Ericson 30+ Fuel Tank Replacement

[Frank Langer]

Dave,
My hull number is 637, so very close to yours. My traveler is on the cabin top, just in front of the dodger.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

I added a seabuilt 6” access port centered on the location of the tank level sender. I then mounted the sender on the access port plate. Here is a link http://www.seabuilt.com/plates.php

Oh, duh..you repaired it from the inside. Question, Did you see the pics of Bigd's floor & liner above ? Is your boat the same as that with floor and liner ?

 

[Dave G.]

Dave,
My hull number is 637, so very close to yours. My traveler is on the cabin top, just in front of the dodger.
Frank

My traveler is on the bridge deck.

 

[Frank Langer]

Dave,
I guess they made various changes along the way, even though our hull numbers are very close.
It's hard to know if my set up is the same as in Bigd14's photos, because the removal of the bulkhead between the quarterberth and engine room opens it up alot. But I think mine is like his, with the plywood floor covering almost all the fuel tank. My water tank sits on that floor in front of the rudder tube, whereas his looks like its in front of the fuel tank, though I'm not sure.
I think once you start on this work, your next steps along the way will become more clear.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

Thanks Frank, I am sure I will figure it out. I am just amazed at how different Bigd's boat is from mine. No resemblance whatsoever between them at all. Just trying to figure out how & why I guess. I am curious to find out if Ed's boat looks similar to Bigd's as his is earlier than mine I believe. If his is the same then someone chopped up mine for some reason.

 

[Frank Langer]

Thanks Frank, I am sure I will figure it out. I am just amazed at how different Bigd's boat is from mine. No resemblance whatsoever between them at all. Just trying to figure out how & why I guess. I am curious to find out if Ed's boat looks similar to Bigd's as his is earlier than mine I believe. If his is the same then someone chopped up mine for some reason.

Dave,
If you can post some pics of your setup, others may chime in to say theirs is similar, or we may be able to see what modifications were made to your boat, and contemplate the reasons for those changes. Maybe a previous owner had a great idea that we'll all copy!
Frank

 

[frick]

I had to replace the fuel tank on my 1971 e29 a few years ago. I removed the tank, took it to Alloy Metal Shop in Farmington Long island. The replicated the tank so all my hoses where in the right spot. It was a much easier job than your e30. all I had to do was removed two wood screws on the port tied down, and the tank slid into the lazaret.

 

[Loren Beach]

While everyone is considering various solutions to repairing a very-hard-to-access fuel tank under the cockpit, perhaps it might be helpful to consider a change. After all, it is possible to move that 19 gallons (approx) of diesel somewhere else easier to access and to monitor. No, I'm not so sure where, but some thinking with a "clean sheet" might be interesting
Against that, the factory tank has a rather complicated shape to fit against the hull and provide usefulness in an area that can indeed be left alone for 20 years at a time.

The displacement is given as 9K. That's less than our model's 10.6K, but not too much. Volume is the real determinant of the "size" of a boat, more so than length. My point, is that maybe there is another location for that tank that could be found.

On our boat, I enlarged the fuel tank located under the port settee, but IF starting over I would probably put it under port cockpit seat hatch where the present 23 gallon 2nd water tank is located. More capacity and a shorter straightforward hose run to the engine. Then the middle part of the boat could have that other water tank capacity, even if a few gallons less than we have now (at 61 total we never have run short).

Darned if I know what I'd do with an E-30+, but I love fractional rigs and it would be fun to restore one.
Their sailing reputation alone makes them a candidate...

For the record, we have relocated out hot water tank, enlarged the fuel tank, and replaced the aft water tank with a better-designed one. Moved the engine water intake, and added a second battery and box. Also removed and replaced the long aft storage shelf with a larger honeycomb panel, and upgraded the size and location of the holding tank.
It's interesting what you can do, starting out with a strong boat from a quality builder like EY.
There are a number of subtle little gear changes and upgrades. That said, nothing we've done compares to the major electrical panel work displayed here by a number of other owners. And their self-steering, below deck AP drives, and sprits, and............. etc. (!)

 

[Dave G.]

I would love to leave that tank where it is and just install a new one in another spot but can not think of a place a fuel tank could fit and be a suitable location. The only spot it could possibly fit would be under the port banquette bench but that would restrict bilge & keel bolt access so not ideal. Would also have to get fuel lines into that compartment which is not a clean route. I'll keep thinking but it probably is in the best location currently.

 

[windblown]

Dave, how much fuel is leaking? A little diesel makes a lot of odor, and heightens anxiety. We thought we had a tank leak last year, but it turned out that our “full” tank was over full and the freezing weather caused some expansion. With no room to go, we had seepage around the fuel gage port and from the over flow vent. Removing some fuel and tightening the connections solved the problem, and I learned that diesel will expand and may “gel” in the bitter cold.

 

[Kenneth K]

Of course I filled the tank prior to pulling her out for the season to prevent moisture forming...aaargh.

Windblown brings up a great point! The first time I filled my tank (E323), I erringly waited for the electric fuel gauge to read FULL. Long before it got there, I had diesel spurting out the fuel vent.

In the dumbest-of-all-ideas category, the E323 tank fuel-gauge port is about 2" below the top of the tank. In this picture, the gasketed port is being pressurized by about 2" of diesel sitting above it, and (wouldn't you know it) subsequently began leaking (and, yeah, that's a positive battery cable lying over the leaking tank and fittings--you gotta love old boats).



Further, if the tank is full to capacity and fuel has risen up into the fill and vent lines, the tank becomes "pressurized" by the height of the fuel in the elevated lines--that might cause normally dry fittings to leak. You said you just filled your tank for winter--definitely worth checking out!

