fiberglass fuel tanks/ethanol

D

dembr

New member
Marine surveyor reports apparent presence of fiberglass fuel tanks on a 2000, 22 foot cruiser and identifies the risk of harm to the fuel lines/motor due to ethanol-blended fuel.

Did C-Dory put fiberglass fuel tanks in their boats? Some reports on ths subject at BOATUS seem to indicate problems in 70s vintage boats but perhaps newer resins don't break down.

Engine mechanic reports engine in good shape.

Comments and responses appreciated.
 
dembr-

This has not been a problem in C-Dorys, as far as I can remember.

Most of the tanks installed have been Mollner brand polyethylene tanks, and the most common problems have been with sedimentation crud breaking loose with the ethanol, and a variety of problems otherwise, but noting out of the ordinary.

If you look in the Library Forum, you can find the Fuel Systems area of discussion that details the problems that have occurred.

Nice having you among the C-Brat crew!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
But if you are one of those looking for good deals on those older Grand Banks and some other "larger crusing trawler boats..." older house boats and the like..... ya might just slow down and make sure those older fiberglass tanks and been thru the R&R stage of life.

Have a friend who went thru this and it was a spendy experience at best.

Corn is food, not fuel.

Life is good.

Byrdman
 
Here's the photo of Rod's gas tanks in his boat.

I told him in a PM that I thought these looked like the standard later model Mollner polyethylene tanks, but couldn't be sure, as mine are different on my older '87 model Cd-22.

What do you all think?

cdory_fuel_tank.jpg

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
That looks like one of the standard tanks, but it is hard to tell from the pic. If the boat does have fiberglass tanks they were likely installed after the fact. I do not believe C-Dory ever used fiberglass for tanks. When I replaced the tanks in my CD22 with the latest style of molded plastic tanks it cost about $500 for the kit, so if the surveyor is sure they are glass and should be replaced, that will work for a negotiating price.
 
You bet! I hope it all works out for you. You took the right first step with the surveyor. Look at the For Sale forum and the Marketplace Reference forum on here to get some price comparison ideas.

Best of luck! We're glad to have you with us.
 
Has it crossed anyone's mind that maybe...just maybe....the survayor doesn't know the difference...between plastic and fiberglass. And that a second openion is in order.
 
Papillon":5c1100z4 said:
Has it crossed anyone's mind that maybe...just maybe....the survayor doesn't know the difference...between plastic and fiberglass. And that a second openion is in order.
Click to expand...

Mike-

Yes, we discussed that, but early on while we were still sending PM's back and forth.

Still a possibility, of course!

Interesting thought:

How much experience with boats does a surveyor have that can't tell a fiberglass from a polyethylene fuel tank? :roll:

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Sea Wolf":27d8tjdi said:
Here's the photo of Rod's gas tanks in his boat.

I told him in a PM that I thought these looked like the standard later model Mollner polyethylene tanks, but couldn't be sure, as mine are different on my older '87 model Cd-22.

What do you all think?

cdory_fuel_tank.jpg

Joe. :teeth :thup
Click to expand...

Ours is a 2000 CD Cruiser has polyethylene tanks and looks very similar if not identical to this photo. With the tanks being in the shade in this photo its hard to tell for positive.

Jay
 
I doubt they are fiberglass but if they are things could be worst. With c-dory you could just pull them out and order new ones. Little bit of money but not much work. On a lot of older boats, big and small, glass tanks are built in and you are not able to pull them out, you have to cut them out or line them with something.

Ethanol is not good for your motor in any way shape or form. Today’s fuel nozzles are just too small to allow the water that attaches to the ethanol to pass. So far I have not had a lot of trouble but I always run the motors dry and I run the tanks dry whenever I can. This does not allow water to build up over time.

Washington only has 5% ethanol right now but the governor is working to get it to 10 to 15%.

If ethanol saves 5% in emissions but gives you 15% less fuel effeminacy (numbers very) are you really saving anything? I hope that someday in the near future politicians stop forcing us to subsidize farms with ethanol sells.

Corn is food not fuel, and not even good food at that. I quit eating corn all but two to three times a year. And I only eat the corn from Rogers’s farm.
 
I would seriously doubt that a 2000 C dory had fiberglass tanks, since all of the others have poly tanks.

As for a Surveyor not knowing the difference. Definately. I have seen a lot of surveyors who were not worth a hoot, and were unqualified. The marine surven industry is poorly regulated and there are a lot of incompetent surveyors...and there are a few good ones.

How did you find the surveyor?
 
Appreciate all the responses. Great group.

I am checking with seller to see if they are original tanks. I don't want to badmouth the surveyor but I do have some questions about his conclusion (hence the post!); and that's as much as I'll say here....$400 later.

Again, thanks for taking the time to review and comment.
 
Wefings":31ljhyqo said:
Had you considered the surveyor may have had some relationship with ethanol?
Many of us in the marine industry do.........
Marc
Click to expand...


:beer :beer :beer :cocktail :cocktail :cocktail :beer :beer :beer :cocktail :cocktail :cocktail :beer :beer :beer

Funny! (But also true!)

Joe. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
dembr":2d7etqsj said:
Marine surveyor reports apparent presence of fiberglass fuel tanks
Click to expand...

I've never seen a fiberglass tank that wasn't obviously fiberglass, so this may be a case of a surveyor covering his a$$.

Or not knowing the difference.
 
Question about boat surveyor'. Do you have to have a license to be one? Here in Washington home inspectors did not have to have a license to inspect homes until last month. In fact there was not one to get. You could get a bond and get insurance to cover your work, and those are the people I used, but you did not have to get a license. In California you had to have one. Quick tip, even if they have a license number on their card or truck, call and verify it with your state.
So what states license surveyors and which don’t??
 
No license I am aware of. Two trade associations, schooling available, but no license.

And I don't think having one would make any difference. There are good surveyors out there, and not-so-good, and really slap-dash horrendous ones.

At the end of the day, a survey is just an opinion. And opinions can be wrong. The best you hope for is an educated opinion, hopefully by someone who knows his way around boats- and knows the difference between plastic and fiberglass tanks...
 
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