The fuel tank in my 1996 MarkII has sprung a leak. Does anyone know the current manufacturer of replacement tanks? The original is a Skyline, and from what I read they are out of business.
My tank is aluminum, but did Catalina use plastic tanks in later year Mark II's?
I have tried to contact Catalina's parts dept for the 36 via email, as indicated on their website. No one has responded in over a week. Is there perhaps a better way to get help from the factory?
Thanks
Joe Welna
There are two articles that will be of value to you on the C36IA Technical - Maintenance library, accessable via the Technical tab off the C36IA home page. One of them is my article "Fuel Tank Info (C36 Mk IIMk II)", which describes details of the plastic tank. The other is Bud Street's excellent article "Removing the Fuel Tank (C36 Mk II)", which describes the tank removal and reinstallation process.
Note: You must be a paid-up Member (capital M) to access that portion of our website. (Joe, I just checked and found that your Membership recently expired.)
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
I've read the article by Bud Street. It was very helpful.
I beleive my membership expired when I did not receive any renewal notice this year. I have just done so.
Thanks
Any idea how long it takes for membership renewal to take affect? I just renewed and I still can't get into the technical section.
I am rather anxious to get the info on the plastic fuel tank.
Thanks
surprised you didn't hear back from Catalina, I've contacted them twice in the past month, and received replies (and parts) very quickly. I'd re-send the email asking if you could get a reply and you'll probably hear back. Sometimes things fall through the cracks if they're busy.
Gary and Cathy Price
1997 C36 Mk II Tall Rig/Wing Keel Imagine...
Hull # 1617
Worton Creek, Md.
Northern Chesapeake Bay
Hi Joe- Your membership renewal has been activated.
It actually should have gone through as soon as you completed the paypal transaction, but sometimes the site does not pick it up right away. When I saw your post, I checked and made the necessary adjustment.
Good luck with the fuel tank issue!
Laura Olsen
Past Commodore
S/V Miramar
hull 938 (MKI 1989, TR,WK, M25xp)
Edgemere, MD
Joe, thank you for renewing your Membership.
As for your fuel tank leak, are you SURE that the tank has failed? A more-probable fault is that a poor gasket at the sender access port has caused an over-filled tank to leak diesel fuel. This happened to me, not because of a fault but because a maintenance person replaced the sender without placing the gasket back into position.
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
I'm not 100% sure that the tank has failed. I'm waiting for the yard to pump the tank before I pull it out.
However, there is no visible oil on the top or accessible sides of the tank. It's just in the 1/4 gap under the tank. The hoses are clearly not the issue. I'll check the sender gasket, but it doesn't look like the problem from what I can see.
I was thinking of tank replacement as a pre-emptive strike even if it is not a structural issue. The tank is 14 years old, and I've read a few posts in other forums of C36s of my vintage having tank failures at about that age. Also, I'm sure the tank has never been cleaned, and no one in my area can do that for me, nor do I have the facility to do it myself. The fuel damage to the back cabin from the leak has already occurred, so the cost of a new tank is the least of my worries (I stored all my canvas in the back cabin over the winter ... it's toast). I certainly don't want it to ever happen again.
I just hope it won't be a year and a day to get a new tank. I've already lost 1/3 of my season dealing with a blistering issue (and it's associated $12K bill), but I guess I shouldn't feel too sorry for myself when I read what some of the C36 sailors in the Gulf are dealing with (ie no season at all).
Thanks for the help.
Joe
I pulled the fuel tank last night following Bud Street's excellent article. It wasn't all that bad despite my apprehensions.
The leak was not really obvious. I can't see any clear problem, but there was no fuel on the top or sides of the tank ... only the bottom. There were, however, a few washers left under the tank (probably from manufacturing) with resultant corrosion spots. Perhaps there are some pinholes in this location.
My tank is aluminum (1996 C36 MKII). It is my understanding that later model C36's used a plastic tank instead. Has anyone replaced a C36 MKII aluminum tank with the later model plastic version? Is the mounting basically the same? Any caveats?
Is it possible to repair an aluminum fuel tank with good results? My yard says they can get that done for me, but I am skeptical about doing that with a 15 year old tank. I wonder if I would save that much relative to replacement when you factor in both cleaning and repair costs.
I really would prefer the new tank, but it's turning out to be a bit of a chore to get info on this from Catalina. I've spoken to Ken Roy at Catalina, who has been very nice, but unfortunately he seems a bit overburdened. I have yet to get an answer as whether or not and when they can get a tank to me.
I did get a quote for a Mark I tank (by mistake) ... $740 plus shipment. Ouch! That seems to be about twice the cost of what others on this website have mentioned.
Any advice appreciated!
Joe Welna
Joe, the answer to the plastic tank for the Mk II is as close as the Technical - Maintenance section of the C36IA website. Have a look there for an article I wrote that includes a photo of the manufacturer's identification plate. If the manufacturer is still in business you can contact them direct.
Of course I don't know for sure, but I would imagine the Mk II's plastic tank is identical to the aluminum one.
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
Unfortunately, Skyline, the manufacturer, is no longer in business. (At least from what I can tell.)
I've been speaking with Catalina parts in FLA, but they seem to have misplaced the plans for the fuel tanks for the MK II's. They're trying to get some info from California in case the plans didn't make it out to the Florida factory. It's been 2 weeks , however, and I'm kind of dead in the water.
I'm thinking about having a copy of the original tank made by a local tank fabricator. I'm not really sure what else I can do.
But are you sure that your present tank is bad? The problem may lie out of view, and the hassle and expense of replacing a tank may not fix your problem.
What I think I would do is "invent" a way to semi-pressurize the tank (close off all openings, get a small air compressor and find a way to add some small amount of pressure to it, and then soap test it for leaks. I just bought some 'silver tape' at Home Depot for a clothes dryer duct...maybe that kind of tape would suffice to let you push a little positive pressure in there for the purpose of testing for leaks.
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
I googled Skyline Industries and I found a post with this in it:
" I called Skyline Industries in Utah and was informed they had sold their metal tank division to "All Right Welding", (801)785-6749. I called and was told that they had the blueprints for hundreds of tanks and I would need the original serial #."
Maybe All Right Welding still exists?
Larry's idea is worth pursuing, If you don't have the stuff to DIY that then there are shops around that do fuel tanks, often rad shops also fix fuel tanks and they have the stuff to leak test. Also shops that fix heavy trucks may be able to do it.
Getting a tank made is not that expensive if you have to go that route, we bought a written off power boat in the early 90s to fix up and we had all new tanks made for it, welded up out of aluminum. It was about $250 a tank as I recall, we had 2 45 gallon fuel, a 30 gallon water and a weird shaped 20 gallon holding for the bow. Pretty cheap really.
I'm 100% positive the tank is bad. I have already pulled it out.
I cleaned off the tank completely, and then put it on a piece of scrap canvas. Although the outdide of the tank was dry when I left, when I came back in 2 days, the canvas was soaked through with the residual 1 or 2 quarts left in the tank when I pumped it. Only the bottom of the tank was wet, although glaring holes were not obvious.
Thanks for the info on Skyline. I googled for hours and couldn't find anything on them.
It sounds like a custom fabrication is what I need to do. I've spoken to a local guy in RI (lutherswelding.com), and they look like my best bet. I can bring them my tank.
It's just unfortunate I couldn't get any help from Catalina. I wasted 2 weeks trying to get information from them, and have yet to even hear back after a few initial conversations. Now that the 36 is out of production, I guess we all know what we have to look forward to if we need any parts from the factory. It wasn't like that 2 years ago when I needed parts, but I guess things change.