Aging and leaking aluminum fuel tanks is an excellent topic! Boats, even fresh
water, that are 40 or more years old are very likely to experience aluminum
fuel tank leaks. In my case, the leak started over winter and about 7 gallons
of fuel went out my garboard drain onto the ground. Really bad. Marina
solution was to plug my drain, so diesel fuel started accumulating in the
bilge. I lived hundreds of miles from boat so a difficult situation. I
alerted marina that my bilge pump would soon start spewing diesel fuel out the
side if they didn't drain my tank. Long story short, don't let this disaster
happen to you.
I ordered a Moeller plastic tank through West Marine, the lowest price by far
at the time. The old aluminum tank was 20 gallons and had no visible holes.
The new Moeller, off the shelf tank is 19 gallons and almost exactly the same
dimensions. Slid the old aluminum tank out, slid the new tank in, replaced all
fuel hoses, including fill hose, and no problems.
There are some, I believe, unsubstantiated concerns about plastic fuel tanks.
In my opinion, plastic is superior -- doesn't corrode and the fuel level is
visible through the wall of the tank. Many boats, mine among them, have a
problematic fuel gage. Tried to fix when replacing tank, but decided it wasn't
worth more time. Just look at the tank. Foolproof.
Jeff Laman
81 C&C34 Harmony
Ludington, MI
________________________________
From: John Read via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 9, 2023 8:15 AM
To: 'Stus-List' <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>; wolf...@erie.net <wolf...@erie.net>
Cc: John Read <johnprea...@gmail.com>
Subject: Stus-List Re: Question and Report
I replaced my fuel tank a few years ago as a precautionary measure to avoid pin
hole leaks in mid-summer. After much discussion was advised to have a new
aluminum tank fabricated of aircraft grade material to match the old. Main
reasons to not use a plastic tank are they are supposedly designed for an open
air situation, not permanently installed in the interior and are susceptible to
rupture in a fire spilling fuel on the fire. Yes cost more but peace of mind
is priceless.
John Read
Legacy III
1982 C&C 34
Noank, CT
From: Matt Wolford via CnC-List
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2023 11:31 PM
To: 'Stus-List' <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>
Cc: wolf...@erie.net
Subject: Stus-List Question and Report
Listers:
Hope all is well.
First, I have a question. A friend of mine who owns a C&C 41
(probably ‘80s vintage) discovered that his aluminum diesel tank is leaking.
He plans to pull it tomorrow to confirm. I talked briefly with Bill Coleman on
this list, and he suggested replacing the aluminum tank with a plastic tank.
Does anyone know a source for a plastic replacement diesel tank that will fit
this boat? (I assume it’s about 20 gallons.) Please advise. Thanks.
Second, I thought I’d report on a recent discovery you may find
interesting. As most of you know, my boat is a C&C 42 Custom, “Custom” meaning
that it was not a production run boat and was built in the Bruckmann shop. Six
of these “stick boats” were built in the mid ‘70s. Every year about this time
of year, I get annoyed by a stubborn crack that appears near the top of the
forward edge of the keel, near the top where it meets the hull. As most of you
understand, this is the front of the so-called C&C smile. On my boat, the C&C
smile crack runs along the bottom of the hull where the keel is mated, more or
less parallel to the bottom of the hull (the “main smile”). However, I have a
second C&C smile that starts at the forward edge of the keel about four of five
inches below the forward edge of the main smile, then tapers up toward the
bottom of the hull, eventually meeting the main smile about 2/3 of the way back
to the aft edge of the keel. I never understood why I get this “second smile.”
A few weeks ago some water was seeping out of the stubborn crack at the front
edge of the main smile, and I asked my guru to find out what the heck is going
on. After some grinding and drilling, he informed me that my keel was probably
not made to fit my boat. Instead, the keel from another boat was adapted to
fit my boat by creating a lead “wedge” piece (sort of like a big shim) that is
widest at the forward edge of the keel and tapers going aft. This wedge fits
between the top of the original keel and the hull, giving me two mating seams
and thus two C&C smiles. Apparently, my boat is very happy.
Matt
Matt Wolford
C&C 42 Custom
Erie, PA
Please show your appreciation for this list and the Photo Album site and help
me pay the associated bills. Make a contribution at:
https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
Thanks for your help.
Stu
