Re: Fuel Tank Support
Strick:
I continue to be amazed at the amount of work you are doing and the quality of it; makes me want to take a sabatical (sp.?) from my career and go to town on my '78 23' Sceptre. If this is of any help to you and the rest of the CSC members, I had the exact same problem on my boat. After cutting out the delaminating/rotting "floor" of the fuel tank compartment, and cleaning up the mess and painting with Interlux BilgeKote, I fashioned a new "floor" out of Starboard (3/4"). However, instead of making the floor an exact replica of the original, I cut it to rest directly on top of the keel stringer, with the width varying from the aft section to forward section (wider aft, narrower forward) to conform to where it meets the inside of the hull. Also, where it meets the hull, I cut the edge at an angle to conform to deadrise, so that where the Starboard meets the hull I have two flat surfaces mating, instead of a "hard point". When I mounted the Starboard floor, I bedded it down heavily with 4200 on top of the keel stringer and where the edges met the hull. The purpose of this was to pick up rougly an additional 2-4" of height in the compartment, allowing for larger tanks. The new tanks I had fabricated (replaced a single 80 gal. with one 65 and one 45) have a "V" section at the bottom. That is, there is a flat pad at the bottom of the tank approx. 6" wide, then sections on either side that follow an angle parallel to the deadrise until they meet the vertical sides of the tank. When installing the tanks, I did not foam them in. Instead, they sit on the Starboard floor, in turn resting on the keel stringer, and lag bolted into the sides of the compartment. This design allows plenty of air circulation around both tanks, with all bilge water running underneath the now-sealed Starboard floor. It also allowed for an additional 20 gallons or so of tankage due the increased height.
I know I should have probably fabricated a proper floor out of an appropriate cor material and glassed it in, but my skills in that area are lacking. Also, I will admit, it was a major PITA measuring all the various dimensions in that compartment. However, I believe I kept all the measurements and "blueprints" I created if this would be of use to anyone.
Happy Holidays,
Chris
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