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As of September we are proud owners of a '74 Newport 30' with A4. A few years ago the previous owner abandoned the original 20 gal metal fuel tank. Presumably this was due to leaks and/or contamination problems. A new 10 gallon plastic tank was installed just aft of the port lazarette, but was not fastened down in any way. The original abandoned metal tank remains under the cockpit deck aft of the motor.
I have already pulled the motor for overhaul so this is the time to act. It would be nice to reclaim either the original tank itself or at least the space it occupies. Eventually I might like to have the orignal 20 gallons of fuel capacity rather than 10. So this is a three-part question:
1) I know from my previous life as a old car person that you can buy products specifically designed to reclaim old fuel tanks. Has anyone tried these on a sailboat fuel tank or aware of some reason I shouldn't try it?
-or-
2) Should I remove and discard the old tank and replace it with a larger plastic or new metal one?
-or-
3) Should I just forget about the whole exercise except for fastening down the plastic tank?
Any advice on the above would be appreciated, though you can spare me the warnings about the explosion hazards of dealing with old, possibly not completely empty gasoline tanks.
I have already pulled the motor for overhaul so this is the time to act. It would be nice to reclaim either the original tank itself or at least the space it occupies. Eventually I might like to have the orignal 20 gallons of fuel capacity rather than 10. So this is a three-part question:
1) I know from my previous life as a old car person that you can buy products specifically designed to reclaim old fuel tanks. Has anyone tried these on a sailboat fuel tank or aware of some reason I shouldn't try it?
-or-
2) Should I remove and discard the old tank and replace it with a larger plastic or new metal one?
-or-
3) Should I just forget about the whole exercise except for fastening down the plastic tank?
Any advice on the above would be appreciated, though you can spare me the warnings about the explosion hazards of dealing with old, possibly not completely empty gasoline tanks.
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