Diesel tank removal

[CCC]

Unfortunately I have to remove a leaking tank in a CD 36. Any advice from past experience?

[John Stone]

I assume you are talking about them 44 gallon tank in the bilge? Not all the boats had the fuel tank there.

I removed the tank in the Far Reach. If that’s the tank you are asking about I can provide some insight.

http://www.farreachvoyages.com/projects ... erior.html

[CCC]

Yes indeed that’s the tank I’m dealing with. I can see there is a fiberglass pan that surrounds the tank. I’ve removed the sole and floors above the forward half of the tank. I hesitated dismantling the inboard portion of the L settee that is above the aft portion of the tank. My hope is that I can somehow angle the tank out of the hole I’ve already created. It’s likely I’ll need to cut the forward end of the pan first.
One question I have.. how is the tank fastened to the boat?

[John Stone]

In my boat, Hull #61, the tank was glassed in along both sides. I cut the tank out with a saws-all. I did not have an L shaped settee...both were straight and parallel the centerline. I cut all the floors out too. You can save and reuse them if desired. Obviously, both layers of the sole had to come out too.

There was a very thin gap,between the inside of the hull and the outside of side of the tank. I slipped the blade in there and just happily sawed away. The mess was indescribable. It didn’t matter as I was gutting it anyway. Nonetheless, it was a hell of a mess.