Need a new fuel tank

[mondofromredondo]

Not that I have any first hand experience. But I thought I may have to replace my tank or repair it at one time.

Contacted the guy in Huntington Beach, California for pricing on a new tank as he is the same guy that built the tanks for these boats back then.

His price as I remember for my 34 was somewhere around $700 as I remember.

Given the age and quality of a Pacific Seacraft it doesn't seem to warrant a repair of that size and magnitude given you've already gone thru the effort to yank the tank.

A fresh new tank would give you the peace of mind that the boat itself gives you.

Sucks to have to blow that much money but then boats are not cheap.

Replace it and forget it for another 20 years. If you repair it you still have a 20 year old tank in there with plenty of unseen aging issues.

Best of luck

Keith
'88 PSC 34
S/V Charity Rose

[AlLorman]

Well, I did it. I epoxied an aluminum plate over the small hole in the front of the tank and then covered the lower rear end of the tank with three to four layers of glass and epoxy and applied two layers of epoxy only on the rest of the the tank. I followed the West System directions, including using the two part aluminum etch to clean and improve adhesion.

I have also removed the fiberglass panel in the bilge that caused the crud to get stuck against the tank int he first place.

Check back in a few years to see how this worked out. ;-)

Al

[apogee1mars]

Originally Posted by AlLorman

Well, I did it. I epoxied an aluminum plate over the small hole in the front of the tank and then covered the lower rear end of the tank with three to four layers of glass and epoxy and applied two layers of epoxy only on the rest of the the tank. I followed the West System directions, including using the two part aluminum etch to clean and improve adhesion.

I have also removed the fiberglass panel in the bilge that caused the crud to get stuck against the tank int he first place.

Check back in a few years to see how this worked out. ;-)

Al

Good luck with that. Be sure to inform any precious cargo. Always run your blower.

[AlLorman]

While I appreciate your concern, I fail to see the basis for it. Diesel is not very volatile, so running the blower has no real impact, other than esthetic. A bilge full of diesel is still unlikely to explode. The fuel in my tank contacts nothing other than aluminum. Even if some of it touches the epoxy, that is not a concern; PSC builds its new tanks entirely out of fiberglass and epoxy. And if a new leak does develop down the road,it is very unlikely to be catastrophic and quite likely to be detected as the first one was: by fuel in the bilge.

Al

[PorFin]

Originally Posted by AlLorman

While I appreciate your concern, I fail to see the basis for it. Diesel is not very volatile, so running the blower has no real impact, other than esthetic. A bilge full of diesel is still unlikely to explode. The fuel in my tank contacts nothing other than aluminum. Even if some of it touches the epoxy, that is not a concern; PSC builds its new tanks entirely out of fiberglass and epoxy. And if a new leak does develop down the road,it is very unlikely to be catastrophic and quite likely to be detected as the first one was: by fuel in the bilge.

Al

Al,

Great job. You're absolutely correct about the overblown volatility danger. Hope the patch gives you years of reliable service.

[apogee1mars]

Your correct, Nothing to worry about. It is just diesel. Heck the flash point is all the way up there 143 °F. I was thinking gasoline. Me bad....

[apogee1mars]

Originally Posted by PorFin

Al,

Great job. You're absolutely correct about the overblown volatility danger. Hope the patch gives you years of reliable service.

You said "overblown"...very punny...