- Joined
- Jul 18, 2022
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 3
- Age
- 39
- Location
- Southern California
- Website
- www.youtube.com
- Model
- Release
Hey everyone! Just wanted to introduce myself. I didn't see a member intro section so I figured this is the best place for it.
I'm Sean, from Southern California. I've been fishing on local sport boats for a bit more than a decade now and for the last few years I've been a member of a boat club. Taking the club boats out fishing to the local islands has been really enjoyable for me so I decided to take the big leap into ownership.
In July I purchased a 2009 Release 283. The original owner had more money than sense and unfortunately didn't take too great of care of it so naturally I've had some work to do since owning it. I started with replacing the electronics, with the exception of the transducer which will be swapped out later for a B175HW. It now has two 12" Simrad NSSevo3 along with a Halo 20+. It's powered by the original Yamaha F250's and only had about 760hrs on them when I purchased it. Along with the electronics, I installed a new macerator pump and Jabsco control panel for the waste tank, a new raw water washdown pump, switch covers on the dash, swapped out the halogen bulbs in the Hella spreader lights for LED's and threw in some new Skar 6.5" speakers to hold me over till I revamp the audio system.
Now for the biggest issue I've had.......
REPLACING THE FUEL TANK
I don't think the previous owner ever opened the deck plates to let airflow into the fuel tank area. There was an algae/slime/alien that had grown on top of the tank and ended up eating through the aluminum. The way I found out the tank had a hole in it was by filling it up all the way and taking it out for the day. I started smelling gas vapors and noticed when I emptied the bilge water it had a rainbow look to it. I spent a day cleaning and trying my best to patch it as a temporary fix.
I called the folks at Grady and they put me in contact with the original tank manufacturer, who then sold me a copy of the tank blueprint and referred me to a fabricator because they were not currently making replacement tanks. Two months later I had a new tank and planned a few days to have the old one craned out and put the new one in. I will say the folks a Grady White made replacing the tank fairly straight forward when they designed this boat. I pulled the tackle center out of the leaning post, which then gave me access to all the brackets that hold the leaning post down and disconnected all the plumbing.
Once the leaning post is free, I removed the screws holding the fuel tank deck piece in and we were ready to lift it off and out of the boat.
From what I could surmise, the algae that grew on the tank was due mainly from no airflow through the tank space while there was water in the bilge. The normal process of condensation having nowhere to go and collecting on the underside of the deck then dripping down on the tank is what caused all of this. I also found that the automatic float switches on the bilge pumps are not operating correctly due to lack of electrical system maintenance, so any water that gets in the bilge has nowhere to go until the pumps are activated manually, increasing the amount of condensation that accumulates.
I had the original tank craned out, and while it was out I scrubbed the tank compartment as best I could.
It might not look like it, but trust me ...... it is MUCH cleaner than before. The next day I dropped the new tank in and put everything back together.
I'm now having an issue with my Stb motor not trimming down, so that'll be the next adventure. haha
So far though, I've had a few good days out on the water. Looking forward to some great trips this next year though!
If anyone has questions about the tank replacement, feel free to send me a message. I'd be more than happy to pass on what I learned.
-Sean
I'm Sean, from Southern California. I've been fishing on local sport boats for a bit more than a decade now and for the last few years I've been a member of a boat club. Taking the club boats out fishing to the local islands has been really enjoyable for me so I decided to take the big leap into ownership.
In July I purchased a 2009 Release 283. The original owner had more money than sense and unfortunately didn't take too great of care of it so naturally I've had some work to do since owning it. I started with replacing the electronics, with the exception of the transducer which will be swapped out later for a B175HW. It now has two 12" Simrad NSSevo3 along with a Halo 20+. It's powered by the original Yamaha F250's and only had about 760hrs on them when I purchased it. Along with the electronics, I installed a new macerator pump and Jabsco control panel for the waste tank, a new raw water washdown pump, switch covers on the dash, swapped out the halogen bulbs in the Hella spreader lights for LED's and threw in some new Skar 6.5" speakers to hold me over till I revamp the audio system.
Now for the biggest issue I've had.......
REPLACING THE FUEL TANK
I don't think the previous owner ever opened the deck plates to let airflow into the fuel tank area. There was an algae/slime/alien that had grown on top of the tank and ended up eating through the aluminum. The way I found out the tank had a hole in it was by filling it up all the way and taking it out for the day. I started smelling gas vapors and noticed when I emptied the bilge water it had a rainbow look to it. I spent a day cleaning and trying my best to patch it as a temporary fix.
I called the folks at Grady and they put me in contact with the original tank manufacturer, who then sold me a copy of the tank blueprint and referred me to a fabricator because they were not currently making replacement tanks. Two months later I had a new tank and planned a few days to have the old one craned out and put the new one in. I will say the folks a Grady White made replacing the tank fairly straight forward when they designed this boat. I pulled the tackle center out of the leaning post, which then gave me access to all the brackets that hold the leaning post down and disconnected all the plumbing.
Once the leaning post is free, I removed the screws holding the fuel tank deck piece in and we were ready to lift it off and out of the boat.
From what I could surmise, the algae that grew on the tank was due mainly from no airflow through the tank space while there was water in the bilge. The normal process of condensation having nowhere to go and collecting on the underside of the deck then dripping down on the tank is what caused all of this. I also found that the automatic float switches on the bilge pumps are not operating correctly due to lack of electrical system maintenance, so any water that gets in the bilge has nowhere to go until the pumps are activated manually, increasing the amount of condensation that accumulates.
I had the original tank craned out, and while it was out I scrubbed the tank compartment as best I could.
It might not look like it, but trust me ...... it is MUCH cleaner than before. The next day I dropped the new tank in and put everything back together.
I'm now having an issue with my Stb motor not trimming down, so that'll be the next adventure. haha
So far though, I've had a few good days out on the water. Looking forward to some great trips this next year though!
If anyone has questions about the tank replacement, feel free to send me a message. I'd be more than happy to pass on what I learned.
-Sean
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