whats viewable with fuel tank out

[el pescador]

on a 20 ft 1973 with the fuel tank removed is that anything as for as stringer or keel areas that could be inspected or is there nothing of interest onced the fuel tank is removed to be seen....thanks

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[Jon G]

Pescador, the tank sits on a piece of plywood, if you pull the plywood(glassed in) you can see the keel and bottom of the hull as well as the stringers. Not much interesting under there if you ask me I just replaced the tank and plywood, came out great.

[ocuyler]

If your question is whether to remove the tank, absolutely. First and most important, you can evaluate the parts of the fuel tank you can't see, especially if it's foamed in.

The plywood could be mush.

You can get at the stringers. We drilled some exploritory holes low on the stringer sides and sure enough, we vacuumed/drained out some water. It was nice to paint the whole thing before installing the new tank.



Regards,

Otto

[Rich]

Hey Otto,

What kind of paint did you use to paint the bilge/tank area?

Thanks,

Rich

[ocuyler]

Rich,

I used Valspar enamel, the same stuff we use on our machinery. Tough as nails, withstands steam cleaning and general abuse. 18 bucks a gallon.

Otto