Fuel Bladders

[madhatter66]

Hello Everyone. I recently purchased my 2nd boat. It's a 66' 34C with 454 crusaders. Nice upgrade from a Bayliner 24 express cruiser. Well with the introduction of ethanol, it's time to change out the fuel tanks. Plus there's a soft spot on the deck. I was wondering if this will be a good idea. after the remaining gas is used in the tanks, place a 225-300gal fuel bladder under the cockpit. Centered as much as possible for weight/ balance distribution. Refit the gas lines directly from the bladder to the engines. This way don't have to remove the original tanks. Or is it just plainly best to remove and replace the tanks.

Thx

 

[rwappleton]

Before we bought the boat we have now we looked at a gas powered 41TC. You can have custom made bladders to fit in the original tanks for almost what a deck bladder costs.

Plan was when empty wash out with alcohol, Cut the top out with a sawzall, 2-4" hole for fittings and drainage and not loose any capacity.

Hope this helps.

 

[rsmith]

Many aircraft have fuel bladders in the wings. The problem is they don't last forever. About 10 years is about it. But if your looking for a short term fix it might work.

 

[34Hatt]

Over the years this has been beat to death and it boils down to cutting up the deck and replace the tanks.
I did it in a friends 1967 34C and replaced it with Coosa which worked out real nice.

 

[Avenger]

I'm wondering where he's going to fit 220-300 gal of fuel under the cockpit without removing the old tanks?

Cut up the deck and do it right. Don't offend a Hatteras with a cob job.

Oh, and welcome to the forum. Don't take the comments too seriously.

 

[Bob Bradley]

My biggest concern would be safety. You won't be able to see the underside or the outsides of the bladders. There can be a lot of vibration on a boat. If they are rubbing against a sharp spot anywhere, over time, you could wear a hole into the bladder and cause a leak.

Don't get me wrong, bladders can be fine - I carry 200 gal of diesel on my bow when I go offshore. I just wouldn't put one in my hold.

 

[Josh005]

I concur with Scrod. There is no sense in going through all the trouble to have custom bladders manufactured and cut access to the tank and not make the repair the proper way. If your animate that bladders are the way you want to go ATL labs makes custom gas and diesel bladders. On my 31 i cut up the cockpit and replaced the bad 150 gal fiberglass tank with an 200 gallon epoxy coated custom .250 inch aluminum tank. I make the deck removable in case of future service to the fuel or exhaust systems. Best of luck!