Replacement Fuel Tanks

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Chris Hartsfield

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Feb 9, 2022, 9:06:41 PM2/9/22
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Unfortunately we have a leak in the port side gas tank. Where is the best place to have aluminum replacements made?

1974 26 Sedan
60 gallon each tank.


Rico Adams

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Feb 9, 2022, 9:42:08 PM2/9/22
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Chris

I replaced two tanks on my 48 and got them from Coastline Equipment / Marine Tanks in Bellingham. Happy with them and the tanks. 

Rico Adams

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On Feb 9, 2022, at 6:06 PM, Chris Hartsfield <trihar...@gmail.com> wrote:

Unfortunately we have a leak in the port side gas tank. Where is the best place to have aluminum replacements made?

1974 26 Sedan
60 gallon each tank.


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Chris Hartsfield

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Feb 9, 2022, 10:03:30 PM2/9/22
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Thanks Rico,

That seems to be the place. I have seen that place mentioned in another fourm.

Chris

Gregory Roberts

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Feb 9, 2022, 11:21:31 PM2/9/22
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Chris,

I have replaced both tanks in my 26, one in 2020.  I had Harbor Marine in Everett pull the tank and they shipped it to Coastline in Bellingham to measure and copy the tank.  They make them about 2” shorter for easy re-installation.  I was very pleased with the work Harbor Marine did and Coastline in Bellingham makes quality tanks.

Greg Roberts

Walt Souza

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Feb 9, 2022, 11:28:07 PM2/9/22
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I replaced my rotten aluminum tanks on my 
26 with 2 plastic permanent under deck tanks, the cost was one fourth of new tanks from coastline , I live in Bellingham. The quality 
Of the aluminum they used was low grade like 
What Bayliner used. Not sure what they use now.


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Chris Hartsfield

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Feb 10, 2022, 10:58:47 AM2/10/22
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Walt,

Where did you get the plastic tanks? Are specifically for gas?

Chris 

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On Feb 9, 2022, at 9:28 PM, 'Walt Souza' via Tollycraft Boating Club Forum <tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

 I replaced my rotten aluminum tanks on my 

Walt Souza

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Feb 10, 2022, 12:16:31 PM2/10/22
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I used the tanks from Moeller Marine and yes the are for gasoline under deck permanent installation. I installed 2 of the 50 gal tanks. 
Walt

Brian Edmondson

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Feb 10, 2022, 1:58:44 PM2/10/22
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ATTN:  Chris Hartsfield
RE: Tank replacement

Hi Chris,

The previous owners of my '83 Tolly 26 had removed the original aluminum tanks because they were getting water in them - I believe from build-up of condensation - and somebody told them that plastic tanks wouldn't do that.  But also, what they did was an extremely poor installation.  I had to remove the port tank right away for safety reasons.  I talked to the fire department years ago about plastic fuel tanks and plastic gas cans; and my recall is that they REALLY do NOT like them, and that also influenced my decision.

Coastline was recommended to me by a very reliable and knowledgeable source who also shared his drawings with me, which I modified in AutoCAD and would be happy to share.  I have not yet posted them to my "Fuel System" folder on my Google Drive.

Coastline's  standard alloy for fuel tanks is 5052 Aluminum which is a good choice for your application and what I chose for my new tanks.  I mocked-up the fuel tank shape generically so I could test its installation on both the port and starboard sides of the engine compartment; you can see pics of that in my Fuel System folder.  I still have the mock-up and if you notice in the pics my cardboard mock-up wasn't perfect as Coastline built them accurately and there is just a slight difference in shape when I stacked them on top of each other, but they installed just fine.  I also went as big as I could go.  Coastline calculated them at 69 gallons, I had calculated 70, which matched the OEM tanks.  It was a tight squeeze, but I valued cruising range above physical space and ease-of-installation considerations; which is VERY much worth considering, I think.  Installation was NOT easy.  For example, to gain the space I needed to fit my new (King Starboard) custom battery box (behind the fule tank), I had to re-design the crutches that support the cockpit deck to gain ~2" so I could have room to pull the batteries out like a drawer, instead of having to lift them over the top of the battery box. The engine exhaust was a serious fit-issue as well.  FYI, I'm SUPER picky and I HATE all the standard battery boxes I looked at on the market, so I built my own... and needed more room for the larger group 31 Firefly Oasis house batteries I chose.  You can see a lot of this as well as the new crutches in my Symphony Wiring folder.  The crutches are not that easy to see because they are dark-blue stained African mahogany, but if you look close you can see that by using actual 2"x4" dimensional wood I was able to shape it so it was 2"x2" at the height of the battery box... allowing the side cover to be removed (four screws).  Lifting the batteries out is not a good solution in my opinion... a friend of mine tore his low back up doing that and the injury put him in pain for years.  

