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Arima 21 Belly Tank Retrofit

Started by Tesoro, November 20, 2020, 05:47:28 PM

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Tesoro

Long awaited! It is in. Working on the back section over the next few days. I put the fuel pickup on the bottom to suck every last drop with access via hatch I cut in the rear fishbox. I prefer to drain all junk into my filter in small tanks than let it accumulate. To drain the tank just need to turn off valve, remove the plug and hand screw in a 3/8 hose barb. Can run the hose thru the transom drain hole and along the bilge up to the tank. This way can drain the tank into jugs on the ground outside the boat. No mess.

I have both rear and forward anti vaccum lock vents. I ran the hoses as shown and the vent outlets will be inside the motorwell where the stock one is. I will have one on each side.

The fuel line runs under the rear fish box and is secured to the underneath of the liner so it is not laying in the bilge.

Tank should be about 26 gal. Will post amt when I fill it. I made it absolutely as large as possible and still able to fit. It extends 2in forward of the front liner and is flush at the rear. The hatch lid has 1/8in clearance above the vent pickups. phew!

The tank sits on 1/8in hard rubber strips to keep it off the hull. We built the tank out of .160 alum rather than std .125 as it takes welds better and beefier against corrosion.

The gas fill cap is 6061 specialty automotive with a huge o-ring. No way it will leak. It is also large enough to act as inspection hatch to see if any junk in bottom of tank.

I am going to screw down the large part of the the fish hatch to make it more solid. Dont need to open it.


More pics to come.



2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

Tesoro

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2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

disposable

Reveille
2012 Sea Chaser 17 (custom PH)
2013 Honda 90hp

Tesoro

Quote from: disposable on November 20, 2020, 06:20:08 PM
very interesting! why the drain?


oops I posted a prototype screwup pic by mistake. this is the final version where I put the valve infront of the feed tube. the drain is to be able to drain you tank..to clean it to get rid of contamination to winterize. One would snake a 3/8in hose thru the transom drain hole to the inserted  barb and then drain the tank outside of the boat for no mess.
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

FishAddict

#4
Looks great!  I like the fill so you can get maximum capacity.  It won't work in my case as I want a bait tank in the middle of the dance floor.  I'm looking at the dimensions written on the side of the tank 48" x 10.25" ?  or 48" x 70.25" doesn't make sense?

How many panels do you have in your 21?  My floor has a pretty long 2 panel and then another single in the front.  This almost looks like the tank is in the forward hatch by the helm?  Could you please take a picture farther away of the deck and panels?  Did you put some sort of spacer between the bottom of the tank and the hull?
21ft Sea Ranger w/Yamaha F150

Tesoro

In my 21 I have two fish box hatches/panels. They are both the same size. My tank is in the forward one. It wouldn't work in the rear hatch as it gets too shallow towards the back due to the flattening of the hull.

I glued some 1/8in strips of hard rubber onto the tank with 5200 to keep it off the hull. When washing down the boat can easily stick hose into the fuel tank area and give it and bilge a quick rinse. Wont be any corrosion issues. I didnt have to use 1/4in rubber cause the layup of the hull was so even. every 1/4 in of lost tank height gives another 8/10 of a gallon so I got an extra 4/10 gallon by using 1/8in rubber instead!

The overall hatch clearance on mine is 46 x 16. However there is an additional 2 in of hollow space infront before reaching the bulkhead under the cabin entrance. I was able to ulitilize this space also to get a 16xx48 tank.  It was 9 3/8 I think from top to bottom plus have to account for the height of the fittings to clear the hatch. The hatches have 1/2in ply reinforcement that extend down farther than it appears so have to account for that with clearances.

To fill to max capacity will have to have tank level. I am hoping wont have to unhitch to fill up.   
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

Tesoro

As excited as I am for having my main fuel supply now where it should be, I am as equally excited for not having to endure anymore an inaccessible dirty arse in my boat. The bilge is now totally open from front to back and the bowels of the boat will now be as clean as the topsides. If anyone has ever taken out the 48 gal tank after many fishing seasons they will know what I mean!

I am working on the back end today and tomorrow. So far I have opened it up and I poured some epoxy to get rid of that dip below the bung hole so all fish scales and crud can be washed straight out. I can now keep the plug inside the boat so when running back to port I can pull the plug and wash out any fish blood n crud with the washdown hose. Better than it all winding up on my driveway. 

When I poured the epoxy I put in a piece of 1/2in uhmw polyethelene to act as a mounting plate for the bilge pumps. Also now able to access my washdown intake and plumb it correctly with safety shutoff for mooring. 
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

martin3

MJM3

1990 SR Skip Top  "Gypsea Soul"
2013 Etec 115H.O.

Mooch

Wow.  Impressive refit.  Are you adding a bilge fan with the gas tank below the deck or do you feel removal of top cover is sufficient to vent during a refuel?
Matt. 8:27    The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Tesoro

Quote from: Mooch on November 21, 2020, 10:36:25 AM
Wow.  Impressive refit.  Are you adding a bilge fan with the gas tank below the deck or do you feel removal of top cover is sufficient to vent during a refuel?

