Catalina 30 MK1 fuel tank dimensions

S

ScottNeely

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Nov 21, 2012
16
Catalina 30 Beaufort NC
Hi I have a 1985 C30 mk 1 and my fuel tank sender went bad. I found a new reed style sender on Catalina direct and some new replacement tanks shaped like mine but not the same dimensions. I think they may have put tanks in different locations. Mine is centered under stairs under inspection board very easy to access. I have an 18 gallon tank and it is 21"wide 18" long and the depth at the deep end is 12" and the shallow end 8". This is very different from the tanks they offer from cat.dir. Their new tank is 21"x27" and 10" deep at the deep end 4.75" deep at the shallow end. My tank is shorter and deeper but about the same capacity. I bought the new style sender and it is 8" long so it is way too short for my tank.

Also if I were to buy the new tank the slope of the new one is 2" greater than mine so it wouldn't sit level on the original bed.

Can anyone relate to this problem? Does anyone have an original tank with the same dimensions as mine? If so, if you replaced it with C. dir. tank did it fit OK?
 
Anonymous 121765

Anonymous 121765

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Jan 6, 2010
1,520
Scott,

If your tank is 12" deep, why did you buy an 8"?
Measure from the mounting hole down to the bottom, that's the depth at the sending unit.

I installed a sending unit when I put my new engine & control panel in. For some reason, two Moeller senders went bad. I went back to my original mechanical top tank reader gauge. They are adjustable for proper length or find one that's adjustable. You just bought the wrong one pal.

I would set your length to within 1" of the bottom. It's when you're low on fuel that accuracy becomes important.

CR
 
J

Jack - La Paz Mx

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Oct 15, 2008
87
Catalina 30 Mexico
Call Catalina, they are still in business. Give them your hull number and they will provide an exact duplicate tank. We did this after repeated cleaning and welding of the old tank. Should have just ordered a new one, perfect fit. Our Cat is a 1983.
 
The Garbone

The Garbone

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Nov 7, 2012
678
1978 Catalina 30 Wilbur-by-the-Sea
Our 78 had a 20 gallon diesel tank an we just replaced it with one purchased from Catalina Yachts. I called them and they sent me one per specs with sender installed.

Funny thing is it is 17 gallon, narrower and shorter than the 20. My old 20 had a mechanical gauge on top so no help there.

You could try one of those universal senders you the you can adjust to the tank. Amazon has them.
 
Don Guillette

Don Guillette

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May 17, 2004
2,110
Other Catalina 30 Tucson, AZ
Yes, I can relate to your fuel tank problem. I thought I had a couple of leaks but under a pressure test I found I had a bunch more. In other words, the tank was history.

My solution was finding a tank fabricator who exactly duplicated the original tank including, and most importantly, the 4 attachment pads. Even with that they were slightly off but I made them work. Removing the tank was a short story -- the first 3 screws came out very easily and I just knew my luck was running out and sure enough the 4th screw, located in the worse place turned out to be a be problem but I finally removed it. When you install the new tank use hex head bolts.

No matter where you buy the tank, it might duplicate the original but the attachment pads will be off. Try a tank fabricator.
 
Anonymous 121765

Anonymous 121765

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Jan 6, 2010
1,520
Call Catalina in St. Pete. FL.

Ask for my longtime friend Lenny (windborne).
They can make an exact replacement at a lower cost.

Call em & find out for yourself.

CR
 
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