HERE IS A RELATED MESSAGE I INCLUDED IN AN EARLIER POST (REGARDING TOLLY MANUALS):
... and watch out for bad information... including from me and maybe especially YouTube.  I recommend that you question everything.  Several times I have been given information from experienced people that was flat-out wrong... like "I used 1/4" King Starboard that I cut into two-inch strips and bonded to the bottom of my new fuel tanks with 3M 5200 to prevent crevice corrosion."  If you research it, you will discover that NOTHING sticks to King Starboard; which is a wonderful material [see my battery box], but must be either mechanically fastened with screws (for example) or welded together, which is NOT really something the average do-it-yourselfer would want to try.  So.... THEN I found a product advertised as being specifically designed for this purpose and it reacted with the 5200 and sorta stuck... but I was able to peel the strips off without much effort.  After doing some research, I used 1/4" polycarbonate bonded with 3M 5200.  See the "Fuel System" folder.  No words are needed.

Bug me if you need those AutoCAD drawings... I'm trying to budget as much time as possible into getting my boat back in the water.

Brian Edmondson
Kent, WA

bhoov...@gmail.com

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Feb 10, 2022, 2:28:31 PM2/10/22
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We also replaced our old 26 tanks with Coastline tanks, we did all the work ourselves and Coastline was able to provide us with schematics from a previous order that were two inches shorter to slide back into place, only lost 5 gallons over all. I have those schematics on digits and can post them if we do a doc library in the forum.

 

Brian H.

Brian Edmondson

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Feb 10, 2022, 7:52:18 PM2/10/22
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Good thinking Hoover...

I am inclined to contact our club leadership about posting and storing documentation.  I am not sure they are prepared for that, but I frankly have NO idea.  I am going to keep building my library for the 26-Sedan, and storing the stuff on my Google Drive.  Local storage is SO tricky.  I had about 600 photos on my cell phone... many of which are in a safe Google-world place... and then I accidentally deleted my pictures folder on my cell and all photos were gone.  Backups exist, but I have to scramble to save and organize them... which is what I was doing when I deleted them.  I am backpedaling now and it's not how I wish to spend my time.

Edmodnson

From: tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com <tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of bhoov...@gmail.com <bhoov...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2022 11:28 AM
To: tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com <tollycraft-boa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: Replacement Fuel Tanks
 

David Harris

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Feb 10, 2022, 8:33:47 PM2/10/22
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Walt,
Very interesting!
Who did you get your plastic tanks from?
Thanks,
Dave Harris
26" Tolly Finnegan 
Poulsbo Marina

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Walt Souza

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Feb 10, 2022, 10:40:42 PM2/10/22
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I’m not going to suggest any replacement as 
It seems my solution was not recommended in this forum. 

Brian Edmondson

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Feb 11, 2022, 4:16:44 PM2/11/22
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For Walt Souza and others who have interest regarding plastic fuel tanks...

Walt, Brian E. here... 

I am NO expert and I never intend to disrespect or offend.  Forgive me if my tone or choice of words wasn't good.  There are a lot of boats with plastic fuel tanks that are U.S. Coast Guard approved.  The Coast Guard knows a lot more than me.  I've seen plastic tanks that were very heavy duty, and plastic will never corrode.  It's a reasonable choice to consider, and zero corrosion is very appealing.  Metal tanks that suffer crevice corrosion are pretty scary to me.  A poor installation is all that's needed to potentially produce a serious safety issue at some time in the future.  A friend of mine got a call that his bilge pump was pumping gasoline onto the dock.  That's a pretty bad fuel leak when that's happening.  Crazy! 

All of my input into this forum is intended to share information primarily to keep us safe.  I always say, boating is like riding a motorcycle in that you can be having a great time, until it suddenly stops.  I watched my uncle and his best friend drown in Lake Michigan.  I was unable to get there with my boat because the planets lined up against me; and some of the factors that stopped me in my tracks that day were things I could have prevented.  Keep sharing what you know.  It's a good thing Walt.

Sincerely and Respectfully,
Brian Edmondson


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