Old Fuel Tanks

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Here's something to keep an eye out for: Those older boats, like mine, that have steel fuel tanks, you need to keep an eye out for leakage. I had a staining of diesel fuel on the teak below the nav station and immediatly knew what was going on: water in the fuel tank eventually led to corrosion of the tank and slowly leaked out. Since our tanks are sealed in, you cannot visually inspect it. The replacement was somewhat straight forward, but does take some woodworking skills.
I ordered the tank from Joe Palmer a few years ago, but the replacement is available from Tartan these days. The new one is aluminum and easy to handle. Getting the old one out take an offset router with a straight bit ( a sawzall would work too) that will follow the curvature of the hull. this will cut of the top of the compartment that is glassed in. The rest is just screwed down. Installing the new one, I squirted a little (just enough) expanding foam around the bottom of the compartment before setting the new tank in place. Then secured the existing straps, re-attatched the hoses/lines and resucured the lid, glassed in the outer edge and repainted. .......Now if I can just figure out how to get the diesel out of the teak....

Down2TheC · **Posted:** 02 Jan 2007 19:28

A fine tip that I hope I never need. Exclamation

Tartan37403 · **Joined:** 24 Oct 2006 12:51 **Posts:** 48

Our 1982 T37 had the aluminum tank as original. About 6 years ago, although we had had no problems, did some preventive work. Had two inspection plates cut into tank(on each side of the tank baffle), had the inside scrubbed and the old fuel removed. Also checked to make sure there was no screen on the pick up tube. Interestingly, we had no water at all in the tank. The individual who did this work said that regular replacement of the tank fill o-ring would prevent many problems. It was money well spent-much crud in our tank.

Tartan37403

Tom Klin · **Joined:** 25 Dec 2008 20:23 **Posts:** 10

Greetings! I have a leaker and need to get in through the top for a probable replacement. Although it looks like a few years have passed, do you remember how close to the hull you cute the panel? Second, did you have to remove any trim or cabinetry to get the panel or the tank out of the cavity? I like your idea of using a router with a stright bit. Thanks much for your feedback in advnace. Tom

Ardea · **Joined:** 19 Mar 2007 16:40 **Posts:** 195

Tom, here's a couple pics I took when I replaced my tank. I cut the tab pretty close to the hull using a Fein Multi Tool. Maybe a 1/2" lip was left. It doesn't need to be that close but was easy to do with the Mult Tool.

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tank1.JPG [ 130.28 KB | Viewed 0 times ]

Ardea · **Joined:** 19 Mar 2007 16:40 **Posts:** 195

I meant to post 2 different pics, sorry. Embarassed

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tank3.JPG [ 118.2 KB | Viewed 0 times ]

Tom Klin · **Joined:** 25 Dec 2008 20:23 **Posts:** 10

Thanks so much. I'll go at it today with my trim router . . . .

Tom Klin · **Joined:** 25 Dec 2008 20:23 **Posts:** 10

I have made progress - the tank is out and I've gone through one round of cleaning/destinking the bilge using a commercial bilge cleaner that smells like Pine Sol. Now the boat smells like diesel and Pine Sol. I've heard that gin is effective in neutralizing diesel stink. . . .I plan to give that a try.

Now onto solving other problems . . . perhaps someone can help solve the following mystery? By way of background, my diesel tank ruptured while our boat sat on the hard in summer 2011 (I was in Brazil for work, etc.). When the rupture occurred, some 34 gallons of diesel flooded the bilge and sat there for as much as two months while I was away. After pumping the fuel out of the bilge (and the remaining 15 gallons out of the tank), I noticed that the hollow keel attached to the aft porton of the lead keel has a big diesel stain. Presumably there are fasteners (keel bolts?) accessible from the bilge well, and perhaps the diesel has softened or dissolved the sealant/caulking? I have not yet cut into this part of the keel yet. Anyone have an idea how the diesel travelled from inside of the bilge through to the after portion of the keel?

Ardea · **Joined:** 19 Mar 2007 16:40 **Posts:** 195

Tom, do you have a keel/centerboard or fixed keelmodel? With the center board setup the bottom of the bilge is the top of the lead keel covered in a thick coat of gel coat or white tinted resin. Once through the resin I suppose the diesel can migrate where ever it can. It took me a long time to get the diesel smell out of the bilge when my tank leaked. It flows into little cracks in that resin and is difficult to remove. I ended up chipping some of it out an covering back up with polyester filler after cleaning.

Tom Klin · **Joined:** 25 Dec 2008 20:23 **Posts:** 10

Our boat is a centerboarder (#344). Based on your experience, it sounds like there will be no easy solution. I guess this does cause me some concern that the diesel worked its way from the bilge through to the outside of the keel, suggesting that seawater will work its way from the outside in? Well, we'll see what we find. Its finally going to cool down in Connecticut this week, so I may not have an answer for a while. Thanks again for your feedback.

tom

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Old Fuel Tanks

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