 

[mjsouleman]

This is great information for us E-30+ owners. Discovery has yet to develop a fuel tank leak but it is inevitable. I'll be following.

Mark "Souleman" Soule

 

[Alan Gomes]

Has any thought been given to replacing the tank with a plastic one? It seems as though corrosion would no longer be an issue for such a tank, but maybe there are some other downsides to them.

 

[nquigley]

What about a bladder replacement tank?
This company sells many shapes and sizes of diesel-compatible bladders: https://www.imtra.com/products/other-products/nauta-flexible-tanks
Maybe this one?

Other Marine Products | Flexible Tanks, Access Hatches & More | Imtra

Purchase top-of-the-line Fynspray pumps, Nauta flexible marine tanks, marine access hatches, snap apart hinges, and other marine products directly on Imtra. Learn more.

www.imtra.com

Or this style - can be carried by two people:

Nauta Portable Outboard Tanks w/Shut-Off Valve - 13 gal

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www.ahoycaptain.com

I'm think of getting one about 10-15 gallons as a supplemental diesel tank when extended motoring range might be needed, and have it rigged to be drained into my 20-gal tank when that gets low.

 

[Alan Gomes]

What about a bladder replacement tank?
This company sells many shapes and sizes of diesel-compatible bladders: https://www.imtra.com/products/other-products/nauta-flexible-tanks
Maybe this one?

Other Marine Products | Flexible Tanks, Access Hatches & More | Imtra

Purchase top-of-the-line Fynspray pumps, Nauta flexible marine tanks, marine access hatches, snap apart hinges, and other marine products directly on Imtra. Learn more.

www.imtra.com

Or this style - can be carried by two people:

Nauta Portable Outboard Tanks w/Shut-Off Valve - 13 gal

<!-- Empty field [MoreInformationMetaDescription] -->

www.ahoycaptain.com

I'm think of getting one about 10-15 gallons as a supplemental diesel tank when extended motoring range might be needed, and have it rigged to be drained into my 20-gal tank when that gets low.

An interesting option--though the ones you linked seem a bit pricey.

Just to throw out a wild idea: How about cutting off the top (or enough of the top) of the leaking aluminum tank in situ and then mounting a bladder tank inside of it? One issue would be not to blow yourself up while cutting off the top, so maybe filling the tank with water before doing the cutting might take care of that?

Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about, but this suggestion could provide an interesing occasion for others who do to point out all of the things wrong with such an idea!

 

[Alan Gomes]

An interesting option--though the ones you linked seem a bit pricey.

Just to throw out a wild idea: How about cutting off the top (or enough of the top) of the leaking aluminum tank in situ and then mounting a bladder tank inside of it? One issue would be not to blow yourself up while cutting off the top, so maybe filling the tank with water before doing the cutting might take care of that?

Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about, but this suggestion could provide an interesing occasion for others who do to point out all of the things wrong with such an idea!

I texted this idea to my mechanical engineer friend in Florida and got this reply: "Could work. Aluminum wont spark. Yes, water in the tank to be safe."

The one downside I can think of right off is that it might result in some loss of capacity.

 

[Dave G.]

This is great information for us E-30+ owners. Discovery has yet to develop a fuel tank leak but it is inevitable. I'll be following.

Mark "Souleman" Soule

Mark, I went to the boat today and drained all the fuel out and saw a little corrosion in the front seem just below the fuel pickup. I only had the fuel gauge sender hole to look through so will have to cut a larger hole and get a camera to look at the whole tank. I have a question for you, did you see the pics that bigd posted above of his aft compartment above the tank ? As your boat is older than mine by a year I am curious if yours has a complete floor and liner ?

 

[Dave G.]

..I went to the boat today(33 deg) and sucked all the fuel out and saw a little corrosion in the front seem just below the fuel pickup. I only had the fuel gauge sender hole to look through so will have to cut a larger hole and get a camera to look at the whole tank. I also measured the height of my tank (13.75") and it will not fit through the laz hatch in the cockpit so I'm moving to plan B( thanks Ed K ) which is repairing in place from the inside. I talked through this with the marina owner today and he thinks that is a viable fix. I will have to cut a much larger (6-8") to provide access for the repair. The diagram that I posted is different than my tank so I am guessing mine is a 25 gal vs 19.6 gal in that diagram, just a educated guess. If the in place fix doesn't work I think plan C will be to cut off the top of the tank and install the 18-19 gallon version inside of it I'm glad I got the fuel out though, last week I used the electric fuel pump to remove about a gallon to rule out expansion as the problem, today it is almost dry ! I'm guesstimating there was about a quart or so of diesel in the bilge which I soaked up and cleaned with dawn detergent. Hopefully the diesel smell will at least subside as she is sealed up for winter .I did take some pics and I'll post same here when I download them. I would be curious if anyone other than Ed K has done a interior repair of a fuel tank and if so how that has held up over time ?

 

[Dave G.]

Frank, BigD, Ed, Mark,
Here are a couple of photos I took today. As you will see my boat is much more "primitive" than the photos you posted. More like the bowels of a JBoat.....I drained the fuel through the fuel gauge/sender plate shown in second pic.

 

[Loren Beach]

Oh my. Crowded back there.
I wonder how many other owners might just take out the hot water heater along with the fuel tank, and then replace both of them. Gel coat out the area while you are there. Replace any hoses or wiring in the vicinity. Re-glass any structure that looks like it's in need.
Then hope for 30 more years before doing it all again!