2013 Dauntless 170 Fuel Tank

[floris van den berg]

What material is used by Boston Whaler for the fuel tank in a 2013 170 DAUNTLESS?

Is the fuel tank made of aluminum or stainless steel?

A friend needed to replace an aluminum fuel tank in an old Boston Whaler due to--from what I have been told--the aluminum reacting with chloride in the foam around the tank when it gets wet or moist.

[InVision]

Our 190 Nantucket [fuel tank] is something--not metal. I believe [the fuel tank] is molded polyethylene.

M

[jimh]

I have never heard of any Boston Whaler boat being made with a stainless steel fuel tank. In most older Boston Whaler boats with an integral fuel tank, the tank is made from aluminum. In newer Boston Whaler boats the fuel tank is made of some sort of plastic material. I don't know the exact composition.

Have you conducted any sort of experiment with the foam used in Boston Whaler boats to see if cured foam undergoes some sort of chemical reaction and is dissolved by water? I find this claim to be a bit hard to believe. There are thousands of Boston Whaler boats where the foam has gotten wet with water, and I don't recall that the foam began to dissolve and then begin to leach chemicals from its composition into the water.

Aluminum is used to construct boat hulls that are used in saltwater. The "salt" in saltwater in sodium chloride (NaCl), and these aluminum boat hulls are in continuous contact with a water that has chlorine atoms in abundance. It seems that aluminum works very well to resist corrosion from saltwater.

I am not much of a chemist but I look forward to hearing more about the claimed chemical reaction that occurs if an aluminum fuel tank in a Boston Whaler is in contact with the foam material and the chemical reaction that occurs when the foam comes in contact with water.

[floris van den berg]

Hi Jim--when do you think Boston Whaler started building-in plastic fuel tanks ?

My friend's boat (with the aluminum fuel tank) is a c.1980 REVENGE 20.

I would also like to hear more about the claimed chemical reaction with chloride. I was hoping to hear more on this forum about that. I will ask my friend where he heard about this.

I agree with you about the aluminum hulls made for saltwater: I happen to have one that I use a lot on saltwater. Also there are a lot of types of aluminum and not all are suitable for that.

I would love to hear when Boston Whaler started using plastic tanks. Thanks.

[InVision]

For reference, a 2004 Nantucket has a molded polyethylene fuel tank.

[jimh]

I have not researched the exact epoch when use of molded plastic tanks began to be used in Boston Whaler boats for internal below-deck gasoline fuel tanks. I know that when I visited the factory in 2005--which I can hardly believe was now 12-years ago--the fuel tank in a 235 CONQUEST was clearly made from a non-metallic material. The 235 CONQUEST was a model that had just been introduced that year. I don't know if all boats in c.2005 used non-metallic molded fuel tanks, but apparently the designers of the 235 CONQUEST employed that material for the fuel tank.


The 235 CONQUEST hull at a stage of production before the cabin top is bonded to the hull reveals a great deal of electrical, fuel, and plumbing rigging that is pre-installed. This image is from a reference article I wrote in 2005 describing a visit to the factory in Edgewater, Florida. I also recommend you read the very comprehensive, nicely illustrated, and very informative article about the plant tour.

I suspect that in the early days of building Boston Whaler boats, to have a fuel tank made to a particular design, shape, and size was probably only possible by using aluminum fabrication with welding. To make these plastic fuel tanks, I suspect that some sort of custom mold must be used. Custom molding of large plastic tanks might be expensive. I really don't have any insight on how they make them or what they cost. I would suspect that a distinctive shape is needed for almost every model of Boston Whaler boat. Also, the anticipated volume of production might be an influence. Developing a mold for a custom shaped non-metallic fuel tank might be cost effective if you anticipated making hundreds of boats that could use the tank design.

[Phil T]

Boston Whaler installed poly tanks in late 1970's Revenges but aluminum in all others. Only one or two years of Revenge production had poly tanks before they were made with aluminum tanks. Poly tanks were reintroduced after 2000.

Aluminum tanks that failed were due to corrosion and pitting from water that entered the boat and was trapped in between the rubber membrane the tank sat on or between the foam and the tank. Most tanks last 20-30 years. Installing without the foam increases longevity.

No idea what the [chlorine] reference is about.

Custom poly tanks are not available so all owners of boats needing a replacement tank are advised to install an aluminum tank. The original tank manufacturer still produces Whaler tanks. If you are less than 1,000 miles from Henderson, NC, they are your best choice. Farther away the shipping is prohibitive and a local fabricator can use the old tank to fabricate a new tank.

http://www.floridamarinetanks.com

[Jefecinco]

Poly fuel tanks have been in use since at least as early as 1999, at least in the smaller hulls. My made in 1998 Dauntless 16 was purchased in early 1999 as a 1999 model.

[jimh]

Regarding the durability and service life of an aluminum fuel tank: there are plenty of Boston Whaler boats built in the 1980's with aluminum fuel tanks that are still in service with the original fuel tank. That is about a 35-year (or longer) service life. Boats that need a replacement fuel tank can typically get an exact replacement from the same company that built the original.

It will be interesting to see in, say, 2040, if c.2005 model year Boston Whaler boats with plastic molded fuel tanks are still using the original tanks. It will also be interesting to see if replacement tanks are available, if needed, and if you can get one at a reasonable cost from the original manufacturer of the tank.

I don't think one guy griping about his more-than-35-year-old aluminum fuel tank in a Boston Whaler boat represents any sort of a mandate that one ought to avoid aluminum fuel tanks in any new boat. I would hardly make a buy or not-buy decision about a 2013 DAUNTLESS based on one person's experience with an aluminum fuel tank.

[floris van den berg]

Thanks for the additional info,
I asked my friend where he got his info from, and it was something he found on the internet, so I guess not very plausible info.
He has a new tank build custom by a professional aluminum welder 2.5 mm ..
I agree with you Jim, to not to worry too much about a one persons opinion.