Sanderling's port fuel tank has a very small leak near the top. The last time I refueled, she lost about 1 gallon, all caught in the side bilge and hand pumped into bottles - not a drop reached the main bilge. The tank is located outboard of the port engine, enclosed in some ceiling-tile type material, probably sound deadening, which I think is fastened to some plywood - both the interior side and most of the ends of the tank are covered. There is an open area on the ends, near the top of the tank, which allows me to see that there a space about 4-5 inches deep between the top of the tank and the bottom of the deck above. It looks like the top of the tank is rusted, probably from a leak or leaks coming through the deck (fiberglass sandwich covered with teak). I've repaired and rebedded all the decks on the boat because of leaks, except the lower decks which are above the fuel tanks. The other fuel tank is located outboard of the starboard engine, and I want to get to that tank eventually to stop any rust that might be taking place. Consequently, I need to rebed the deck to stop water intrusion, stop the rust on the tank, and repair the leak in the tank. Thinking about how to do it. No matter what I do, I'm going to have to remove the teak strips (only seven of them running about 12 feet in length) over the tank (to repair the deck, at the least). I'm not sure whether I can reach the entire top of the tank from the inside even after removing all the surrounding plywood and ceiling-tile stuff. I want to avoid removing the tank(s), if possible. Here's the approach I'm thinking about taking. Seems that one way of getting to the top of the tank is through the deck above. Once I remove the teak strips, I could cut through the deck and remove it in one big chunk - the cut would be under the area covered by the teak strips - to gain direct access to the top of the tank(s). Then do whatever is necessary to the tank. If I can't get to the leak from there, I'll have no choice but to try to reach it from the sides by removing the ceiling-tile material which currently hides the tanks. Once repaired, I can replace the cut-out by using epoxy and wooden tabs along the underside of the deck to support the cut-out. while the cut out if off, I can easily dry it out, and repair any water damage not only to it, but to the surrounding deck area. Does this approach make sense? Is it doable? <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Bob McLeran and Judy Young Manatee Cove Marina M/V Sanderling Patrick Air Force Base Hampton 35 Trawler Melbourne, Florida

: TWL: Fuel tank repair from above > Sanderling's port fuel tank has a very small leak near the top > > The tank is located outboard of the port engine, enclosed in some > ceiling-tile type material, probably sound deadening, which I think is > fastened to some plywood > Consequently, I need to rebed the deck to stop water intrusion, stop the > rust on the tank, and repair the leak in the tank. Thinking about how to do > it. No matter what I do, I'm going to have to remove the teak strips (only > seven of them running about 12 feet in length) over the tank (to repair the > deck, at the least). Bob, I have been there. Do not assume where the leak is. Mine was on the very bow of the boat well over 30 feet from where the water manifested itself. Tearing into the deck where it is dripping is not necessarily where the leak is. See my article on tank repair on our web site cl on "repairs". I cover that in some detail My experience shows that cutting into the deck would not have done any good at all. Infact I removed a number of feet of teak and repaired the glass under it before I gained the experience of how leaks on decks work!!!! By removing the sound shield, which is easy, you can inspect the tanks and do one heck of a lot of work on them without even removing them. There is a picture of one tank being worked on , just cl. on Pictures of CCRIDER , note the new inspection hatch that I cut into the side of the tank, check real close and see the welder INSIDE the tank. On reinstalling the sound shields I left a space at the top and bottom for inspections and also left the space between the tanks open for storage, and inspection. See the article and if you have more questions contact me off list. CCC Charles and Pat Culotta Patterson,La. Web Page: http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta/