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Pulled the deck on my new old Outrage today and was delighted to find the deck in much better shape than some of the ones I've seen here.
The tank has to come out and I guess I'll run a knife around the perimeter as best I can and try using a pry bar to get it out like I've read on the other site.
Anyone know of an easy way to do this? It looks like a real pain.
When it's all said and done I would really like for the tank to be intact so the fabricators can get exact measurements and who knows--maybe even salvage the thing!
HarryWhisman attached the following image:
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Edited by Tom W Clark on 11/19/06 - 12:48 PM
Harry looks like you have and 18? Unfortunatly that is not much space between the that and the walls of the cavity so be very careful using a pry bar. You run the risk of cracking the fiberglass if you pry to hard against it.
I used a paint scraper on a broom handle and it worked GREAT! Other tools that work good are Drywall hand saws, large hand saws, and LONG sawzall blades.
[img]http://www.whalercentral.com/IMAGES/22%20outrage%20Floor%20repair%20small_files/image044.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.whalercentral.com/IMAGES/22%20outrage%20Floor%20repair%20small_files/image045.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.whalercentral.com/IMAGES/22%20outrage%20Floor%20repair%20small_files/image043.jpg[/img]
Once you have removed the foam on the sides of the tank you will them need to take a piece of cable or rope and get it under the tank. Then with an other guy on the other side work the cable or rope back and forth like and saw and pull it towards the stern while doing this. Once all the way through the tank will release from the bottom.
Also if you order your tank from florida marine tanks (OEM WHALER) that already have the tank dimensions. No need to worry about that.
Edited by Jeff on 11/15/06 - 9:09 AM
1993 23' Walkaround Whaler Drive
Started out with a small hand saw and the sawsall. The hand saw made it about 45 seconds. With the sawsall I was able to cut all the way around the tank in just a few minutes whereupon I grabbed the fill tube and pulled.
Of course it didn't budge. So...
Next I figured I'd try the pressure washer technique and blast out the foam. You know a pressure washer is a wonderful thing. After 2 or 3 minutes of blasting, water and mud was everywhere but the foam didn't budge. So...
After excavating all the extra water I started in with hammer and screwdriver and discovered the sawsall hadn't gone all the way down to the bottom of the tank. I hammered and chiseled for 15 minutes or so and managed to clean all the foam out of about a foot long area. This was way too much work. So...
I drove out to Harbor Freight and wandered up and down the isles for a while and discovered a package of two 12" sawsall blades and a giant pair of hemostats. Then I went home, drug out an old lawnmower blade, pounded it flat on one end, cut out a gouge and went back to work. A couple of passes with the saw over about a foot and a half and rake rake rake with the gouge. The hemostats worked great for cleaning out the hole too.
It took about 45 minutes to clean out all the foam on one side and one end. Pulled on the fill tube and OUT SHE CAME!!
Pressure washed the tank and found a few pitted places on the bottom. Decided the tank definately needed to be replaced and headed out to the super duper boat builder guys' shop. (Sdbbg)
Sdbbg said he could definately build me a tank but when he looked at it he said there was no need. He had immediately spotted a big crack along where one of the baffles are and said if we welded that, then it should be fine. I pointed out the pitted areas but he said he wouldn't worry about it. Let's pressure test it and see what we find he said. If we don't find anything else, we can weld up the crack, cut out a section of the end and clean it out and it will cost $150. If we find a bunch more leaks it could cost as much as $300. Said the pitted areas could have been caused by electrolisis and to make sure the tank was grounded properly when I reinstalled it. (In fact neither of the ground wires were hooked up. The brass disc was hooked to the battery and covered with bottom paint and the other wire was hanging loose under the filler cap. Anyone know where it's supposed to go??) He didn't think the pitts were caused by salt.
New tank from Florida is about $800 by the time it gets here so I'm thinking the fix it job is the way to go. Sdbbg says he thinks the properly reinstalled tank will outlast me. He can't get to it until week after next so I have some time to think about it but hey I'm retired so 150 bucks sounds good to me.
I think I'm gonna go with gluing plastic strips to the bottom (http://www.yachtsurvey.com/fueltank.htm) and then refoam with a syphon hose in the rear.
You know Jeff I didn't get to read your reply until it was all over but I'm thinking maybe the vibes came through across the Harbor Freight shelves. By the way, I read your full account of the the deck restoration weeks ago...Twice!!
You know I just got off the phone with a tank builder in RI and he said his tanks come with an epoxy coat which sounds like a good idea to me, especially since the tank is pitted. I can't imagine reinstallng it without some kind of treatment for the corrosion no matter what sdbbm says.
