3M Fuel Cell Gel Coat
 

Does anyone have the new 3M product info/number Skater is using to re-line their fuel cells? I am doing mine due to the ethanol eating it away.

Thanks!

Had mine done with darakane,but they are not fuel cells.Is that what your talkin about?

:food-smiley-007:

yes found out today it is durakane. FU pbam :evilb:

For once in my life I got a break , my skater is Kevlar / Vinylester and The big Guy said no issues with that resin , Epoxy and Polyester resin is the problem .


Larry

What are you thinking of using?? The 470 looks like the one. Are you thinking about cutting them open, prep them, and then apply the resin??

Are you thinking about cutting them open :eek: What a chit job that is :cool-smiley-011:

Runninghot is right ! Hell of a mess ! I am glad I took it to Skater to have it done Right!

Going with aluminum. F that spray crap.

Decided to go with the aluminum after all? Smart chioce, never have to worry about it again.

I am very curious about the aluminum tanks. That seems like a good option for replacement and could be done locally by an experienced shop without having to take the boat to Skater. I live in Washington and getting my boat to Skater and back would be a huge hassle and cost. Please update on aluminum tanks as you proceed.

thanks,
Lance

None of my business man, but the cost of getting it to Skater would be pennies compared to a mistake being made by someone else cutting into your boat. It's a pretty massive job.

I agree if it was to have the stock tanks re-coated but if aluminum tanks were being dropped in, that is something a lot of places could do. In the Northwest, there are a lot of shops that work on boats that cost a lot more than any Skater and I don't think that working on my boat would be any tougher than working on a mega-yacht. Just my opinion, that is why I would like more info on the aluminum tanks.

I'm pretty sure that the fiberglass tanks give the boats alot of strength, and there is a reason why they haven't been putting aluminum tanks in as a replacement...

Has anyone made an insurance claim to have the work done?

If I have the boat towed to Skater from the Seattle area and back, that will about double the cost of the repair.

Skater offers to do the work for cost $5,000.00 just bring it to them.I decided to go local,very reputable shop in Miami. 1,000 mile local

I already talked to Skater. $5000 sounds reasonable but getting it there and back is a problem. They are 2000 miles from where I live.

And resale. It's like taking your Ferrari to ford dealer to add a new ford gas tank. Does not make sense to me.:D

That is very reasonable and plus you know it is done right.

Jerrod

freerider, are you having problems with your tanks? I have a 2000 28 and have yet to see problems.

do you run ethanol fuel?

I have been running ethanol fuel for 2 seasons now. I dont leave a lot of fuel in the boat, I normally put enough gas just for the day.

How did you adapt aluminum to the same space? Did you remove the "shlosh" baffles from the tank space?

Did you have a shop do the work and what kind of cost did you run into?

Thanks!

I haven't had problems but I called Skater and told them what year I had and was told I would need to have the tanks done. Maybe not right away because the northwest doesn't use a high blend of ethanol but as gas blends change I will need to. I don't want my tanks to melt or cause any engine damage.

I am working on a 40 classic and I dont see how you would get an alluminum tank down in the hole without cutting the deck out. I put bladders in freedom much easy'r

Have'nt heard of any engine damage from melting tanks you should have fuel filters that will catch the fingernail size pieces .. but the gas leaking in the bilge and soaking into the balsa im told is'nt a real good thing
Good luck & take it to SKATER :ernaehrung004:

turns out mine had no baffles in the cell :eek: I had to cut the floor out, cut the deck out, cut the cell out, grind out the left over purple crap, custom fab a new aluminum tank WITH baffles and all the trick stuff to the same space and put it all back together. Only lost 3 gallons of capacity. wasnt cheap but know I have peice of mind and dont have to worry about it ever again. :drink:

My boat is an Activator and a boat builer here did the job for me. cost was just under 5k.

I acutally lost an engine on my 35 Motion a few years ago when gas switched to alcohol blend. I had a very large water seperator/filter that was plugged up with large resin gunky crap. Engine leaned out and let go. I had to change the filter three times a years after that. Motion uses the same method of in tank construction like Skaters.

Brad So when gas switched to alcohol ?????? :eek: Our fuel filters were clogged every 30 mins but we spun them off and put fresh ones on watched the fuel pressures and never dropped below 8 pounds :ernaehrung004: