1972 F26 Fuel Tank Replacement

[vabeach1234]

I was able to remove the old 27 gallon galvanized cylindrical port side fuel tank this past weekend. All while in the water. Luckily I replaced the exhaust through hulls a few years ago with 4" diameter round ones so I could cap the thru hull at the exterior of the boat with some 4" rubber caps from the hardware store so I could remove the exhuast lines between the motor and the transom. I had to remove the exhaust lines in order to get the tank out. You should have seen the faces of my slip neighbors when I removed about 5' of glavanized pipe with elbows from the bilge. They stopped mid conversation and asked "What the hell is that doing on a boat?!" Way back when, Trojan used galvaniazed pipe to run from the top of the tank horizontally back to the fuel fills at the transom for the fill line. This pipe had 3 unions or elbows in it. That's where I had my fuel leak; at these unions. The fuel fill attached to the pipe with a rubber hose which pratically disintegrated when I started to disconnect it. After I removed the old tank and looked inside, the old tank looked great. I will take some pictures of the big empty void in the port side of the boat the all the components that I removed.

Next is build a platfrom for the new 31 gallon tanks that I bought to replace the old 27 gallon ones.

[The Dog House]

So you were able to remove the tank without removing the engine? That would be great news. I still have the original galvanized tanks and will need to replace them eventually. Are the new tanks a standard part or custom? If a standard part, what is the make and model number? Thanks for the info.

[vabeach1234]

Yes, the engine was still in the boat. I didn't even have to remove the exhaust mainfolds, just the exhaust hose and muffler between the engine and transom. The tanks I got were the poly thanks. Sorry guys, I just couldn't justify the cost of Aluminmum tanks for such an old boat. They are not moeller or tempo brand, some other brand and I got them online. I will get you the dimensions of them. Lets wait to see if they fit, you might be able to go bigger once I figure out how much clearance I have around these tanks once I get them installed.

The starboard side tank is going to be a bear hence me doing the port side first. I have to deal with the steering, holding tank and head intake on the starboard side. If it wasn't for the holding tank, I could have gotten a little longer tanks and a more capacity. One saving grace is that I replaced the original chain, steering shaft and steering box system long ago with seastar hydraulic system so the steering system shouldn't cause too much trouble if any.

[vabeach1234]

Here are some photos of the boat with the port side tank removed and the mock up new tank platform and tank. The new tank is 12" high and you need to add another 3" for the fill inlet. I will need to level the platfrom by building up the existing stiffeners that the plywood support will rest on. God I hate fiberglassing; especially in close quarters. The clearance above the tank is getting pretty tight after I level the platform. I purchased some plastic drainage mats to put under the tank so it will be another 5/8" tighter above the tank.

http://s853.photobucket.com/user/vabeac ... eplacement

[vabeach1234]

Installed some wood shims on top of the existing stiffeners to level out the future tank support. Used 5200 and screwed them down. Gonna glass them in next.

[vabeach1234]

Here is that photo of the tight bend at the fuel fill.



Here is the fuel fill support bracket I made.




I only put 25 gallons in it so far. She filled not problem with the fuel pump a full speed. And no spitting at the vent. While filling and after running I was checking all the connections by whipping a towel on them and smelling for gas. So far so good, not issues with leaks. I originally installed a 3 way valve to select which fuel tank to pull from. I'm going to eliminate this an just go with individual valves at each tank. I could not get up to WOT and I think the valve that I have installed is too restrictive. I still need to snug up the tank at the sides. These tanks expand when filled so I wanted to account for that before installing the final side supports.