Got my new Fuel tank

[cdail28590]

I went yesterday to get my boat from Harbor Welding in Wancheese after they built and installed my new 165 gallon aluminum fuel tank. Lets just say that the workmanship was no where near what I thought it would be since they do work for all the boat builders at the beach. For starters, the tank was supposed to be epoxy coated. I quess they have some kids working there because that what it looked like who painted it. You could see paint brush streaks and where the aluminum wasn't completely coated 100%. Secondly I had asked that they Epoxy some starboard in the bottom of the boat for the tank to sit on so it is not directly on the bottom of the boat and so the water can drain around it. Not done. When I get there they forgot to put the fuel sender in so they drill it and put in my old sender instead of a new one I asked for. Needless to say I was livid when I left and I made them aware of the issues. The shotty work was one thing but then they charged me almost a $1,000 dollars to remove the old tank and install the new one. I had already removed everything from the old tank and even cut 2 sides that were glassed in, they only had to cut 1 more side to remove the tank and lift it out, thats it. They charged me 9 hrs for this. The tank install consisted of dropping the new tank in and putting screws in the stringer and the front bulkhead. They didn't even have to hook up any lines as I told them I would take care of all that. In my figuring since I did most of the work originally I would quess maybe 2 hrs tops to remove the tank and 1 hr to install. They charged me 15 hrs total labor. Now I will have to remove the tank and do the starboard and recoat the tank to have it so it is done right. If I had known that they would have done such a crappy job I would have just had them make the tank and I would have done everything else. On a positive note the welding looks great and they guaranteed the tank as long as they were in business not to leak or have any issues. This is just my little rant for the day but if you need a tank built and want it done right without having to constantly monitor it, don't go to Harbor Welding in Wancheese.

[Capt. Fred]

Wow, that really sucks. Other than the welding, it sounds like they did everything else wrong. It's hard to believe that they thought it would be OK to just lay that tank on the bottom of the boat. It will take a while but it will rot out.

Make a pattern off of one of the ends of the tank. Check it on the other end to be sure they are the same. Then hold the pattern down against the bottom of the boat and install your starboard accordingly. In the two hulls I've done this in I had to fiddle with the braces quite a bit to get the tank to bear evenly on them. Remember to clean the hull with some grinding and acetone before you 5200 the braces in. Also, remember to brace the tank fore and aft.

If you can see through that epoxy coating it is no where near thick enough.

Remember to seal those holes up that they drilled into your stringers.

And people wonder why some folks insist on doing all of their own work on their boats.

[MTLOGGER]

Originally Posted by cdail28590

I went yesterday to get my boat from Harbor Welding in Wancheese after they built and installed my new 165 gallon aluminum fuel tank. Lets just say that the workmanship was no where near what I thought it would be since they do work for all the boat builders at the beach.

Gotta wonder how the manufacturers like being cheated!

I do my own work - it's as good, if not better than when it was built.

[Kern O]

If you want Starboard between the tank and the hull, you may be able to slide it in place, but you are not going to be able to epoxy it to the tank. Starboard is very difficult to bond to anything. 3M makes a kit that will bond starboard to starboard. GIven a choice, I'd use neoprene (solid - not foam) strips. They don't slide around and they don't absorb water.

[Blue Magic]

Kern is right....It is very hard to epoxy anything to starboard....but that still does'nt warrant them to charge you what they did

[cdail28590]

I have taken the tank out and recoated it. They charge me 6 hrs to put it in and I had it out in less than 15 minutes. While its out I am going through everything and replacing any worn or loose ends. I did find that the bulkhead the original fiberglass tank was glassed to had some rot around some bolts so I cut it all out and am in the process of glassing a new back in. I just painted the all the decks and motor covers this past weekend and put a non skid surface on it. I plan to be trying to put the tank back in 2-3 weeks after all painting is done and some wiring issues are corrected. Its been a lot of work but at least I will know that the work is done right and when finished hopefully she will last another 30 years.