help with bulkhead

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by nik33134, Jan 15, 2016.

  1. nik33134
    Joined: Dec 2015
    Posts: 3
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    Location: Greece

    nik33134 New Member

    Hi guys, this is my first post on the forum. I bought an 1989 Hydrofield Jaguar 18, that is a trimaran speedboat, and found a leak on the gas tank so I got rid of it since it was badly corroded. So I'm going to have a gas tank fabricated, but I am restricted by a fiberglass barrier which could be a bulkhead, or maybe not. It's about 5mm thick, like an upside down L. Can I cut it off and re-glass it 30 cm aft? I can screw a couple of steel braces over the tank for lateral rigidity as well. The relevant barrier is marked with an orange X in the photo of the deck. I need to use the fore bilge compartment since my transom has a lot of motor weight already.
     

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  2. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
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    Location: Milwaukee, WI

    gonzo Senior Member

    Yes, those are rather overbuilt boats. Won't be a problem
     
  3. nik33134
    Joined: Dec 2015
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    Location: Greece

    nik33134 New Member

    Thanks Gonzo. So you think it's alright even though it could be the middle section of a bulkhead? Here's a schematic which doesn't seem to show much.
     

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  4. philSweet
    Joined: May 2008
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    Location: Beaufort, SC and H'ville, NC

    philSweet Senior Member

    Its main job appears to be to support the floor hatch. You may have some unwanted added deflection of softness unless you stiffen the hatch cover up a bit. But I don't see any problems moving it based on the pictures.
     
  5. Barry
    Joined: Mar 2002
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    Barry Senior Member

    It appears that the fuel tank is steel. A poor choice for a gas engine and illegal in most jurisdictions unless it is hot dipped galvanized inside and out.
    The tank has to be 1/4 inch above the bottom and rest on a material that is impervious to moisture, plastic etc.
    Any straps etc in contact with the tank should also have the plastic or equivalent buffer between surfaces and the tank top is supposed to be built so that water cannot stand on it for extended periods of time, ie self draining
    Of course the draw line would have to be extended and any gaskets between the sending unit etc cannot be cork, ie neoprene only I believe

    In any case, it would appear that you have ample room above the tank to increase the size of the fuel tank only slightly to get the same capacity as compared to adding 30 cm of extra length.

    Perhaps this is a cheaper and easier solution
     
  6. nik33134
    Joined: Dec 2015
    Posts: 3
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    Location: Greece

    nik33134 New Member

    Hi Barry, what you see is not the tank, it's the bottom of the boat. The tank is gone. So as you can see now, there isn't that much space there.
     

  7. Barry
    Joined: Mar 2002
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    Barry Senior Member

    Got it
    The fuel line looked like it was going into the tank and the other round disc looked like a badly corroded sending unit plate.
     
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