Fuel Tanks

Skagit 20s came with two custom built fiberglass fuel tanks, one mounted on each side of the cockpit. They are wedge-shaped affairs that nestled against the sides, and seem to have held around 20 gallons. I have heard that newer gasolines tend to attack the fiberglass resin, so most owners have replaced their tanks. Fran's tanks had about 6 gallons of old, smelly fuel in them, and still had active fuel lines running back to the fuel filter in the splashwell. It all had to go.

First step was to remove the old tanks. They were originally tabbed into place with strips of fiberglass. It was only a single layer of glass, though, and very brittle with age, so it only took a light tap with the hammer and WonderBar to release them.


The next problem was what to do with the gas/oil in the tanks. Really, that's a big problem. You can't burn it, or pour it out, or run it through your car engine. Fortunately we have a hazardous waste facility at our county transfer station. I called them and the fellow there told me they could take the gas as long as I had it in sealed bucket containers that I would leave with them. So, I went to Ace Hardware, paid about $10 apiece for two 5-gallon pails, and poured the awful, smelly green stuff out of the tanks. Drat - more than 10 gallons! Back to Ace for another 3-gallon pail. Then off to the transfer station with pails of fuel and two rotten fuel tanks. Good riddance



I had ordered and received two 24-gallon polyethelene tanks made by Moeller, but when I placed them in the cockpit they really seemed too big. So I returned them for 18-gallon versions. A little shorter and wider than the original tanks, they will hold approximately the same amount of fuel. One of the other club members just ordered custom-built aluminum tanks last week, costing about twice as much as these Moellers, but with the advantage of having the fuel fill location in the same place as the originals. I will be having to move the deck fills about a foot forward, necessitating the filling of two large holes. But that's later. Here's one of the tanks in place.