Dropping in the Tanks

The fuel tank logistics were interesting.  The first thing I did was to make my tankage as two large tanks rather than four tanks which were suggested in the design.  I needed to move the engine room bulkhead forward one station to accommodate the larger tanks but I think it was a good swap of space to have a larger engine room and drop down to two tanks from four.  They are 420 gallons apiece and constructed of 1/4 inch aluminum with baffles and inspection ports for a total tankage of about 840 gallons of fuel.  Though I try to do as much business here in Maine, the best deal I found was a welder in NJ who had also done the tanks for my friend Joe who is building the 44 foot Duck.  To make the deal sweeter, Joe's brother in law has a place here in Maine and brought the tanks up from NJ.  With a little finessing of some lifting chain we were able to get the tanks out of the truck  with the neybah's Kabota, but dropping them in would require a visit from a big boy toy.  Empty,  the tanks weigh in at 750 lbs each.  Full they will weigh close to 3000 lbs each so having them snug and secure is a top priority.  I designed a wood cradle that is tied into the boat frames.  The tanks are mounted on neoprene strips to keep water from getting trapped between the wood and the tanks.  I had contemplated a day of dragging these bad boys up ramps with come alongs and such but ultimately wrote a modest check and had a crane company place them on the cradles in a little more than an hour with no scuffs, crushed fingers or other potentially disfiguring mishaps.