Which Trawlers do not have steel fuel tanks ?

Buy a Pilgrim 40 the tanks and engine are where you can see them and replace easily if needed. If you intend to use the boat in protected waters you get the added bonus of a great boat.

I encourage any owner facing the expense of replacing old, leaking "black iron" fuel tanks to look into possible insurance coverage. My policy did not cover "rust, other corrosion, poor maintenance, etc." But it did cover "hidden defects at time of manufacture." For my claim, I took a picture of the spotty sealant under the deck fill plates, noted that the tanks rusted out just below two of these poorly installed fittings and bingo, full cost reimbursement less deductible.

Having tried both on my fuel tanks, I settled on the Sawzall with good blades. No sparks, not nearly the noise or dust, didn't have to worry about the glued on insulation....

Much easier in my experience.

Sawsall was my choice also as I could work faster . Several blades but a better choice. Tanks were degased and no fuel or fumes.

I'll be gone when my boat's tanks might fail.

My vote these days for tank replacement would be for fuel grade plastic. Can be made to various shapes - basically same idea and benefits as if made from GRP when boat built, but able to be added later, whereas GRP, not really.

I have done this with my water tanks, and if and when the stainless fuel tanks die, that'll be what they are replaced with.

Clown One said:

I encourage any owner facing the expense of replacing old, leaking "black iron" fuel tanks to look into possible insurance coverage. My policy did not cover "rust, other corrosion, poor maintenance, etc." But it did cover "hidden defects at time of manufacture." For my claim, I took a picture of the spotty sealant under the deck fill plates, noted that the tanks rusted out just below two of these poorly installed fittings and bingo, full cost reimbursement less deductible.

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Bingo! If our top quality aluminum tanks ever fail [currently they look really good, however they are originals I believe, i.e. 40 yrs. old now] I will pursue similar to your path... to see what I can drum up. I already have a good plan if insurance does not pan out

"... hidden defects at time of manufacture." COOL!! I'll search into the fine print for that or other statements that may induce coverage.

what_barnacles said:

I have just started cutting out the stbd tank (200 gls). I prefer to do it now before they do leak and my options in low cost replacement disappears. Its upwards of 18K if the yard does it. Kemah has lots of oil money and pirates...

Im a bit stumped in how everyone uses a sawall as I only have about a 1/2" clearance between the hull sides and bottom and the tanks themselves. Im hoping a small handheld circular saw with a steel blade can get it done.

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I used a circular saw to cut out the black iron tanks of my last boat. You can set the depth to just cut through the tank only.
I found the abrasive blades for metal or concrete worked best. And as they worn down into smaller diameters I would save them and put them on my angle grinder to cut into the tighter areas of the tanks.

psneeld said:

I will take a properly engineered, built in fiberglass tank every time...


It is not necessarily a low cost solution.

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fiberglass + topcoat piles is certainly a workable solution. steel diesel tanks has been re-built with this system and the buildings in which warming diesel sold in fiberglass tanks and are strong and also prevent the smell.

Fishing Fool said:

This has been one of my biggest concerns too. So far I have learned that Hatteras, Viking, Gulfstar, Great Harbor, and possibly Hi Star are MY's or Trawlers that have fiberglass tanks.

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Add Choey Lee to your list.

Our mainship has original aluminum tanks. And knock on wood, they look good.

Hey, that rhymed!

Good luck with your search

Don't forget North Pacific for fiberglass tanks.

Rob

i have an 86 SENATOR with a sng Perkins 354 thinking about replacing leaking tanks. From this forum it sounds like cutting the tnks out in parts and replacing with smaller tanks maybe the way to go. Willl the smaller tanks adversley effect the resale value?
Any other Senator owners in the Norfolk Va area have similar problems/ Open to suggestions on how to make these repairs...I have seen on utube someone "cutting the bottom out of the boat" to make the repair. Is it just me or does this sound like a stupid way to repair?

Rivieras have f/g tanks. Probably Maritimo too. A marina neighbour who imported his 1990s Riv from Fl. said the surveyor commented with approval on tank construction.

I am looking at three trawlers with steel tanks, one has one of the tanks replaced with two aluminum,,, it was removed from inside the engine room, one engine removed and the tank was cut in three pcs and removed.
I agree with you Twilight,,,, not going to cut the outside of a boat.
The side struts run behind the tanks and you would have to cut the inside anyway to get the new tanks in.

