mind as I intend to replace it anyway.

[woodbutcher]

gess you need the pics to look at ..... it helps when I include them in the post

[woodbutcher]

some more pics

[tsubaki]

Here is the Moeller site with tank sizes for you to figure out which one might replace the metal one.

http://www.moellermarine.com/afterma...rmanent_tanks/
Keep posting progress, you movin' fast!!

[RWilson2526]

Originally Posted by woodbutcher

, and my wifes foot as she helped me get the tank out. .

Be careful posting pics of your wifes feet....there's some pretty weird dudes hanging around here

[woodbutcher]

wilson you bet there is ..... I'm leading the pack........ you don't wana know what else I might be into.......lol

[randlemanboater]

Looks like you are doing a good job WB...keep up the good work.

When I put in my new tank, I used "Great Stuff" to secure it. It has held up so far, that was summer of 07 when I did that.

[woodbutcher]

(great stuff?) funny little yellow can?
I never thought of it I was planning on moving the bulkheads forward in the belly and hanging it from the botom of the new deck using polyester banding strapps ( of which I have plenty of and they dont cost a dime). in fact if I use a heat sealer on the banding and I protect it from sunlight it will last as long as ......hummm let me think that one out.
I like the idea of greatstuff for a few other things . Is it cheap?

[WinniDave]

I have used this product for a commercial project: http://www.fomofoam.com/boat_ship_and_pontoon.htm

I also use there foam while installing windows and doors, uses the same dispenser as the great stuff, but much better product for the $$.

Dave C.