SF18 factory 47 gallon fuel tank filling problem

[gofastsandman]

Spent the last 5 hours getting to the top of the tank.The fuel fill is in the rear with the sender and pickup and the vent is forward.It would seem that the fill hose was in very bad shape.it took 20 minutes delicately sniping the wire and hose from the fill neck at the tank then I hit wall.I cannot get the large filler line to pull out from the hull between the tank well and the forward gas service.I tried everything.....even pulling the filler line out to give it more room.can there be a hose retainer holding it??I can tell that the filler hose was wasted....definatly kinked at the bend to the tanks filler and below deck forward of the tank well its pulling apart as I try to pull it out.I am geting some good pics. but am worried that I am in trouble.I dont want to have to drill a access hole to see whats up,will have to try again tomorrow.
g'nite

My `89 is foamed in.

[deepsushi]

When I replaced the fill hose on my 18 I had the same problem getting it out. There was no retaining clamp on mine but the the fill hose was pinched between the liner and the bulkhead. It was a bitch to get out and I fought with it for hours but eventually it did come out. I think I lubed mine up with some dish soap to help get it to move.

The hose takes a "S" shaped path and the bends are short so the hose gets bound up in the available space. It is almost impossible to move the hose once it is installed as it is so stiff due to the reinforcing wire.

I did manage to get mine back in and I successfully reconnected the fill without having to cut any extra access holes. It would have been a lot faster to cut a hole and add a pie plate but I did not want to go that route.

It was a about a 30 pack job -- and a half box of band aids to cover up the scrapes and cuts on my forearms and knuckles. Good luck - its definately not a fun project...

[makade]

I have a pie plate adjacent to the fill. It came in handy a couple of weeks ago as I replaced my vent fitting, I honestly think that was the last piece of 33 year old hardware left. I had thought of installing speakers up forward where the pie plate is, but I need a stereo first. When I did my hoses i had the tank out so I had a real good pull alignment wise. Its absolutely criminal if they started foaming around the lines post Potter. I got to say I was impressed when I saw the duct glassed into/under the floor that the hoses route threw. That could be a detail that was lost after the early years?

I did notice that my original 30 gallon tank was placed in the rear of the tank well, and the remainder of the space forward was filled with foam. Maybe when they switched to the bigger 47 gallon tanks they started adding foam forward of the molded in tank well?

[CaptSeaCraft]

Holy Cow.....They never tought the filler hose was gonna need to be changed!Finaly it came out..at 8:00 this morning...(i started at 6:30)and yes I was a little late to work,LOL.Sadly I did have to drill a small access hole,there was no other way,Then I actually had to dig it out of the foam and cut it in half behind the acces hole to get it to budge.the hose was massacered....it was in such bad shape no wonder it did not take any fuel! I pulled a new 2 1/2 fill and 5/8 vent along with a new ground when got home today.I stopped there till tomorrow and just spent a hour cleaning up tools and whathaveya'.I must say this was a very tough job.I had no help and was feeling defeated a couple times but persistance and determination will always prevail.I am building a U turn out of brass fittings to correct the kinking issue due to the fill neck facing the stern.I took a few pics as I went.There will be more as I spend the tediouse time of hooking up the hose's,stripping sealant,rewiring,and re-bonding the fuel tank hatch,console,and t-top.Since I am a Glazier,auto/boat glass replacement technition by trade,I will find this kinda fun.Sealing stuff up is what I do.Note the sealant around the docking light.I just changed the bulbs out 2 months ago and rebonded them with uerathane........it was so pretty till last night...LOL.well,gotta go.I will send finishing shots as I go.I plan on being finished on friday.
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