No need for fan. When filling you are in open air. Of course the whole idea is to not slosh a gallon of fuel in the bilge! If so then air out and wash out.  The fans are really for enclosed inboard engines where gas fumes can accumulate from carbs or a leak and then be ignited by alternator sparks.
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

Mooch

Yep, plus your bilge area is a lot more open in the back now too.  Guess I'm just a nervous nelly after seeing  a few times what bilge fumes can do.
Matt. 8:27    The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Tesoro

Yup I have seen one blow and a few aftermaths. I would never own an inboard gas powered boat!
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

martin3

Quote from: Tesoro on November 21, 2020, 07:12:18 AM

I glued some 1/8in strips of hard rubber onto the tank with 5200 to keep it off the hull.
I didnt have to use 1/4in rubber cause the layup of the hull was so even.


Your pads are only glued to the tank.....not the hull,  right?

I used 1/4 because i wanted extra air flow....1/8 would have worked for me.
I was also surprised how even the layup was.


MJM3

1990 SR Skip Top  "Gypsea Soul"
2013 Etec 115H.O.

Tesoro

Right I was gonna use 1/4in but when I checked the evenness of the hull with my template I was able to get by with 1/8in and squeeze in nearly another 1/2 gallon of capacity. Other boats I have done this in were not even close to being as smooth as my Arima. I glued the strips to the tank with 5200.
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

wedocq

Love it! Do you run saddle tanks as well? Or did you do this in lieu of saddle tanks?
-Shawn
2002 21' Arima Sea Ranger HT  Suzuki [glow=red,2,300]DF175 [/glow] 4-stroke.
WEDOCQ= WE DO SEKIU! It pays homage to my Uncle Jay who died of cancer.

Tesoro

Thx. I was lucky to inherit saddle tanks when i bought boat so have good safety net for fuel in normal runs. For tuna I can put a poly tank where factory one was incase need extra 20 gal.
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

Redhawk

That looks amazing, hopefully the new performance numbers will be equally as amazing! Any idea when you will be out for a trip in that configuration?
Sparhawk:
1983 Tiderunner 150 Cuddy
1995 Mercury 60 2-stroke
1984 Evinrude 6 2-stroke

Tesoro

#17


I will have it ready to roll tomorrow but we have some weather coming in over the next 2-3 days so will have to wait to get out on the ocean. But I will fill up the new tank to see what the capacity is and post it.

The ride & efficency of the boat will be totally different for sure. Already tried it many times using my saddle tanks and empty main tank.
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

martin3

Quote from: Tesoro on November 21, 2020, 08:23:15 PM
Right I was gonna use 1/4in but when I checked the evenness of the hull with my template I was able to get by with 1/8in and squeeze in nearly another 1/2 gallon of capacity. Other boats I have done this in were not even close to being as smooth as my Arima. I glued the strips to the tank with 5200.

It is important to point out,    the difference in how we mounted our belly tanks.
This is critical in dual liner boat.

-Your tank is is riveted to the deck tabs and is resting on rubber pads directly on the hull.
If your deck flexes,  your tank will move with it.

-My tank is glued down to the hull,   if my deck flexes, it will move around the tank.

We approached it differently,    yet both work well considering the boat construction.

The most important thing is to not attach the tank to hull and upper liner.
It must be either / or.......to prevent "Oil canning" of the fuel tank


MJM3

1990 SR Skip Top  "Gypsea Soul"
2013 Etec 115H.O.

Tesoro

True its one of the other. The only way tho that the deck is gonna flex is when the boat hits the water after I drive off Niagra falls! I wanted to design my tank to be easily removable. Just drain it, drill out 6 rivets and undo 3 hose clamps and it is out in 15 minutes max.

I am so looking forward to having a accessible fuel supply and bilge.  I have been running small boats for 1/2 of my adult life for work and transport home and by far the cause of most of the breakdowns/issues/hassles was fuel related due to tanks and lines not being easily accessible to inspect and clean for preventative maintenance.

The one thing I am curious about is if the tank will be level when floating for fill ups to max it out. But where I live I fill up at home or at gas station, where I will probably have to unhitch and lower to max the fill if I need it. I think this is why people say they can only get 9 gal fill out of their 10 gal sadddle tanks?  I took my saddle tanks out to inspect and clean when I bought my boat and they were 'square' and not bowed in.  The plaque said 10 gal.
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

headduck

Great project bud. Well done. Nice share.

Looking forward to the lessons learned section after a bit of use.
2003 19' Sea Ranger Skip Top 2015 Mercury 115 2012 Evinrude 9.8

1987 17' Sea Ranger 90 Honda (sold)

Tesoro

#21
Thanks be done tomorrow with re-plumbing and re-wiring the back end. I am hoping there will be no 'lessons learned after use' on this one! This is #6 retrofit!
Final pics coming soon..
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

Tesoro

#22
Bilge is done! Boy is this gonna be nice plus I can now keep the plug on the inside.  Rule has come out with some new 800gpm 3/4in pumps that feel really nice. Has a diff kind of plastic that is really strong but soft feeling and flexible unlike the older more brittle baskets.
2009 21HT Yam 150/8 'Hogfish'

I'd rather be drinking in a bar wishing I was on the ocean, than be on the ocean wishing I was in a bar.

disposable

Reveille
2012 Sea Chaser 17 (custom PH)
2013 Honda 90hp

Mooch

Wow.  So clean and accessible.   :bigshock: 
Well done Tes.   :clap:
Matt. 8:27    The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"