PDQ OWNERS FORUM

My forward fuel tank is leaking ,I spoke to Dick from Rhumbline and he told me I am probably the first one with this problem on a PDQ Powercat. He also advised me to get the tank out by cutting out the deck,I found a company that could make a fuel bladder with the proper fuel fittings that could fit in the original tank, by cutting out a portion of the top., This would be great because the bladder would fit through the hatch without cutting the deck, but I need tank dimensions to get a quote. Does anyone know where this info could be had, before i start cutting or removing the tank. Any info would b helpful.

I can't help you with your question, but want to wish you luck with the repair and hope you will keep the forum informed of your experience and outcome. It is possible many of the rest of the fleet will face this problem at some point.

A bladder tank may seem easier from the standpoint that the deck wouldn't need to be opened up, but the forward tank is very complex with 7 holes with fittings in the top. I can't imagine how that could be successfully done with a flexible bladder. A new aluminum tank is the best long term solution. Deck cutouts are not all that tough to do. Fiberglass is amazing stuff. My suggestion is to find a good boat yard with hull/deck cutout experience and do the right thing. Best of luck to you, and yes, please let us know how you made out.

Bob MacNeill
Gusto 2006 34 MS #83

I agree with Bob's suggestion. Besides all the top fittings on the tank, the bottom floor likely slopes downward lie the fresh water tank... making it hard to mathematically calculate the size. Cutting the tank out and replacing it seems like the best long term solution.

For example, our PDQ has a deck cutout. Soon after the boat was purchased in 2006, the original owner discovered the starboard engine had a serious flaw that could not be fixed. He contacted PDQ and they replaced the engine under warranty. It was done at a shipyard by cutting a rectangular hole in the deck directly over the engine space and dropping the engine down the hole. The patch was "OK", but it looked like a "blemish". So, last year we had the surface of the patch built up about 1/8" with epoxy and re-painted. It is not a perfect paint color match, but it looks a lot better than it did. Getting a good color match is an art.

For what it's worth, I asked a friend who was a senior project engineer at an marine engineering company how he would calculate the size of the tank. He said:

Since you can see the width and length of the tank inside the foredeck hatch, the height of the tank can be calculated by:
H = (231.02 X 70gal) divided by (W X L ). Assuming a standard box shaped. (i.e. Dimensions are in inches, 231.06 is conversion from cu. in. to gal
If the bottom of the tank is sloped and you don't know what the slope is, the height would be approx. If slope is slight, the error would be small and an average height.

However, if it was me, I would not go down the "bladder" path; I'd replace it.