How to Mount and Install Aluminum Fuel Tanks into a Jet Boat

[@jamiesonsime9197]

I can’t say what is best from a technical standpoint, but I’d vote carpet as I think it fits the look of the boat better!

[@AutoTechNick]

Guys, let me know what your thoughts are on the upper mounts for the tank. And also what you think I should do to finish the floor out in the back on the outside of the stringers… Thanks ~ Nick

[@djmjr77]

Could you add all of the Jet Boat related videos to a Playlist? I watched the Playlist you have and thought those were the only jet boat related vids.. ill look for the others but would make it easier for us just joining in on the build. Great job by the way.. love jet boats. Doing a jet swap on an 85 chaparral 162. Been a work in progress.. but vids like your get me pumped up to start working on it again

[@AutoTechNick]

@@djmjr77 I have two playlists for the Jet Boat. One of them is dedicated to the transmon and stringer replacement videos. The other contains all of the videos that I have done on the boat. It can be found here: kzbin.info/aero/PLF5nyN7G9cG1v_N_Je_DCH8q1BtZj8vTz&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE If are looking for something a bit different than that, let me know and I'll see what I can do. ~ Nick

[@AutoTechNick]

@@djmjr77 I am super stoked to hear that these videos are helping you with your project. That was my main goal when I chose to create this channel and videos!! I wish you the best of luck with the conversion on your Chaparral. ~ Nick

[@pattyannfuller]

How about sea deck or some similar product. I would think if you doubled up on the rubber washers, it would work to dampen vibration. Enjoying your videos.

[@ronaldnielson8591]

We used to take our Rogers jet to the western lakes, Powell, Mead, Havasu, and Shasta and when it's 110*-115*, a light to medium gray (or another neutral color to complement the exterior) was way easier on bare feet than anything that is a solid surface. If you don't boat in these conditions, take your pick on surfaces and colors.

[@AutoTechNick]

Ronald, That is a very good point you bring up. That is something that I had not really taken into account. I don’t frequently boat in the temps, plus my engine bay is fully covered… So all options are still on the table for me. ~ Nick

[@richmartinson172]

I vote to use rubber/nylon washers on the tank brackets. You need flexibility in the bracket. No carpet along tank. Hard to keep clean and carpet holds water.

[@shawn071]

Hey Nick...!st class install! Love it, Jet boat rebuild videos are the best!I The mounting job is perfect, that is a sweet set-up for tank mounts, tanks are going to look sweet polished and exposed .....I am cruising over and bringing my 21.5 Careera to your shop ..it has a blown 540 in it ...I wantedi install 20 gallon tanks, the boat gets gallons per mile not miles per gallon!! HAHAHA..... I would do a clear coat on the outside of the back of the stringers, have you seen Finnegan's Elimator he built for his wife? That boat is sweet and he put together some great detailed videos, allot of cool ideas you can get from those videos...he also installed a jet-a-way on the jet drive which i thought was pretty cool to have if your going to put some big HP in your boat..You have to check out the video where he builds a custum fuel cell for the Eliminator.

[@AutoTechNick]

Thank you Shawn, I appreciate the kind words. Your boat sounds killer! What size of impeller are you running with your setup? Do you know the rough HP of that combo? I can't express how bad I want to put a blower on my setup... Yes, I have seen Finnegan's videos... He certainly has lots of cool toys to play with. I do like the Jet-A-Ways, the downside is I do not have enough space to install one unless I was to perform a pump setback. ~ Nick

[@shawn071]

​@@AutoTechNick Yes, don't waste your energy on setting the pump back to much extra work and there no need for it... The Engine is pushing about 800+HP, I had a A/B impeller in there I just had the impeller replaced, I don't know if is a AA or A I will find out for you, I had a porpoising problem which I finally got rid of, the stringers on the trailer were not level which caused some hook on the bottom of the boat! I have never taking the boat over 90mph with this set-up, because the high speed porpoising was sketchy! I just went to Havasu 2 weeks ago to test run it and it was freezing cold out there and wind was blowing hard, finally had a decent day to take it out. The porpoising issue at higher speeds is gone now, but still does it at lower RPM's 3000/3500....even with the trim all the way down it does a little porpoising nothing like before and the water was still a little to choppy and sketchy to go full throttle! I use to run a Berkley droop snoot but took it off because it help reduce the porpoising, it's back on now and rides way nicer. I have a crazy sound-system in this jet boat and there is 12-inch woofers in the bow, now I am thinking that is causing the porpoising too, so I am pulling those out next time I go to Havasu, I'll bet you thats going to make it ride way better. Before this 540 set-up I had a blown 454 with a 871 blower with nitrous , still have the same blower on this engine got rid of the nitrous. I ran the 454 set-up and was at lake Shasta and she ran 104mph @ about 6000rpm.. I also have some wedges that we just installed on this new set-up, Harold Bruce at R&D marine in Havasu did the pump work and got the hook out of the bottom, he has been in the game for decades and is a Guru with Jet-Boats give hime a call, early hours are best to reach him. He can guide you with the proper pump and engine set-up. I would suggest just running a naturally aspirated 540, with a single carb and with a one piece rear main seal, so you don't have oil leak issues which are so common on two piece rear main seals. you can easily install a 100 shot nitrous set-up if you want that extra HP every once in a while.. as long as the motor has high end parts you'll be fine. Run a solid roller cam too, you'll get way more power out of it, than a hydraulic roller, all you have to do is adjust the valves once or twice a year depending on how many hours your going to run it. If you keep your motor naturally aspirated youll have way more fun with the family, and your not going to be stopping and every gas pump on the lake all day and can enjoy boating. I have gas anxiety in my Jet Boat which is very annoying!!!!! I aslo have a 1992 Eliminator Mod-V 234 with a stock 454 and mercruiser bravo one drive, she does 70mph at 4000 rpm and I can boat for 2 days without filling up on two 20 gallon tanks, the jet-boat is great for the river but with 15 gallon tanks depending on how heavy my foot is in it, she will get 20-40 miles with 30 gallons of gas!!! Hope this helps with some ideas...Wishing you a smooth and pefect Jet-boat build!!

