Seb, ignore Meme's flipant remarks, being from up norf he has eaten to much tripe and black pudding leading to a case of mad cows
Fuel tank then, I ripped out the original wooden brackets that held the existing fuel tank in place because they just didn't seem up to the job. The three stringers the fuel tank sits on looked a little weak so doubled them up just to be sure, although more could be added if you want.
The Vetus 170 L tank is slightly too long to fit but by cutting the forward GRP "collar/bulkhead" slightly can be made to fit. The 18mm tank floor was laid up with 3 layers of wet mat on both sides and dropped on to the tank bearers. More GRP around the edges to the sides. This leaves a side to side gap of about 40mm which was then packed with 2 x 18mm ply and given several layers of GRP. Actually I only packed one side so the tank is slightly off centre.
Fuel tank is a snug fit and secured in place with 2 bands of 6 x 450 mat over the top which set to the exact shape of the tank. The change has been well worthwhile and the boat runs for weeks before worrying about refilling her. The fuel filler and tank gauges are mounted in the front half of the tank which gives a false reading so when the guage is reading half full its only used about 60 L giving a safety margin.
Pete