| Title: | Powerboats |
| Notice: | Introductions 2 /Classifieds 3 / '97 Ski Season 1267 |
| Moderator: | KWLITY::SUTER |
| Created: | Thu May 12 1988 |
| Last Modified: | Wed Jun 04 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1275 |
| Total number of notes: | 18109 |
I have a 1979 Steury 19' center console boat. I bought it late last summer. It has two saddle fuel tanks, one on each side mid ship. They are set in the gunwale and have fiberglass covers. In the interest of safety and because I noted some odor of gas when my nose is in the bilge vent, I decided to take the covers off the fuel tanks and check things out. The result was I found one severly rusted around the bottom and decided it was better to replace both. I ordered two of them from Outer Banks. The price was lower than a local marine retailer could buy them for. I hope they deliver in a reasonable time period. My question, What do people recommend I paint or coat the tanks with to prevent a reoccurance. The tanks are Aluminumized steel. My thought was to use something like spay on auto undercoat. I asked a dealer and they recommended red lead or zinc paint. Any ideas? As an aside, I plan to replace the feed hoses while I'm at it. Another problem I am struggling with is how to secure the glass covers back in place. The tanks look to be an after market add-on. Who ever had them apart last used, what looks like rolled window caulk as a sealant. On one side the cover was screwed on with 1.5" stainless screws. They were just screwed into the fiberglass. They don't hold much. The other side has had some 2X2 pieces of pressure treated cut to fit behind the inner hull for the screws to go into. What I want to do is find something like the nut clips used on automobiles to hold the fenders on. That's choice one. Another alternative is to use a strip of thin stainless and use stainless sheet metal screws. This along with a piece of stainless molding should do the trick and look pretty good. Any of you, "do it yourselfers," have any suggestions? Thanks, Rich
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 666.1 | JAmestown Distributors | 57441::CADMUS | Fri May 04 1990 15:13 | 7 | |
There are lots of different fasteners that you can use- suggest
you call Jamestown Distributors in jamestown R.I and get their
catalogue- good supply of various marine fasteners.
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| 666.2 | HOW ABOUT FIBERGLASS & RESIN | POBOX::SWENSON | Fri May 04 1990 19:31 | 10 | |
It is possible to use an epoxy resin over the aluminum after it is
etched with an acid. See the West System product guide for this. I
suspect corrosion around the bottom of the tank will not be a problem
that will recur with a resin coating.
Do you open the tank cover often? If not, why not put a piece of fiber
cloth over the seam and fiberglass everything in place. It's not that
hard to do. If you need to open the tank area in the future I assume
it will be problem related. Then you just cut the small sections of
fiberglass with a saw.
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| 666.3 | EPOXY primer and good ventilation | BIZNIS::CADMUS | Mon May 07 1990 12:39 | 28 | |
I would do two things to prevent this in the future-
Use an epoxy based metal primer from one of the marine paint suppliers
and keep the tank bottom from lying on a surface which can trap water
underneath- in otherwords support the tank on the bottom a(and the
side against the hull) with some kind of standoff, like a block of
rubber or other non- absorbant material to allow ventilation and
prevent moisture from collecting.
The boat I currently own had a new engine put in by the previous
owner. The cause of enginer failure was the oil pan rusted through and
the engine lost oil pressure while cruising. The prevuis owner epoxied
the new oil pan before he droipped the engine in. AT the end of my
first season with the boat, I got nervous and pulle the engine and
removed the pan- water had gotten between the epoxy and the steel-
the pan was like swiss cheese after I stripped some of the resin off.
I bought a new pan, had it degreased thoroughly, sanded the h**l out
of the purtside to rough it up, and put an e[poxy primer finished by a
vinyl paint- to date (2yr)s, not a sign of rust- I also replaced the
pan bolts with S.S. and after installation- gave the whole bottom
of the engine another coat of vinyl paint.
The vinyl based paint is the stuff the use on outbaords and comes in a
spray can.
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