Sam and I removed everything from the bilge to begin the process of taking out my fuel tank. We removed the hydraulic steering pump, bait well pump, strainer for generator, fuel lines, and both pumps in the rear bilge.

All wires were marked and zip tied to upper rear bulkhead at the stern clearing the bilge area. The surface deck was cut above the fuel tank giving us our first view of the tank. A bulkhead wall at tank's rear is going to also have to be cut to remove the tank.

My insurance company is very interested in why the tank failed since the year of my Proline 34 Walk is only a 2005. Insurance does not cover corrosion, but due to age of the boat, they are considering removal of tank "Discovery" and told me that they may be contacting Proline.

I'll post some photos of each step of the process as this may be an aid to someone with a similar problem in the future.

JT

JT, FWIW; my insurance company did not pay for tanks either because as u say, they don't pay for corrosion. However, they wanted their surveyor to check out leak. To do so deck had to be cut out & leaking tank removed. For that they paid. Don't know if anything I stated will help ur situation.

BOB J

Bob, thanks for the info, I have the same situation. Discovery requires the deck to be cut and replacement of fiberglass. According to the adjuster, that will be covered.

JT

JT I had a fuel tank covered by insurance. I had tried to go through the manufacturer at first but they refused to work with me, they would not return phone calls, emails or registered letters. The insurance company ended up covering it as a 'manufacturer defect'. Boat was only three years old and the tank rotted out from corrosion. It had hundreds if not thousands of pin holes in it. It had to do with the way it was installed. I had to have the insurance company's surveyor come out and they determined it was improperly installed and paid out the bill for parts and labor minus the deductible. It ended up being about $3,300 back in 2008 for a 100 gallon tank when it was all said and done. I had not glass work either, the deck just unscrewed and gave complete access to the tank.