 | Replacing a Southerly 115 Fuel Tank |
| Path: Fuel Tank |
             |  Having just replaced the old Mild Steel fuel tank on our Southerly 115 "Passe Partout" with a nice new shiny Stainless Steel one, I thought I would write a page on our experiences as a guide to other owners who have to go through the same process.      click on image for full sized picture First you will see that we managed to get a full size tank of the same dimensions as the original through the locker. The new tank has no sump, but now we have a nice big inspection hatch on the top (just seen in the picture) so we can gain access if required in the future. Second we managed to get away with minimum cutting of the cockpit side to get this tank through the cockpit locker aperture. The trick is to turn the tank through 90 degrees so its height of 51cm will fit easily between the sides of the locker (60cm) including the brackets. Once through the hole you can turn the tank in the locker and drop it onto its mountings. When you cut the side of the locker out, make sure you don't create square corners or you will create stress points which will crack again in the future. The panel was glassed back in with P40 (Car body panel glass reinforced resin) which appeared to do a good job. The front was then painted over with Gel coat and polished back to a nice finish - the repair is basically invisible from the outside and we repainted the inside of the locker with International Danbolin bilge paint - magic stuff. In fact we painted the whole of the locker before the new tank was dropped into place. My thanks to the guys down at Northshore who explained the process and turned what started out as a nightmare into a simple job. And yes, we had to take out the gas bottle box and shelf and remove the supporting frame for the floor, and the warm air heating unit. But it did give us the opportunity to tidy up the cables and plumbing. And of course, don't forget to replace all the pipes on the main heads as this is likely to be the only time you have access to them !! The connectors on the top of the tank are the main fuel feed and return for the engine, the fuel level sender and a smaller feed for the heater. Do feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want a set of drawings for the tank. James Bushell High View, The Ridgeway, Chalfont St. Peter, Bucks. SL9 8NP Tel/Fax: 01753-884294 Mob: 07736-106866 Email: james.bushell@talk21.com |
