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I removed my fuel tank out of my 1981 revenge this past weekend. I discovered a few things that were interesting, and some left me scratching my head. The boat had the original tank that was full of fuel. I assumed it would have developed a leak by now. The tank’s label stated 72 gallons. The specifications say 77 gallons. Maybe I need to ask inspector NS-12/81 who wrote okay on the tank if they were wearing their glass that day… Lol. BW did a nice job installing the tank. They provided a rubber strip that ran down the center and glued in some white type of matting for the tank to rest on. I’ve never heard or read anyone talk about this before. Kudos to BW, more than likely this is the reason the tank has lasted this long. The mounting brackets held the tank nicely and once the foam was removed it came out fairly easy.
Now for the head scratching part. As expected, the cavity was full of water.… Why would BW leave an open fuel line channel to the fuel tank cavity and provide only 1 drain approximately 12” up from the bottom of the cavity? On top of that, foam the tank in knowing it’s going to get wet? Has anyone tried fabricating something for the fuel line to go through, but blocks water from entering the fuel cavity? My thinking is making something that would fit in the channel with the correct fuel line hose diameter and sealing around it. Also, while the tank is out, drill a hole at the lowest point and add a drain for the water to drain to the bilge. Next comes the question about foaming in the new tank. Does this make sense knowing water will still get in?

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I removed my original tank out of my 1981 V-20 this spring and, like you, felt the same. What were they thinking with this small rigging channel? It smelled like I unearthed Jimmy Hoffa. Same set-up as your Revenge. I opted for a new old-stock poly tank which had pretty close to the same dimensions but was 42 gallons instead of 63 gallons. Given the etahnol fuel issues, the less you keep in there the better. Burn what you need when you need it. I installed a Ruel bilge pump in the back of the fuel cavity behind the tank. Cut a separate Beckson plate opening for access to the Rule bilge. Ran bilge hose through the self-bailing well and up over the transom. is it pretty-no. Efficient-yes. often, I just empty into the rear splash well while under way. I foamed the poly tank in with a 2 part urethane foam. It's in there and not moving. All new A2 fuel hose, clamps, etc. Happy to discuss further-just send me a PM or email.

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The 1981 Revenge 22 has a specified fuel capacity of 70 gallons. That's useable capacity. The actual capacity of the tank was 72 gallons. My Revenge 25 has a tank with an actual capacity of 143 gallons though the specified capacity (useable) is 140 gallons.

The aluminum 77 gallon tank was not introduced until 1984.

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Specifications also states optional 129 gallon fuel tank. How does the boat accommodate the larger tank?

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By eliminating the aft fishwell and having the larger tank extend into that space.

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The 129 gallon tank option deletes the rear fish box. My 1984 Outrage 22 that I've owned since 2003 has that option. 129 gallons of fuel, one big fuel tank cover running from the front of the console to just in front of the rear splashwell. About 5 years ago I had the fuel tank cover (deck) re-cored due to soft spots by the console. Had tank inspected and pressure tested. Looked good, checked out fine via tests, so I had the fuel and vent lines replaced and kept the tank.

The 129 tank does make the boat a bit stern heavy, but I've moved batteries to the console, and have 3 trolling motor batteries in the cooler in front of the console, so that has alleviated porpoising problems. At least I never worry about running out of fuel ;-)

If/when I ever pull and replace the tank, I think I'd drill a drain from the bottom rear of the fuel tank cavity to my splashwell and line it w/brass just like the rest. I know I've read a few project pages that did something similar, or added a bilge pump or pick-up from the cavity. I agree that allowing water a method of ingress without a way to drain is not a good design.

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Interesting.. I would have guessed a second tank to keep the hulls the same.

"If/when I ever pull and replace the tank, I think I'd drill a drain from the bottom rear of the fuel tank cavity to my splashwell and line it w/brass just like the rest."

I'm about to do the same. Wonder if there's a reason why BW didn't do it?

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The hulls are essentially the same. The same mold is used but if a customer wanted the larger tank, they just dropped a plug into the mold where the bulkhead between the fishwell and the fuel tank cavity would be and mold the hull without the bulkhead.

Early boats may have simply had the bulkhead cut out after the hull was molded. That is how they did the Sterndrive models; they cut the splashwell dam out and 'glassd it over.