Fuel Tank Replacement Project
 

1993 Grady White Escape 209, 20' center console
fuel tank size 82 gallons

Replacement tank will also be aluminum.

And we are underway.... Haul, clean, empty, pump out fuel tank and deliver into winter shop, owned by a very generous friend who I am already thinking about how to compensate for his offering to take in the boat. And then i was able to hire his young employee who will do much of the removal and replacement when he is not tuna fishing! He is also a marine trade school grad, so win, win for me. Charlie also drove the launch so we are familiar with each other and he already said there were positions he struggled with getting some of the wiring and hoses disconnected, so no way I was going to be able to do it with my replaced knee...

But we already found something we did not expect. A full deck was under the console, when I was thinking we would be exposing the tank in its own coffin when the console was pulled.... More next week.

Been there done that… a ton of work, good luck Ross

Good luck Ross!

It is ugly but it is out! Had to cut the deck...

What a suck job
I did mine several years ago but the deck was just glasses plywood and not as “finished”

Nasty oxidation. Was that foamed in?

I put in some plastic tanks. If you put aluminum back in I would coat it with something. West system or a underbody spray tonslow down the cancer.
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No Beamie, it was not foamed in fortunately. But it was bad... We are talking about what to use for a barrier coat.

No trying to be funny but this thread makes me happy I don't own a boat anymore.

No offense taken, Paul. It is a solid 20 footer and the tank did last just under thirty years. It is my good fortune to have a young guy in the marine trades and his boss who are enjoying the project, as I am home sick as a dog with this cough and crud.... They called in another friend of mine who is the fiberglass expert (he stretched a couple of the wicked tuna boats 4') to decide where to cut for the easiest/cleanest repair. It is good to have good talented friends...

You can have the tank coated from some fabricators…
See post # 59 on this THT link…
If the tank still has a legible label you may be able to order the same tank or obtain the original spec sheet..

Lookin good Ross

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating...-repair-3.html

Tank is 90% built. Local guy, Fraser Custom Welding and Marine Fabrication. Same price as the others that I got prices from. Old tank was dropped to him today as he was planning on using the old pick up... but from reports I heard, that might not be possible as it is two parts and needs both male and female threading. He told me the old one would be in perfect condition, but I had my doubts. The pics proved him correct. Hard to believe that is the inside of the thirty year old just removed tank!

Obviously things like oil tanks usually rot from outside to in unless you have a steel tank that holds a pocket of water

You are so lucky Ross that you didn’t end up blown over the side on a fishin trip and lookin like jay leno.
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Ross, no offense was meant. i just don't see me getting involved with projects like yours. No at 75.

Did you smell more gas then normal?




You'll buy another boat by April

Yes. Wasn't strong, but enough to let me know there were fumes leaking out of the tank. Would notice it when I opened seat cover to access battery switch. I was venting bilge just as if it were an inboard. That was why I only put in 20 gallons max at a time... Never had any oil sheen in bilge pump water. So while I could not inspect the tank, I had symptoms to know it was overdue.

Can't let Jeanne see this post:soon:

Moving forward. Deck epoxied back down.

Wow! That’s a ton of work…. Looking good..

I guess the builder never expected the tank to need replacing …. ;-)

Wow way above my abilities. Impressive. Surprised the tanks in the bow . But then again what do I know lol
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I have some talented friends...

Thursday we will pull it outside and grind 4" wide strip around the cut. Then glass it in with 2" and 4" cloth (mat, roving, whatever the expert told us to use) The some white paint and clean up the deck before dropping the console back in.

After exploring all the options, time, and cost of redoing the electrical panel and switches, I am leaning strongly towards just reinstalling my original and plugging in the working harness.... Just not sure I would get 2K worth of value out of that project right now. And they all worked when I hauled out. I am planning on adding a few LED strips under the cockpit rod holders (courtesy of Wayne. Thank you!) Probably change out running lights and cockpit lights with LEDs. And a new bilge pump, as current one came with the boat 15 years ago.

Looks great Ross.....that should give you some peace of mind knowing it was done right. Console and wiring next?
Sorry didnt see your last post....ill bet the new led lights will look great

Ross you can buy just new switch covers and a tool on Amazon cheap if the old ones are beat. It’s an option

https://www.amazon.com/Rocker-Marine.../dp/B01C6B7WAG
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I'm sorry I couldn't help myself... LOL

Attachment 69671

So here is the back story on those patches... I gave the fabricator the drawing for the tank that Grady White gave me, all nicely marked with model number, year, etc. Picked up the tank, dropped it in the boat, and it didn't line up... Totally off the marks for being visible from the deck access plates. So out it came and back to the fabricator for a $200 change order. The lesson here is get your old tank out first and give it to the fabricator. No one to blame here. I gave him the drawing to build from...

I did call Grady with a "what the hell" attitude and their response was 'thank you. we will make a note of this in our file....'

Chit happens Ross,,,, you’ll be out there soon enough cap…..
GL

Leave it to Ray to notice ...he has a very sharp eye for the details.:wave:

I found the deck patch was absolutely solid to stand on with just the West System Six 10 we used the other day. But, since I always overbuild... we ground around the seam and glassed in two layers of 17oz biaxial fiberglass cloth. Wetted and rolled out. (well actually the first pot kicked before we got one long side done due to a little fuzzy math....) But that biaxial stuff has to be bulletproof! Wish they had that when I was younger. Ripped out the Jensen stereo/CD player and the amp. A small blue tooth speaker on the dash will fit the bill... More progress.

Here I go again…. Ok, who’s stepping in it?

Lookin bulletproof, nice job

Attachment 69679

Look on the port side, Ray. That foot is on the deck, which is about 1.5" above the recessed area that receives the console and where we cut and glassed.

And looking at all the kneeling and bent knee required, there was no way I could have done this on my own.

Here is an overview of what happened (12/15/22) that I had explained to another group following this project;

So here is where buying local paid off. I had the tank built to the specs I got directly from Grady White. Dimensions are good, but the locations for the fill, vent, ground, pick up and sender were all pretty far off. Like 8 inches away from the inspection ports. So, the tank has gone back to the fabricator, and he will relocate them after taking measurements off old tank.... I would have been in a pickle if I had bought from the NJ company. And I am fortunate that someone else recognized the issue BEFORE the tank was installed and the deck was laid down... "Trust but verify" served me well in this process. (I have to wonder if I would have seen that so early if I had been doing this alone...)

Lesson is don't trust manufacturer's drawings and have it built after removing existing.... I sent Grady the info with pics... They are putting a note in their files...Whoop dee do.

Also got the new steering install underway Seastar NFB 4.2 Rotary. Had to lift motor off its bolts in order to make the turn with the cable without needing to make a new cut out where the cable exits aft.

Nightfighter
 

Check out aluminumalloyboats.com there are many alloy boat owners and builders from all over the world. I'm sure the coating info your looking for will be available there. Mike