Let’s Get Fuel-ish

Live long enough and one day you might need a hip, maybe both of them, replaced. Keep your boat long enough and eventually you might have to replace one, or all, of your fuel tanks. I’ve been through both ordeals, and I can’t say which is worse. Extracting a leaky fuel tank can mean many hours, maybe days, of expensive boatyard labor. And then you have to put the new one in, and rebuild everything, while the meter keeps right on spinning. Sure, my doc charges about ten grand an hour, but he’s in and out in 90 minutes. Talk about Hobson’s choice.

Luckily, it’s a choice most boat owners won’t have to make, unless they keep their boat for a long time, or decide to buy and rehab an older vessel. Most fuel tanks last for 15 years, maybe 20, if properly installed and maintained. But there’s always the fly in the fuel: For example, low-carbon mild steel, or “black iron” tanks, once favored by many Far East builders, are susceptible to rusting if the exterior