Fuel tank leak

Portofino said:
It can’t be only a hole at the base other wise it would have emptied .You say you dropped the level to determine the level earlier ?
Bin it and get the yard to fit a tank properly.On custom beds , strapped down with visible access all round .
A proper tank with a drain able sump , sight glass ( cocked ) .

As it is it’s too tight , it getting hull flex forces and stress cracking .
I can’t see any yellow / green Earth wires in any pics thus far btw .It ought to be connected to an anode on the outside of the hull .

I would buy a off the shelf glass fibre tank or polymer and retro fit it .

Leave the engine beds because chopping them = entering shaft alignment issues = another thread from Bouba “ my boat vibrates “;
Infact re glass them Fwds to strengthen the thing !plonk a simple rectangular tank back on with min angles / welds / seams etc .KISS shape wise .
My 4 ( twin engined ) bearers run stern to bow the full L of the hull .
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Yes, I was surprised at the holes being at the bottom....of course there could be more...
 
Sorry to hear that it is escalating and the repair doesn't sound easy or good, I know it's expensive but I would be going for a polyethylene tank purpose made or a fibreglass one. It's turning into a nightmare of a job.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
Sorry to hear that it is escalating and the repair doesn't sound easy or good, I know it's expensive but I would be going for a polyethylene tank purpose made or a fibreglass one. It's turning into a nightmare of a job.
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At the moment we are just seeing where this is going.....most of everything is in hand...but they are reluctant to cut fiberglass without backup from the factory...they have the welding shop ready for the repair...they took everything out sharpish so returning it should be equally quick...fiberglass work doesn’t take that long...
 
Mr Googler said:
Is it just the filler stopping it coming out?
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No...the whole tank is too tall....it can’t tip forward enough to pull it over the engine bearers because of the floor joists above it....you see that the bearers stop it being slid out...and the tank is deep (forward to aft) to tip it without it hitting the roof (and the joists are the lowest part of the roof....it would probably only take a few minutes with an angle grinder to cut the fiberglass joists...it’s just the yard is worried about liability
 
I'm with Porto on that, cannot accept that the leak stopped when it reached a level and now you learn that the holes are at the bottom. Doesn't really make any sense whatsoever.
Also hard to swallow that holes are that tiny that leak only when the height of diesel above them is say 300mm and not 250mm, that's plain silly.

Bouba, don't remember how big the tank is, but I'd definitely sacrifice 100lt and go smaller and plastic.
Patching an ali tank that noone really knows what's wrong with it other than it leaks makes no sense whatsoever, unless you like to see the engine out often...
 
vas said:
I'm with Porto on that, cannot accept that the leak stopped when it reached a level and now you learn that the holes are at the bottom. Doesn't really make any sense whatsoever.
Also hard to swallow that holes are that tiny that leak only when the height of diesel above them is say 300mm and not 250mm, that's plain silly.

Bouba, don't remember how big the tank is, but I'd definitely sacrifice 100lt and go smaller and plastic.
Patching an ali tank that noone really knows what's wrong with it other than it leaks makes no sense whatsoever, unless you like to see the engine out often...
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It’s been a mystery from the start....no test I did was conclusive...everything is just an indication...when the tank is out I will inspect it
 
petem said:
Is that a week with no progress now?
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It seems the factory has been experimenting with how best to remove the tank and they will report back to the yard with their findings...it all seems unusual but I take it as good progress ??
I don’t think I am going to lose much of the season if any...once a plan is agreed it should be days not weeks to get it all back together
 
Bouba said:
Earlier Boupa said
About five years old...but in the over four hundred that were made in, I don’t know, fifteen years...they were more or less all the same
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It seems the factory has been experimenting with how best to remove the tank and they will report back to the yard with their findings...it all seems unusual but I take it as good progress ??
I don’t think I am going to lose much of the season if any...once a plan is agreed it should be days not weeks to get it all back together
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Strange yours is 5 years old and there are others 15 years old and yours is the first one the factory has been asked how to remove the tank!
 
I had an ally tank on my fairline leak from the bottom due to corrosion. It suddenly let go and I got a call from the marina to say the bilge pump was pumping diesel all over the yard (good job she was not in the water). Other tank was fine. I can only think that tank was on the weather side of the boat when moored.

Very expensive surgery to remove and new SS tank fabricated.!
 
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