Twilight time said:

i have an 86 SENATOR with a sng Perkins 354 thinking about replacing leaking tanks. From this forum it sounds like cutting the tnks out in parts and replacing with smaller tanks maybe the way to go. Willl the smaller tanks adversley effect the resale value?
Any other Senator owners in the Norfolk Va area have similar problems/ Open to suggestions on how to make these repairs...I have seen on utube someone "cutting the bottom out of the boat" to make the repair. Is it just me or does this sound like a stupid way to repair?

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It should only affect resale for those that don't get that you don't need 1200 mile range on a boat that rarely goes 100 miles between fuel stops.

Salesmanship describing the positives of smaller fuel tanks isn't all that hard.

sunchaser said:

SS is approved for diesel fuel tanks if it is 316L or 317L and minimally 0.0747" thick. 304 not so good. The L stands for low carbon, meaning it can be correctly welded. Many Al tanks have corroded out due to dissimilar metals being used, similarly the same can happen to SS. Unlike standard steel, both Al and SS need good air circulation to allow the protective oxidation process to work.

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I certainly agree. My original 316 SS tanks corroded externally on the bottom. Water sometimes pooled underneath the tanks and after 35 years, they started leaking. They were only .04" wall thickness.

Luckily, they started leaking at the same time as the old volvo died, and were fairly easy to remove with the engine out. The tanks have been replaced with heavier 316L SS, now with good air circulation. They should last for another 50 years.

Our 1977 West Indian 36 has aluminum tanks from the factory. I personally don't feel aluminum is that great. Our previous boat had aluminum tanks and water pooled in a corner under it and the metal rotted where it was in contact. This was fresh water so I'd hate to see what salt water would do. It's too bad builders don't pay more attention to tank access for both inspection and removal.

Twilight time said:

i have an 86 SENATOR with a sng Perkins 354 thinking about replacing leaking tanks. From this forum it sounds like cutting the tnks out in parts and replacing with smaller tanks maybe the way to go. Willl the smaller tanks adversley effect the resale value?
Any other Senator owners in the Norfolk Va area have similar problems/ Open to suggestions on how to make these repairs...I have seen on utube someone "cutting the bottom out of the boat" to make the repair. Is it just me or does this sound like a stupid way to repair?

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Smaller , good tanks won't affect the sale as much as leaking tanks. More and more older boats have to do something. A prospective owner will think, aha, one less job to be done as long as a good job was done.

Many boats like this do not lose a huge amount of capacity. It can be a big ++ for the boat and owner.

Best way is to stop/prevent the rusting if it's not already too late.

Nordic Tugs have Marine Grade Aluminum Tanks.

Pgitug said:

Nordic Tugs have Marine Grade Aluminum Tanks. View attachment 60979

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As do Tollycraft!

I have been contemplating a preventative chop out of the two 150 gallon "iron" tanks on my Senator. No troubles yet.
Moeller offers a number of spun poly tanks that would fit thru the hatches. Being an A&P/Aviator, I keep thinking multi tank fuel system. 250 gallon capacity for less than $1500 and two days work.
Cut to the chase, How much kerosene do you need to tanker for coastal cruising @+-2GPH?

I have been making the trip on my 2-58 gallon Moller tanks....NJ to FL.

I usually can go 250 to 275 miles no sweat. With a 5 gallon jerry can of fresh fuel for engine work, I will push to 300 miles but usually not.

If my average day is a 6 hr day, that's only 12g per day and 100 gal is 9 days between refueling.

You can see the fuel in the tanks so no guessing or trusting guages...you can just about sucks them dry before switching so you get to use almost all your fuel.

I love all the room it freed up in the engine room to reorganize. Everything got moved away from the engine and genset sides for easy maintenance, and lots more storage.

I have to remeasure many things, but it looks like a 99 gallon on each side would go in and the ER with the single 354 Perkins would be rather roomy.

My limitation was the measurement between the top of the engine and the edge of the hatches. Once in the engine roon, I could have used much bigger tanks.

why bigger?

ps and CWO... sounds like you two got it going! Bigger isn't always better... or in this case could also say, better isn't always bigger!


If I ever need to replace my tanks your route is what I'd follow.

Assuming all fits it will give a 18" high and 24" wide bench on both sides of the ER.

Or maybe i'll cut it to 75 a side and make the ER another state room

Was also thinking of a small header tank for the Genset. It's an aviation thing, any thoughts?