New fuel tanks for a Seafari 25
 

Well, I finally pulled the fuel hatch. It was both better and worse than I was expecting. The top of the tank is corroded where some 2x4 (!) bracing rotted up against it. They might be useable, but I think I would rather replace them with plastic. We will see. I am evaluating options right now. I can't find a pair of plastic tanks in the 50 gallon range that fit unless MAYBE I get some long skinny side by side ones. With E-10 and maybe E-15 on the horizon, I don't see new aluminum tanks being the trick.

Any opinions? Moeller doesn't seem to have what I need (~~ 34" x 30" x 12" deep). Maybe Kracor, but I had never heard of them until a google search.

Fish . . . Marine Connection has big poly fuel tanks at $3/gallon + shipping.

if you find some let me know, Im looking for tanks for My 25 too

If Bigshrimpin's contact comes thru that would be great. Plus they would be happy with a 4 tank buy.

http://www.themarineconnection.net/FuelWaterTanks.html

They said pricing is $3/gallon for Poly and $4/gallon for aluminum.

Awesome link! Have you ever used them? $3/gallon is 1/2 to 1/3 of retail that I have found, so that's great!

I bought a bunch of stuff from the store in 2004. It's all surplus stuff . . . I imagine shipping will be expensive. Strick's yellow 20cc has a Marine connection liquidators (maverick surplus) tank in it :)

I sent them an e-mail yesterday , no response as of yet

Is maverick surplus a company, or surplus from a maverick (brand/model) boat? I wonder if two tanks on a pallet wouldn't be bad to ship. I have a truck dock at work.

they emailed me,back and all they have are 36 gal 7,25"tall tanks that will fit, guess Im gonna build My own alumunum tanks.

Just an idea. There is a whole bunch of space forward of the forrward tank bulkhead. You could put 30-40 gallons there, probably more and the boat likes weight forward.

They give you a price? Moeller he some that might fit longitudinally but I am not sure how they would go in.

Also using the space forward isn't a bad idea, I guess I would have to install a hatch, but that's not rocket surgery.

heres the email from them
We have a 34 x 33 x 7.25 that is 36 gallons $164
We also have one that is 30 x 18 x 14 29 Gallons (this tank is not designed with a sending unit) $116

Not sure how low in the bilge you can go to fit this, but maybe it might fit.
$90- it is worth a look. Once it stops snowing and I pull a tank, I will see how much depth there is to be had.
http://greatlakesskipper.com/product...-gas-tank.html

too tall I believe, I have one of My old tanks out I can measure, Ill go by and post the dimensions later today. Its shaped similar to this tank with the beveled corners on the bottom , both tanks had corroded completly through half way up the sides where the wet foam was , heres a photo of how bad mine looked,

I have to look, but I think there was room in the vee under mine. Seeing as those are narrower but deeper, the might squeeze in between stringers? At $90, I thought I would look. Truck freight from that place is ~$220 to Boston. They have lots of tanks there.

Surplus from Maverick boats. Most of their inventory is surplus from various mfgs.

I had a friend measure mine at the shop, he said they are 34x29x 12.5 tall not counting the filler neck on the top, so 15.5 with the fittings .Mine were foamed in with about an inch if foam between them and on eiher end. The floor under them was flat with the top of the stringers, and thats how I rebuilt it. those look like they are very close to fitting!! Im gonna go by the boat today and do some measureing to see.

Hey Strech, Just my 2 cents worth. To me a gas tank is where you don't cut any corners. I understand keeping the cost as low as you can go, especially since I'm a cheap poor bastard and do the same, however be real careful on any used tank. The way I look at it, a water tank might be just great using 16 ga aluminum, not a gas tank, spend the extra and go with 14 ga to maybe even 12 ga for larger custom tanks. Good luck!!

If you want to pursue the forward tank idea, look at the pics posted by Blue Heron, Strick and me to get an idea of the space available. I think you would need to do it as a two tank side by side install because of the width of the access.

It will be close. Your critical dimension will be the distance between the inner stringers. There are three pairs of stringers in that boat plus the keelson. The original tank deck is flush with or immediately on top of the first (inner) set of stringers. You can see them on either side of the tank deck in Bilgerat's pics.

The inner stringers are the forward extension of the engine beds on a single I/O. In order to fit a 15"+ tall tank in there, it will have to fit between the inner stringers. If the stringers are more than 29 5/8" apart, it may just work. You can probably measure between the engine beds in the engine compartment to see where you stand.
Dave

Strick and I both put fresh water tanks under the cabin sole. Mine is 30 gallons. Strick can chime in on his, but I'm happy with mine. With full tankage and some gear in the cabin, this is how mine sits in the water:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps76ecb74c.jpg

With the forebody lift this hull has,you don't want it tail heavy. Unless you like spending a lot of time in the air, that is. The landings are nice and soft. :)
Dave

Ahhhh.....life at Breezy Palms is so nice!!! :)

when I pulled the floor under the tanks there was a 3/4" strip of plywood screwed to the top of the center keelson , the 1/2" plywood floor sat on top of it and it was flush with the top of the stringers. heres a pic I took of the aft tank bulk head wall as I was glassing it up, you can see the way the center keekson is rounded on top, I raised it with glass and ground it flat to bring it up to within 3/4" the level of the stringers and used 3/4 marine ply for the floor.

So I dug around a bit in the bilge today, and the keel stringer is a *lot* lower than the tank bottom in this hull (it IS a deep vee). Sitting here now I realize I threw out the paper I was working on, but it seems like from the rear bulkhead to the forward tank bulkhead, it is 20" from the top of the keel stringer to the deck. Call it 19" clearance in the middle, enough height for a 16-1/2" tank in the middle 24" or so, and 12-13" outboard of that atop the stringers to 34" wide. Plus the 2-2-1/2" for a filler hose.

Does anyone know if the keelson is full of wood? I am thinking backup batteries for bilge pump and VHF down there. But I don't want to screw into a 2x6 or something.

Keelson`s eat wood until they are full. They can wipe out a well stocked pantry in no time.
The good news is you can laminate over and lose some wax. Quit chuckin` my wood.

Cheers,
GFS

keelson is wood covered with glass, likely to be rotted inside.

I was hoping for a different answer, but suspected as much.

I pulled tanks. I will be putting in plastic tanks. If anyone local has an interest in them, let me know.

edit: nevermind, they are taken.

pics and a template here. Only one Moeller 5606 will fit due to length.

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...4&postcount=28