good morning and I have issues

[FF]

"we'll remove and replumb fuel supply and return, starting with the extraction tubes in the tanks"

Purchase an IKEA fat splatter SS screen and cut out enough screen to roll into a 6 inch tube.

Put it on the pick up tube so chunks of tank gunk can not plug the tube .

Best $2.95 you will ever spend for insurance!

KLOCKREN
Splatter screen

 

[Nick F]

Steve - Do your tanks have baffles?

The tanks certainly ought to have 2 baffles each, based on their fore/aft length (6ft). The boroscope will quickly tell you. Maybe you could tell by tapping the side of the tank, but yours, like mine, has soundproofing on it. As I mentioned on the site, I have so far failed to identify anyone who has done the tank replacement, although I am aware of a couple of boats that have had it done by previous owners.

The presence of baffles will obviously make cleanout more difficult unless you put in 3 accesses (= total 6!). I have a friend with a GB36 who cleaned his tanks through a single access - I think he pushed a rod or a tube through the gaps around the baffles. Horrible job.


Thinking more about the ideal plumbing setup - I would like to air a thought for the pickup which could be incorporated IF I do indeed put new tanks in.

Briefly, I would put a largish connection (1"FNPT?) on the wall of the tank right at the lowest point. On this connection I would install a 1" ball valve and then immediately a 1" strainer (very coarse filter - only catch anything bigger than 1/8 - 3/16", say. After that I would run fuel hose - 5/16"or 3/8"ID - to the primary filters, then similar hose to the engine. I would include the electric pump for priming/get-me-home similar to what I have now.

The strainers that I see available are called "Y-strainers".

I think the philosophy should be self evident - you must avoid blockages INSIDE the fuel tanks - for this you need a large-bore exit leading to an accessible screen of some sort that can hold some junk and only let through solids that would still easily reach the primary filters to be trapped there. Either that or you need, say, a 1" hose from the tank to the primary filter - apart from being very bulky, the filters do not have a 1" inlet, so this is not an option.

Example of a Y-strainer:
https://www.amazon.com/Zurn-1-SXL-L...d=1&keywords=y+strainer&qid=1607969340&sr=8-9

All comments welcome!
Nick

 

[Steve Puglisi]

Let's see, at $250 per aluminum access plate system x 6, I'm already into the deal $1500 not including labor. The tops of my tanks are painted and the side walls are soundproof material covered so I can't see the actual metal. No signs of rust, paint bubbles, leaks. At least, nothing I can see. PO swears the paint was precautionary to protect the tank tops from possible deck leaks. That is good preventative maintenance to be sure.

Yes, having a bottom drain would be best. Just like a live well, fish box or other. Let gravity do the work. I'm also a believer in getting the bad stuff out of the tanks constantly. My Carolina Classic supply tubes rested right on the bottom and pointed to the back at the low end. This was done just for the purpose of keeping the tanks clean a little bit at a time. Once we see what's in there, maybe I'll drain out all the fuel and install a bottom pick up.

Having moved the boat 400 miles with no issues and bouncing her along the Columbia river for a few hundred miles prior to the move, I thought I would have stirred up the tanks. Maybe not. The first failure occurred the day after we took some noteworthy bumps in the "tidal rips" outside Port Townsend. The second occurrence followed a freighter bow wake, 4' breaking waves, three of them at 5 seconds or less. Not less that 20 minutes later, engine failure began. I'm leaning more and more to believe it is a fuel pick-up and hence, fuel tank issue.

And I thought an injector rebuild was a PIA!
Steve