1989 222 ccp fuel tank replacement

[LittleTunny]

I have been finding an alarming amount what looks like fine gray powder in my fuel/water filter for the last couple of seasons. I think the tank is breaking down from the inside and this powder may be Aluminum Oxide. There may be a Ethenanol connection to all of this. To get me through this season I have been replaceing the fuel/water filters about every 100-120 gals. of fuel burned just to limp through the year. I have decided to replace the 85Gal aluminum original fuel tank. This Site is great, with lots of info, maybe too much. I will start with some of the prep work today. I will remove the leaning post and detach and raise the center console to access the tank cover and try to remove. Here comes the questions. Do I have to completely remove the center console w/ wiring and cables in order to remove the fuel tank? Or if raised enough can I slide the tank out from under the CC. I know the process be tough but I don't want to deal with all the CC wire/cable headaches. I am not in a big hurry, but if I can eliminate a few steps in the process it would help. Any tips or links w/pics?

[Capt. Bob]

LT,
It's been 13+ years since I did mine but....
I removed the "fish box" coffin and then had enough room to move the console forward to clear the tank hatch.
Unless you have somehow added a bunch of "stuff" behind the tank (in its coffin) there is plenty of room to slide the tank back and remove it. I believe I tilted the console forward to allow clearace for the hatch cover.
Plenty of space.  

Good Luck.

[Wayne'sWorld]

LT,

I have a 20', not a 22' but I had no problem in getting that tank out without dismantling the console.  Take the fish boxes out of the boat, you'll appreciate the extra working room, then the console should have enough play to get it up on some 4 X 4 or two two-bys.  You'll contort a bit to get at all the fuel hatch screws, but you'll then have enough room to slide the hatch cover toward the stern.

Keep all the safety precautions in mind when working with draining the tank.  

It will be a mess (probably) in the fuel tank coffin, but you'll be able to slide some straps or rope under the tank, lift the stern end first, the slide-lift it out.  The tank is surprisingly light when empty.  Cleaning out the coffin is a two-beer job.   There should be some pin hole drainage holes in the bottom stern end of the coffin that you may want to enlarge a little bit for drainage purposes (optional).

Check out all the previous posts and pictures on this site for a demo.  Nearly every member with an older AS has undertaken this project.  If the hatch needs a rebuild, you'll see posts for that also.  Consider coating the new tank with coal tar epoxy (optional, various opinions abound) before installing.  Good Luck!

Wayne

[GoneFission]

Here is the step by step replacement for my 22-2CCP tank:

http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=2597.0

Good luck!

[LittleTunny]

Thanks to all who gave me input. The job was much easier than first though. I love my Aquasport because of its great engineering and design. Everytime I have done work on it, it is very user friendly. Everything is designed and built with the end user in mind. I can not find any other boat with such intelligent design. I love it and plan on keeping it for as long as possible. The Fuel Tank is removed and I am getting quotes from fabricators. Including the original manufacturer. I planned to attach photos of the job but am having trouble doing so. (the boat is user friendly not the computer) I have tried PhotoBucket and can't get it to work. It's something simple I am not doing right I suspect. Any other methods or tips? Sure would like to share this process with other Aquasport owners. Thanks again:  Capt. John

[Capt. Bob]

I have tried PhotoBucket and can't get it to work. It's something simple I am not doing right I suspect. Any other methods or tips? Sure would like to share this process with other Aquasport owners. Thanks again:  Capt. John

This is really Rick's domain but you might try this.

Once you have your photos to "Pbucket" open a second tab in your web browser (ctrl t). and open the C.Aqua Forum. Now you can move back and forth between the two when posting.

In "bucket" open a photo you wish to post, hold your mouse over the pic and a header will appear above the pic. Move your curser to "edit" (a drop down box appears) move it down to "resize" and click.

