Hi I have a 92 sailfish that I need to remove the fuel tanks. one is 52 gallon the other is 150gallons. Does any have any tips on this. Is it really hard to do. I have a forklift etc. Do I actually need to cut anything out or is this a unscrew some 2x4s, lift the tank out easily, run some new hoses type of job. It seem easy in concept but am I missing something?
1992 Sailfish Tank Removal
- Thread starter Teejay
- Start date
empty as much gas as possible
take notes of how the wood is laid out and remove
remove the 50 G tank, pretty much straight forward
remove main tank wiring and feed lines
open the rear hatch in the aft bunk, remove the cover over the fill hose and remove the fill and vent lines (without this my tank would not come out)
pull tank back and remove
no jacks, chainsaws,... needed
Hopefully you will not find any "surprises".
take notes of how the wood is laid out and remove
remove the 50 G tank, pretty much straight forward
remove main tank wiring and feed lines
open the rear hatch in the aft bunk, remove the cover over the fill hose and remove the fill and vent lines (without this my tank would not come out)
pull tank back and remove
no jacks, chainsaws,... needed
Hopefully you will not find any "surprises".
Thank for the tip. Are you talking about the berth under the helm? I can see a cross member that looks like it was installed before the entire deck was installed. On both the left and right the are wedges. Tha to don't see how I can possibly get out. Any ideas?
Yea, in the back of the berth under the helm is an access panel. Behind that you should see the trim tab pump, fresh water pump and a 8" x 8" piece of wood covering a hole. Under there are the fill hose and vent hose connections.
Search for the phillips screw heads, there there for most of them. The rear hold down tabs for the 52G tank were screwed from the other side (before the deck was laid down) and had to be cut. Just take notes of where everything is and cut the screws if you have too, some are going to strip on you. When you put the new screws in, drill a pilot hole or there's a very good chance the screw will snap (or strip the head).
Search for the phillips screw heads, there there for most of them. The rear hold down tabs for the 52G tank were screwed from the other side (before the deck was laid down) and had to be cut. Just take notes of where everything is and cut the screws if you have too, some are going to strip on you. When you put the new screws in, drill a pilot hole or there's a very good chance the screw will snap (or strip the head).
ROBERTH
GreatGrady Captain
Pulled my tanks this winter and re-coated them with Coal Tar Epoxy. Not hard to remove. Like others said, access through panels and remove wedges and screws.
I replaced all my hoses for peace of mind. I have to say, all the hoses I removed were all in great shape and not even dry rotted. Inside was smooth and supple also. In '92, they were already alcohol safe apparently, but while I had them out, just replace them and don't look back.
Upon re-installation, I filled in some of the gaps with PVC board and new screws. Used some sealer around where the screws would go into the fiberglass to enure no water penetration.
Make sure you do a good thorough cleaning of the tanks, and re-coat them so they will be protected long term. In the bad spots where there was some corrosion, I used Marine Tex Epoxy, then sanded and coated with the Coal tar.
I replaced all my hoses for peace of mind. I have to say, all the hoses I removed were all in great shape and not even dry rotted. Inside was smooth and supple also. In '92, they were already alcohol safe apparently, but while I had them out, just replace them and don't look back.
Upon re-installation, I filled in some of the gaps with PVC board and new screws. Used some sealer around where the screws would go into the fiberglass to enure no water penetration.
Make sure you do a good thorough cleaning of the tanks, and re-coat them so they will be protected long term. In the bad spots where there was some corrosion, I used Marine Tex Epoxy, then sanded and coated with the Coal tar.