new fuel tank

[Ray Belanger]

I'm replacing my aluminum fuel tank @ 15 years due to leaks. i have a couple of ?. what material is best for the points where the tank rests on the hull? Should I foam the tank in place if so what foam?

[John F.]

Ray-

I used Patriot in NJ. They were great. I had them epoxy paint the tank, and got these blocks from them that were about 4" by 6" (closed cell neoprene maybe--the guy at Patriot knows) to install the tank on. I put the blocks on the tanks with 5200 and held the blocks on the tank while the 5200 dried with tie-down straps. Then the tank then went in the boat. That way, there was air circulating around the tank, with no moisture trapped against it. The tanks guys I talked to didn't recommend foaming the tank in. There were a couple of other tank places in NJ that were recommended here. Do a search or maybe someone will post up. Good luck with the job.

John

[Tony Meola]

Ray

Patriot in Forked River is one of the best. John is right about them. If they are within your reach call them.

[Marlin]

I agree on the epoxy coating, but I followed the Capts ideas on the foaming, place the pvc pipe under the area where the tank will set ,set the tank, hold the tank down by bucking up with 2x4" against the cockpit coamings, and foam in place, this gives u a type of monolithic constuction for that 5' area that really stiffens the boat from the potential twisting,the stiffer u can keep the hull, the better u can keep the engines in alignment, door closing ,windows working etc,stiffer is better,5200 is for carvers and bay liners , no decent boat builder ever uses 5200