Fiberglass tank design

[sholt85]

What standard is the best to use for large fiberglass tank construction and wooden support structure? Any and all help would be appreciated.

[tom28571]

No reply has come in, so I will give an answer, of sorts. The USCG Safety Standards for Backyard Boatbuilders is the only standard I am aware of.

It applies only to boats with inboard engines. These standards do not apply to outboards or portable equipment. They also do not give any guidelines at all for the construction of fuel tanks. You can get a copy from the USCG by asking for COMDTPUB P16761.1B

I built a fiberglass fuel tank but now need to take it out and replace it with a plastic one due to the bad effects of methanol in our gas. Methanol is bad medicine for a fuel tank built with any resin I know of. I used isothalic polyester resin. Some make female molds and layer the FG inside, add baffles and then join the top to the rest of the tank with an overlapping lip. I built up my tank with thin FG panels and layered it inside and out with FG cloth, including the baffles. It was supported with flanges built into the upper edges as well as nylon straps slung underneath. It does not touch the hull other than at the flange. The inside should be coated with several heavy coats of additional resin so fuel has no path to wick along glass fibers.

I realize this is thin advice but it is all I feel I am competent to say. You may get more and better advice from builders of larger commercial boats near your home.

[bbsboat]

you can read ABYC,its engine section has some