Hi all, I recently picked up a 1986 Sea Ray SRV 230. I've been trying to track down a gas smell and I'm pretty sure it's the aluminum tank corroding from the bottom. I'm looking to replace it with a poly tank. Fortunately there are two hatches I can remove to gain access to the tank, the only unfortunate thing is that I believe I will need to cut some of the deck to actually lift the tank out. I wanted to run my plan by someone with a little more experience than me to make sure it is sound before I start cutting. I've attached a picture down below of what I'm dealing with. As you can see due to the length of the tank in order to get it out I'll need to cut the aft deck support, it's not a full height bulkhead, the bulkhead is only about 12" tall and then there's a gap and at the top right under the deck strip that holds the hatch is a dome shaped piece of fiberglass which looks to just support the deck in that area.
So my plan is to cut out that small strip so I can lift the tank out and then to re-fiberglass that strip back in after replacing the tank. Does this approach make sense? Is there a better way? I'm trying not to remove the engine so I'm hoping this gives me enough room and hoping I don't have to cut the other hatch support between the seats.
So my plan is to cut out that small strip so I can lift the tank out and then to re-fiberglass that strip back in after replacing the tank. Does this approach make sense? Is there a better way? I'm trying not to remove the engine so I'm hoping this gives me enough room and hoping I don't have to cut the other hatch support between the seats.