Island Gypsy fuel tanks project summary

[MVCalypso]

Hi,

I was asked in another thread for pics of the approach I utilized during 2022 to replace the fuel tanks in my 1984 Island Gypsy 36 Europa.

Most seem to choose the "cut em out and put multiple smaller tanks in" approach. I choose to take the tanks out thru the sides of the hull.

The attached pdf is a summary of the project (which I already had handy). This is offered for those who may want to consider this as an alternative approach.

View attachment Trawler forum Island Gypsy 36 Europa Tank project summary May 2023.pdf

Any questions re more details, let me know. Fair warning, I have lots of pics to bore you with.

 

[tiltrider1]

Nice recap of a big project.

 

[Comodave]

Nicely done! I had thought about doing our last boat that way but the yards near me didn’t have the experience to do that.

One tip for locating things through the hull instead of drilling holes is to get 2 large rare eartn magnets and tape one inside the hull where you need the hole and then go outside and hold the other magnet close. It will stick to the hull and you don’t need to measure or drill test holes.

 

[ABfish]

Excellent recap and thanks for posting.

 

[Cigatoo]

Hi,

I was asked in another thread for pics of the approach I utilized during 2022 to replace the fuel tanks in my 1984 Island Gypsy 36 Europa.

Most seem to choose the "cut em out and put multiple smaller tanks in" approach. I choose to take the tanks out thru the sides of the hull.

The attached pdf is a summary of the project (which I already had handy). This is offered for those who may want to consider this as an alternative approach.

View attachment 139035

Any questions re more details, let me know. Fair warning, I have lots of pics to bore you with.

Nice recap! Thanks for taking the time to put that together.

 

[MVCalypso]

Nicely done! I had thought about doing our last boat that way but the yards near me didn’t have the experience to do that.

One tip for locating things through the hull instead of drilling holes is to get 2 large rare eartn magnets and tape one inside the hull where you need the hole and then go outside and hold the other magnet close. It will stick to the hull and you don’t need to measure or drill test holes.

The magnets are a great idea which didn't occurr to me. I'll try to remember that.

 

[Comodave]

I use them anytime I am drilling on the boat since it is more accurate than measuring and much faster.

 

[Portage_Bay]

MVCalypso, thank you for posting this. I've often seen steel hulls opened up for engine swaps etc and wondered why that approach is not used with FRP hulls.

Comodave, thank you for the magnet tip. That is sure to come in handy some day.

 

[slowgoesit]

I use them anytime I am drilling on the boat since it is more accurate than measuring and much faster.

Dave, how thick a hull have you successfully used this technique on? I will be installing two new depth sounder transducers next month, and this looks like it may help, but our hull is 2" thick.

 

[Comodave]

MVCalypso, thank you for posting this. I've often seen steel hulls opened up for engine swaps etc and wondered why that approach is not used with FRP hulls.

Comodave, thank you for the magnet tip. That is sure to come in handy some day.

It depends on how strong a magnet you have. I have some that 2 stuck together and I am unable to get them apart so I use those. They will easily go through 2”.

 

[Endeavor GB 32]

MV Calypso,
Thanks for a most informative post! Are the new tanks steel or aluminum? And would it be ungentlemanly to inquire what the ballpark price was? Very cool that you got a topsides repaint for "free." Thanks again.
Regards,
Scott

 

[MVCalypso]

MV Calypso,
Thanks for a most informative post! Are the new tanks steel or aluminum? And would it be ungentlemanly to inquire what the ballpark price was? Very cool that you got a topsides repaint for "free." Thanks again.
Regards,
Scott

The new tanks are Al, 5051 I think (I'd have to check the spec to be 100% sure of the alloy). After pressure testing, they were epoxy coated (I don't remember the exact coating used). Tanks are set on wood mounts, separated from the wood by a closed cell foam layer which prevent any water from being trapped between the tank and the mounts.

The pricing is hard to nail down for only the tank project, as the quotes all included bottom jobs etc in the package. The tank only stuff was just a tad under $40k. please don't ask me about the total yard bill which had other work included - that still makes me cringe.

Backing out the btm jobs $ etc, I had two fixed $ bids for $36k-$38k. The "no upper bound" estimates for the tank work ran $30k to $75k. Some yards were honest and said "no bid" as tank replacement was not their cup of tea.

 

[Barking Sands]

Very nice. I much appreciate the documentation.

 

[lwarden]

Great writeup, thanks for posting. This really seems like a reasonable way to go unless you needed to pull the engines for other reasons. Being open like that I would think things can be done to a better standard than if it were done internally. The only tricky thing with this with your boat is getting the lapstrake lines correct in the areas of the patch. Did you see how they did that? Router on a guide? I assume they used epoxy on the patch as well?

 

[MVCalypso]

[FONT=&quot]Re the lapstrake lines: The panels were carefully realigned in place before the external re-lamination was done. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Here's a pic of a panel in place during the re-lamination work:[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Note that the lines are filled in over the scarf joint area. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Here's a pic with the groves cut in:[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]I was not there for that step so I don't know exactly how it was done. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Here's a pic of the area after painting:[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]When sighting down the hull in bright sun, I can't see where it was cut open.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

 

[Action]

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Bro27]

Wow! Amazing job. A slightly unrelated questions. What color Awlcraft did you go with? We'll be painting our IG 32 this fall and starting to think about color.

 

[Cliff Meima]

nice job

 

[arthurn]

Absolutely amazing what can be done with the right crew.

 

[MVCalypso]

Wow! Amazing job. A slightly unrelated questions. What color Awlcraft did you go with? We'll be painting our IG 32 this fall and starting to think about color.

Color is Snow White, avail in either awlcraft or awlgrip. I had previously repainted some fly bridge sections with awlgrip, I switched to awlcraft for the topsides as it's much easier to touch up as the color is all thru the paint whereas awlgrip floats a clear coat to the top as it dries.

 

[Kit_L]

Very very nice job, and the magnet tip is simply brilliant. I have saved this post (and hope I never need it!). Thanks again.

 

[Nick F]

David - thanks for the detailed report. Another example of the best of this forum. I did my tank a couple of years ago but used the cut and smaller replacement method (a better fit for my personal talents - or lack thereof). I also wrote a report which is here on the forum in case anyone wants a comparison (link below).
Regards,
Nick

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/replacing-fuel-tank-chb34-61546.html

 

[Southern Boater]

Thanks for posting a couple of informative pieces, both Calypso and Nick F, could be very valuable info for anybody considering either option

 

[Ron Stevenson]

Very impressive presentation, thanks for sharing. I sure many people will check out this project, it is going to a bunch of my cruising crowd!