Fuel tank
- Thread starter carson398
- Start date
randlemanboater
God
REELAPEELIN did, I think he built boxes to put his helm and passenger seats on and had 40 gallons under each seat, this was on his old, old V.
I'm sure he will chime in.
I'm sure he will chime in.
reelapeelin
God
Thanks RB...the V I did that to was a '74 that came w/saddle-tanks under each gunwale...no belly tanks in that model...I think '78 was 1st year for those...
Carson, take it from one who did, think carefully about taking up valuable floor space w/fuel tanks...why not replace the existing belly tank w/a new one?...it may be small (40-46 gals I think) but I wouldn't think it'd be too hard to replace it w/a larger one...the money yer gonna spend buying and mounting tanks (unless you already have them)above deck, then enclosing them in some sort of useable fashion, you might as well spend below deck and save the space above...
If you're determined to do it...here are some pics of mine...
Mine worked out OK for the 11 years I ran this boat...except for the weight, and particularly the weight FORWARD...I cound feel additional weight holding bow down drifting in high water, when you WANT the bow UP...
AND...I mounted the tanks on a piece of 1/4" rubber mat, cut to fit the bottom of the tanks...it worked well except it trapped moisture under the rubber and cause the core in the floor-deck to rot...(sorry Vic)...
So if you do this, use LIGHT-WEIGHT materials for the boxes and smaller tanks...RB was right...each box had a 40 gal tank...full of fuel, was too heavy forward...when I had a gas guzzling '86 150 Rude, I needed the extra fuel...but the fuel-sipping Honda would have been fine w/ two 30s, so decide that as well...
And mount the tanks so they do not trap water under them..it'll catch up to you...a bead of caulking around the bottom of the tank won't do it over time...