Need help on replacing gas tanks in 24ft cat

justincasey57 · 09-22-2009, 12:28 PM

I have a 1991 24ft thundercat catamaran. it has 2 fiberglass tanks. I am looking to either replace them with plastic or alum tanks or possible put in the "gas tank bladders." Anyone have ANY advice they can give me on what to do or even if you are familiar with these boats any input of the boat(how to take the floor up,what the dimensions of the tanks,where the tanks are exactly located, etc) THANKS YOu in advance to anyone who can help me with this problem. justin

justincasey57 · 09-23-2009, 06:43 PM

anyone? I am getting ready to start this project...

CN24 · 09-24-2009, 06:25 AM

where are you located?

Maritime_Eng · 09-24-2009, 07:57 AM

Look for XLPE (Cross-linked polyethylene) tanks. They are very strong (Stronger than Aluminum), fuel resistant and will not deform like other plastic tanks. Stay away from LLDPE or MDPE becasue they will absorb fuel and expand. I would not recommend Aluminum tanks because they do hold more moisture than plastic tanks and have been known to break at the welds.......

justincasey57 · 09-25-2009, 06:16 PM

I'm located in Dallas GA.

justincasey57 · 10-02-2009, 02:12 PM

anyone else have any advice before I break out the saws and start cutting away??

Maritime_Eng · 10-02-2009, 06:10 PM

I would look at this site for fuel tanks.
http://www.moellermarine.com/
I have these tanks in my boat now and really like them. Any questions just send me and email and I can walk you thru it.

Don

justincasey57 · 10-02-2009, 07:41 PM

thanks, I'll give them a call when I get the dimensions of my tanks.My tanks now are made into the boat so I spoke with another guy who told me I'd have to cut the top of the tanks out and drop in a new tank that fits down inside the old tank.Hopefully all goes well.

justincasey57 · 10-28-2009, 09:34 PM

PLEASE HELP I NEED AN ANSWER ASAP

Ok well heres where I am now....( i have my post on "24ft thundercat makeover" in the fiberglass and paint section, check it out)
Today I got home from work and decided to cut the top of the old tank out.Heres a few pics of what I found...Notice the top of the tank that I flipped up and it was swollen up and de-laminating. and the bottom of the tank is slowly being peeled up. Now I dont know what to do about the "joist" that seperate the tank into the 3 different sections... can I remove these?

justincasey57 · 10-28-2009, 09:44 PM

Heres a pic of what I need to cut out. if I cant cut them out I dont know where my new fuel tanks can be placed. If I cut the two "joist" out I can put a tank that is 60" long in. otherwise I have no idea what i can do. heres a pic.