Nope. Should not have to. Mine is going to be 'gravity' fed. The 'feed' bung is going to be on the bottom on the stern side (or the actual botto) of the tank. So, the fuel will simply 'flow' to the rear of the boat. The fuel pump on the outboard should be sufficient enough to draw up the fuel from the new aluminum fuel line because it would have had to do that with a regular fuel tank anyway. And this _IS_ a regular fuel tank.
The sheet that covers the opening is made of the same thickness as the tank, .090. Is it the same type of aluminum? I don't know. All I need it to do is hold fuel, keep out the water, drain properly (i.e. Fuel Flow) and not rust. Since everything in the boat is going to be some kind of aluminum or plastic (styrofoam is a plastic product, I think), it should not rust. There should be no more than the normal galvanistic corrosion that occurs with any aluminum jon boat.
I also removed the transom support/reinforcement piece today. It is 1/2 plywood, looks like it was dealer installed. It is in 'fair' shape, but I am intending to replace it with straight aluminum. It will be the same exact piece, but in the aluminum instead of wood.
I am hoping this weeked to get the propane torch and to practice some aluminnum 'welding' and also to paint the outside of the boat. Or at least get the outside primed.
And after starting all of this and hoping to be able to do all of it, I started concerning myself about weight. How much can I safely put in the boat? Where is the best place for what? If you put X here, where should A go? That sort of thing. It is only a 14 footer. They don't really carry a whole lot of weight when you think about it. And when I think about it, I know that I have overloaded it at least once. Had me, the wife, three kids, cooler, tackle box, bait, rods, EVERYTHING you take fishing on board and still we went out in it. We were probably just about 3 inches above the edge of the gunnels, but we made it just fine. However, now that I know better, I would not do that again.
So, for this rig, I will limit it to standard gear and equipment necessary to go fishing AND 2 or 3 people, but those extra '2 people' will be my lightweight sons. If it is me and my 'buddy', then it would just be the two of us and the gear.
Now that I have removed the engine, the Max. Persons is visible and the boat is limited to 3. Or 395 pounds. Now, that's just wrong. Me, my wife and the engine are more than that and you still have add gas, cooler, tackle and 3 more people... We didn't sink.
I have 'sunken' this boat, but like I said that is another story entirely. One where I lost my cell phone and the 'Waterproof' Magellan GPS... Yeah, some waterproofing...
Anyway, I was happy to get this decision out of the way and become committed to the choice of where and how this will all work.
The fuel tank will be re-using the fill tube from the purchased tank, the vent tube as well, but both will be slightly shorter. The feed bung might be reused, if I can salvage it, but the sending unit is toast. It will have to be replaced.
I found a real nice mult-instrument gauge on the internet which has a fuel gauge and two battery gauges, all contained in ONE normal gauge size. It's pricey, but it makes the control panel easier to do.
Tomorrow, if I get some time, I will check to see that the aluminum tubing I bought will be enough. I am pretty sure it will be because I bought 20'. You don't want to play with that too much or you can ruin it though.
I have also contacted the local Lowe boat dealer. I was thinking about finding out how much the 1648 and 1852 are. I was toying with the idea of trading 'up'. But, I think for now, I will just keep on plugging away at this one and when I get it finished, who knows?
Talons
