The last thing a boater wants to worry about is a leaky fuel tank. Not only is it an extremely hazardous situation with the possibility of fire or explosion, but it also can have an environmental impact if a spill should occur. The expense in both cases can be astronomical.

We had this happen to us shortly after buying our "EGG". We had just returned from Block Island and upon docking there was a strong smell of gas. What we found was the gas can for the dingy had tipped over in the bilge, or at least that’s what we thought it was. It wasn’t until New Years Day that we found the real problem. The starboard tank had let go and there was about 20 gallons of gas in the bilge. My wife Cindy and I spent the next hour with rubber gloves and sponges in 20 degree weather cleaning up the mess. Our dock master let us siphon out the rest of the gas into 55 gallon drums and pour it back into his main storage tank at the yard.

After inspecting the tank I was able to see the cause of the leak. A steel staple had been used to hold down the rubber padding on the side of the tank and was rubbing against the tank. This staple mixed with salt water, rubbing against the tank caused the aluminum to pit and corrode. I was all set to patch the tank with Marine Tex epoxy when the port fuel tank let go the following week. That’s when we decided to remove both tanks and replace them. It just wasn’t worth the risk. If there was one leak there might be another on the way that can’t be seen.

It was heart breaking for me to think of cutting up the cockpit floor, our "EGG" had the fiberglass floor and it was in great shape. After close examination of the cockpit decking my friend Ted and I determined the best way to cut it open. We decided to cut around all the wooden stringers underneath the deck, so that our removable deck would be the strongest. After checking and rechecking the locations of the fuel tanks, hoses and wires we were able to layout a cut line.

The first cut would run parallel to the bulkhead under the floor and would run next to it. This way we could scribe a new 2 x 6 with the same shape as the cockpit floor and then glue and screw it to the bulkhead. This would become the first support when we replaced the floor. The port and starboard cuts would be about 8 inches in from either side, and the stern cut would run just aft of the fuel tanks.

The main idea behind cutting the floor was to do it the cleanest way possible without having to paint or re-gel coat the floor afterwards. We also wanted to be able to remove it again, if the need ever arises.

Once the measurements were drawn on the floor we used a chalk line and snapped a sharp cut line. Instead of cutting square corners we used a 5gallon bucket to give a nice rounded corner. I went out and purchased a new jigsaw so that it would give us a nice clean, straight cut. I was amazed as to how tuff the fiberglass was to cut. We went through blades like crazy. After the final cut was made, we lifted the deck out and stood it up next to the saloon bulkhead.

Now we were able to remove the tanks and inspect them for damage. What we saw underneath the tanks was the same as what caused the first tank to let go. Steel staples were used to hold down the rubber pads. Every place there was a staple there was corrosion, some faint some almost through the tank! At this point trying to repair the tanks was out, besides I couldn’t find anyone to weld gas tanks. The original sticker was still on the tanks, Florida Marine Tanks was the company that made them. One telephone call put new tanks into the works, they still had the original blueprints.

The cockpit floor is made up of a layer of fiberglass, then balsa core and then a layer of fiberglass. With this in mind all exposed balsa core had to be protected from water. Ted and I decided to use a router to remove ¾ of an inch of balsa between fiberglass layers all around both the hatch and the opening. What ever was left was cleaned up with a chisel. Then Marine Tex epoxy was used to fill in the edges to form a strong, watertight seal.

Once the floor and the hatch were sealed, it was time to figure out how to put everything back together. As stated before a 2x6 was scribed to the same contour as the floor and glued and screwed to the aft bulkhead. This gave us the first ledge for the hatch to rest on. Next came the sides. There was enough room to lay a 2x4 down with a ½ inch grove in it. A piece of ½ inch marine plywood was placed in the grove and scribed at the height of the floor, minus the thickness of another 2x4 for the top. This was then glued and screwed into place on the bottom. The top 2x4 which was a nice snug fit, was held in place by 3-M 5200 caulk, half holding the cockpit floor the other half the ledge to hold the hatch. Now we could install the hatch and check for fit. We gently laid the hatch down and checked for fit. Some spots were a little high, and needed to be sanded down on the underside of the hatch. All in all it fit great! The back half would be held in place by a cleat, a piece of marine plywood glued and screwed with a little 5200 underneath. Once we were happy with the fit, a small bead of 5200 was applied to the three ledges and the hatch was laid in place. Then the cleats were glued and screwed in place on each side in the back. I found some nice, heavy duty latches at the hardware store and placed them in place at the front two corners. There was an access hole in the rear of the engine compartment on each side and provided plenty of room to install them. This would hold the hatch in place until the 5200 dried and add an extra sense of security.

After the hatch set up we ended up with a nice even crack all the way around. We then covered the crack with masking tape and then used a razor blade and cut both sides of the tape. Then silicone caulk was pumped into the crack and left flush. After it was dry the tape was removed and the end result was great!

Ninety percent of the people, who came on the boat, never noticed the deck was cut. Many thought the factory did it!

Writer's Tip:

This is what happens when you have a bad shore power cord!