This is where it gets funky because this Forum (CAqua) currently doesn't allow pic HEIGHT greater than 600 pixels.
You now need to resize to fit this Forum restriction. Most of the time, I use the "large" preset size which is 640(width) x 480(height) pixels. It all shows on the "resizing box" above your pic.
You can resize by entering numbers yourself or often (but not always) use the "preset" sizes. You can be creative here but remember the 600 height pixel restriction.

Now, this is where some get confused. After you choose the corrected size you must click on "apply". If you don't, your changes will not take affect.
Lastly, either click on "make a copy" or "replace the original" . In either case, it will take a few moments to complete this task after which you will see you pic once again.
Scroll down and on the left side of the screen you will see a box called "share your photo". Click on the IMG url and a yellow box appears that reads "copied".

Now reopen your "Forum tag" and start your post. When you get to where you want your pic, click on the IMG command (above the post field) then hit ctrl v and you pic is copied. Preview your post before you send to check correct size and that an additional hasn't appeared.This doesn't always happen but then sometime it does on my computer. Just remove the extra ones (see below). Preview again and all should be fine.

Wrong
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Right

[LittleTunny]

I tried the Photo insert and still can't get it to work. I am the worst when it comes to getting a computer to do anything. I think I need to give the photo an address to go to? I am lucky I am able to just do this. No worries, I don't really need to post pics. I'll try to get some help from a friend this weekend. I hate Computers. Thanks for the help Capt. Bob.  Talk to you soon. Regards; Capt. John

[Capt. Bob]

CJ,
Don't feel bad.
The whole photo thing with the Forum is a little funky right now and you're certainly not the first to struggle with posting photos.
Happens on every Forum I'm on, be it boats, trucks, motorcycles.

Good luck.

[RickK]

LittleTunny do you live in Sarasota also? Reason I ask is there is a aqua colored 170 custom Osprey just 2 streets down from me with "LilTunny" or something close, on the sides.

[LittleTunny]

Hi Rick K. ; Sorry,  I don't live in FLA. But at this time of year I wish I did. Homeport for the Little Tunny is Vineyard Haven, on Martha's Vineyard Island, Mass. I am a Carpenter/Charter Captain. I build million dollar water front or water view homes exclusively in the town of Edgartown. During the summer fishing season I run light tackle/fly charters for myself. I also run a charter boat for a hotel, and do freelance captain/guide work for the wealthy people with big boats. The season is over for the most part now, and am getting ready for a fishing trip with some friends to Cape Lookout, NC. I will winterize the engine today, and put the cover on the boat tomorrow. Thinking of removing the fuel injectors and sending them out to get cleaned. I hear there are some places in FLA that are good. Got any recommendations? Nothing like that on this Rock. Winter is tough here to say the least. OK that's enough I got to get to work. I'll try the picture thing again later.  Best of Luck:  Capt. John

[LittleTunny]

http://s874.photobucket.com/albums/ab30 ... rent=1.jpg

[RickK]

LittleTunny,
When you click on the link you posted it takes you to your account - ok, that's close.  If you click on a picture and look below it you'll see a section named "Share this image". In that section you'll see a line of code with "IMG Code" in front of it.  That code is what you want to copy and paste in your topics here.  It's that easy.

[Capt. Bob]

Here ya go LT.
As Rick stated, you're very close.



Very nice!

I took this right from your link in your last post.
Try it again like Rick said.

[LittleTunny]

Thanks Rick: I think I got it now.

[LittleTunny]

Here are some Step by Step photos of the 1989 Aquasport 222CCP Fuel Tank Removal.

First I removed as much fuel as I could. There was only about 1/4 gallon left when I took the tank out.



Removed the Leaning Post and screws from the base of the Center console. Cut away the old caulking and carefully raised it on some 4X4s.



Next removed the screws from the Fuel Tank Deck Cover and cut away caulking. Was able to lift the Deck Cover up and slide to the stern to just clear the motor.




Disconect all the Fuel Lines and Wiring. Next, carefully bend back the stainless clips on the tank straps so you can reuse. Slowly lift Fuel Tank out of Tank Hold.



And that's it. Inspect and clean Tank Hold, and order a new 85 gal. tank. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.