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Author Topic:   1992 21 Walkaround Fuel Tank Problems

acseatsri posted 08-07-2014 09:41 AM ET (US)
My recently purchased 1992 21 Walkaround seems to be making water in the fuel. Weird thing is that there is absolutely no fuel odor in the fuel tank compartment. If there was a hole in the bottom of the tank, would this be possible?
Anyone here have any experience with replacing a fuel tank in a 21 Walkaround? Hoping it can be replaced without cutting up the deck.

acseatsri posted 08-31-2014 02:04 PM ET (US)
OK, I've now found the source of the water in my tank. After having the cockpit cut up (LITERALLY!) to remove the tank, found a tiny pinhole on the bottom rear of the tank. The epoxy or whatever they use to coat the outside of the tank was in pristine condition. If the tank hadn't gotten wet around the hole, I never would have found it. The only real sign besides water in the fuel was I could smell gas FAINTLY when I filled the tank to the top.
The tank was making water every time it rained. Turns out that Boston Whaler, in their infinite wisdom, put cockpit drains in the floor that drain directly into the tank cavity. These were necessary because the floor wasn't pitched back enough for the water to run out of the cockpit area, so the deck has standing water whenever it rains. This didn't cause the holes in the tank, but helped mask the real problem in that the tank corroded from the inside. I've now sealed the drains. I'd rather deal with 1/4" of water on the floor when it rains rather than dump water (on purpose) into the tank cavity and then have it migrate through the foam and around the tank.
Another thing to watch out for- the plastic drain tubes going through the transom in the splashwell were never sealed with any sealant. It made for a very neat installation but will subject the wood in the transom to rot due to water intrusion, especially on freshwater boats. I'm enlarging them so the splashwell evacuates water faster. I let the wood dry out and will epoxy it before installing new (larger) drain tubes.
dfmcintyre posted 08-31-2014 02:53 PM ET (US)
If the transom is solid wood, gelcoated on both exposed surfaces, wouldn't just two or three liberal coats (inside the soon to be oversized holes) of neat epoxy achieve the same results?
Don
acseatsri posted 08-31-2014 05:13 PM ET (US)
Yes it would, but it wouldn't have a finished look. The insides of the holes were NOT coated to start with.
HMG posted 09-08-2014 02:47 PM ET (US)
How much cutting did you need to do in order to remove the fuel tank? I'm very interested in knowing what is involved as I have a 1991 21' Walkaround which is likely to need the fuel tank replaced at some point soon.
acseatsri posted 09-09-2014 10:21 AM ET (US)
It took a TON of cutting, to the tune of $3000 labor in addition to the $1050 tank cost. Basically the whole cockpit had to be cut out. He cut almost exclusively where there was no non-skid present. And then he had to grind the edges of the top shell where it overlapped into the tank compartment because it made the tank cavity narrower than the tank itself.
boatdryver posted 09-09-2014 12:08 PM ET (US)
Which holding company owned Boston Whaler when this 1992 21 Walkaround was built?
Just curious.
JimL
HMG posted 09-09-2014 12:32 PM ET (US)
Reebok
jimh posted 09-11-2014 11:07 PM ET (US)
Read my corporate history of Boston Whaler:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/history/whaler.html
Don SSDD posted 09-12-2014 05:41 AM ET (US)
Thanks Jim, I haven't read that before.
I owned a Harley Earl 59 Chevie until last year, they were all about style, but underneath they were a long lasting solid platform, made by a GM that was more like the old Boston Whaler. Their management are more like a Brunswick now than the old GM. Most loyal customers of the old GM never set foot in a GM showroom now.
Don

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Author	Topic: 1992 21 Walkaround Fuel Tank Problems
acseatsri	posted 08-07-2014 09:41 AM ET (US) My recently purchased 1992 21 Walkaround seems to be making water in the fuel. Weird thing is that there is absolutely no fuel odor in the fuel tank compartment. If there was a hole in the bottom of the tank, would this be possible? Anyone here have any experience with replacing a fuel tank in a 21 Walkaround? Hoping it can be replaced without cutting up the deck.
acseatsri	posted 08-31-2014 02:04 PM ET (US) OK, I've now found the source of the water in my tank. After having the cockpit cut up (LITERALLY!) to remove the tank, found a tiny pinhole on the bottom rear of the tank. The epoxy or whatever they use to coat the outside of the tank was in pristine condition. If the tank hadn't gotten wet around the hole, I never would have found it. The only real sign besides water in the fuel was I could smell gas FAINTLY when I filled the tank to the top. The tank was making water every time it rained. Turns out that Boston Whaler, in their infinite wisdom, put cockpit drains in the floor that drain directly into the tank cavity. These were necessary because the floor wasn't pitched back enough for the water to run out of the cockpit area, so the deck has standing water whenever it rains. This didn't cause the holes in the tank, but helped mask the real problem in that the tank corroded from the inside. I've now sealed the drains. I'd rather deal with 1/4" of water on the floor when it rains rather than dump water (on purpose) into the tank cavity and then have it migrate through the foam and around the tank. Another thing to watch out for- the plastic drain tubes going through the transom in the splashwell were never sealed with any sealant. It made for a very neat installation but will subject the wood in the transom to rot due to water intrusion, especially on freshwater boats. I'm enlarging them so the splashwell evacuates water faster. I let the wood dry out and will epoxy it before installing new (larger) drain tubes.
dfmcintyre	posted 08-31-2014 02:53 PM ET (US) If the transom is solid wood, gelcoated on both exposed surfaces, wouldn't just two or three liberal coats (inside the soon to be oversized holes) of neat epoxy achieve the same results? Don
acseatsri	posted 08-31-2014 05:13 PM ET (US) Yes it would, but it wouldn't have a finished look. The insides of the holes were NOT coated to start with.
HMG	posted 09-08-2014 02:47 PM ET (US) How much cutting did you need to do in order to remove the fuel tank? I'm very interested in knowing what is involved as I have a 1991 21' Walkaround which is likely to need the fuel tank replaced at some point soon.
acseatsri	posted 09-09-2014 10:21 AM ET (US) It took a TON of cutting, to the tune of $3000 labor in addition to the $1050 tank cost. Basically the whole cockpit had to be cut out. He cut almost exclusively where there was no non-skid present. And then he had to grind the edges of the top shell where it overlapped into the tank compartment because it made the tank cavity narrower than the tank itself.
boatdryver	posted 09-09-2014 12:08 PM ET (US) Which holding company owned Boston Whaler when this 1992 21 Walkaround was built? Just curious. JimL
HMG	posted 09-09-2014 12:32 PM ET (US) Reebok
jimh	posted 09-11-2014 11:07 PM ET (US) Read my corporate history of Boston Whaler: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/history/whaler.html
Don SSDD	posted 09-12-2014 05:41 AM ET (US) Thanks Jim, I haven't read that before. I owned a Harley Earl 59 Chevie until last year, they were all about style, but underneath they were a long lasting solid platform, made by a GM that was more like the old Boston Whaler. Their management are more like a Brunswick now than the old GM. Most loyal customers of the old GM never set foot in a GM showroom now. Don