[@djmjr77]

You could do gelcoat with some soft sand nonskid. Easy cleanup and plenty of traction.

[@AutoTechNick]

Good idea. I had not yet considered that approach. I am thinking that I will finish all my fiberglass and woodwork. Bet the pumps and battery mounts in and see what I am left with. Then I will make the call on how to address the floor. ~ Nick

[@djmjr77]

One thing I am doing on my boat to reduce (hopefully eliminate) water intrusion, is over drilling or cutting any areas that will be screwed or bolted and filling with fiberglass filler and glassing over. For example the drain plugs are installed in this filled fiberglass area so no chance water can get anywhere near the transom wood. Was thinking you could do the same in the stringer/transom drain holes.

[@AutoTechNick]

Those are some good ideas. I have a similar approach: I want the water to drain to the bilge area ASAP. I want all my drain openings to be large enough for water to flow underneath them, and not really be touching the wood. I would be interested in seeing more about your methods for the drains. ~ Nick

[@calvinparker496]

Man, your videos on this boat rebuild are likely the best I've seen on KZbin - very detailed, great quality video, and the quality of your work is exceptional! I am planning to rebuild a 14.5" Hourston Glascraft (Vancouver, BC, Canada-made boat) runabout - it's going to be about the same depth of job, in that I'll be taking the cap off and then redoing the transom, stringers, and floor all from the inside (boat properly supported of course). Just wondering (sorry if you mentioned it in a video and I missed it) - how much time did it take you roughly to strip the boat and get to the boat of glassing in the new transom and stringers? I know you have the floor to do still but wondering roughly how much time a project like this could take - I am basically planning to spend most weekends through Jan - Apr on it if needed. Thanks again for doing all this and I look forward to watching more - may do my own videos for mine as well!

[@AutoTechNick]

Calvin, Thanks for the compliments. I really do appreciate them. It takes a fair bit of extra work to film and edit these videos. But getting feedback like that is very rewarding. I decided to start this journey to help others with their projects, whether technically or motivationally. I am glad to hear that I am starting to achieve what I set out to do. I honestly struggle with balancing the amount of detail to put onto a video and its overall length. It's a difficult balance and I am still trying to hone in on it. I cannot give you a direct answer to your question about my time invested in this build. I try to work on the boat for at least two full days a week. I started this project at the beginning of April 2022 and I have been working on it since, except for a few weeks here and there. Now the filming does slow my progress some, but there is no way around it... This job is a big one and requires a significant amount of time, effort, and money to be invested. When I am finished with this build I will be making a video that covers the work I did, how long it took, and what it ended up costing me. I am sure that a lot of people would really like to know that info before moving into a project like this. I initially went into this project thinking I was only doing stringers. Then I found the damage to the transom. At that point, I decided to fix & improve everything that I came across. So I am changing and correcting ALOT of things. It's safe to say that this project is suffering from a massive amount of mission creep. I hope your project goes smoothly. Feel free to reach out if you have questions during your build. If you decide to film it and make videos let me know... I'll be watching!! ~ Nick

[@calvinparker496]

@@AutoTechNick thanks for the detailed response! Totally get that it's hard to give any direct answer to that kind of question but what you provided above certainly helps me ballpark it. I think all the things you decided to do made a lot of sense - transom for sure with the stringers and floor out, moving out the stringers for more engine mounting options was also logical and no doubt added a lot of time. I think mine will be more straightforward in that I won't be changing any design overall but for sure it's gonna be a ton of work either way - I have a good amount of experience with mechanics and electrical but not as much with woodwork (why I want to do this, to build those skills) so it will be a significant learning process. Cheers and looking forward to your next videos!

[@dannynewman6277]

Instead of carpet there is a few different types of turf that is used commonly in the JetSki community. HydroTurf is a good option for the floor . Also JetTrim.

[@AutoTechNick]

Thanks for the tips Danny. I’ll take a peak at this products you suggested.. ~ Nick

[@dannynewman6277]

By the way! Love the detail, and attention to camera angles. Really helpful for understanding! As for the turf, there are so many options out there now. You can also have custom turf cut with your own design and colors. HydroTurf has diamond cut and waffle cut sheets. Make templates and use Weldwood Red cement. 3 coats of cement on each mating surface.

[@AutoTechNick]

@@dannynewman6277 Thanks Danny. I really appreciate the kind words!

[@companystudent8021]

Question for you, where did you get the shut off valve that is attached to tank. And then what is attached to it inside the tank to be able to get fuel out? TY

[@AutoTechNick]

I do not run shut off valves on my tanks. What you see on the tank is the fuel pick up. It is a small tube that runs down to the bottom of the tank, it sits maybe 1" above the bottom. ~ Nick

[@stevem8602]

Nick- whats your system for dual tanks , switching between the 2 tanks and a gauge etc?

[@AutoTechNick]

No switching system. I pull from both tanks at all times. I have a toggle switch that allows me to switch the guage reading between the right and left tanks. But I rarely switch it, since it puls the fuel from the tanks evenly. ~ Nick

[@dlcook1971]

Do you have a video on how you wired the fuel tanks.. (electric or manual selector)

[@AutoTechNick]

I don't. I draw fuel from both tanks at the same time.