anybody wanna see some pics ???

[jawz12]

anybody wanna see some boat **** ??? i got a few nasty jobs going on...got some great pics too...

[clt_capt]

bring 'em on

[Robja]

Boat **** Woo Wee

[gottaflylee]

Give it up Jimmy... I want to see the down and dirty, then to the "Mr. Clean"...

[jawz12]

this is a tough job,not for the timid guys out there...
this is a late model wellcraft,a 240 coastal-'98...fuel tank is leaking,and it's a dirty job...deck has to be cut to remove the tank,no access,in any way shape or form...nice huh ??? could someone please explain to me why a company would build a boat like that ??? there's a few guys on here who claim to be boat builders and naval archatechs-terrible spelling i know...,could mabey one of you guys explain this to me ??

the tank has been set in foam from the factory-not a really good practice,it traps moisture around the tank-it's ok if the tank is completley protected by a waterproof coating,but a tank that's spray painted grey,not a good move...
i cut the deck,gained access to the tank,removed the hold down pieces for the tank and cut the foam...i use a large hand saw,saw all around the perimiter of the tank,till you hit the hull's bottom...do this on all 4 sides..."pick and shovel" work we call this i pull the sending unit outta the tank and i use a large stainless steel,"pin",this "pin" held the trim cylinders on to a merc outdrive,i have a shackle around this and i atach a chain to it and lift the tank with either the cherry picker or the fork lift...here's the "rub"...this tank isn't moving...i bent a piece of box steel for the channel of my cherry picker- scary stuff huh ??? this gets better...

used a piece of box steel,bolted it through my fork lift,drilled 2 holes in the aft section of the tank and atached the cherry picker to that end and the fork lift to the forward end...still no movement from the tank...the 2 part foam is no joke,this is nasty tough stuff,,,nothing i'm aware of,will disolve this foam...now,with my "limited experience",seeing this is the first fuel tank i've ever attempted to replace i went to the forward bulkhead area,gotta make a few cuts in the cabin inner liner-oh well...if you're gonna make a cake,you gotta break a few eggs,right ???
i cut a good sized chunk from the bulkhead,chisled out the foam in a small area...i used this really trick device called a port a power...i really don't get to use this beast enough !!! i shoved the port a power wedge in place and pumped it up,hard as i could-till it i hit the "blow off"...pumped the cherry picker up as far as i could,and lifeted the fork lift as far as i could...still no tank movement ... the boat was actually "light" on the blocking...scary stuff here...
i left it sit like this for 2 days...still no movement...now...we gotta do what we gotta do here...
got no other choice except to cut the fuel tank into pieces...this is gonna be a fun time...needless to say,the estimate on this job is gonna be exceeded...


check out the pictures...a few of you guys "dreamin nj" got to see this first hand...

[thomas70]

Did you take a handsaw and go around the outside of the tank?

[jawz12]

Did you take a handsaw and go around the outside of the tank?

i guess mabey you missed reading that part ???

[Robja]

Could be bolted to a brace in the hull some way.

[jawz12]

Could be bolted to a brace in the hull some way.

guys,perhaps we're not understanding this...lemme try again...

this shows the holding power of a 2 part closed cell foam,the tank isn't bolted down anywhere,look at the pictures...see the bed of foam the tank is lying in ?? this is how some manufactures installed fuel tanks,some still do it this way...these are the steps you have to take sometimes to repair things...pretty nasty,huh ???

[dunn6253]

I hate my job working on cars, I hope I never have to work on boats.

Im looking forward to the input of why the makers of the boats would use this style when making the boat. Must be cheap?