Cal 34 fuel tank removal

Folks: I have a 1969 Cal 34 and am in the process of repowering (Atomic 4 to Beta 20), and want to put in a new fuel tank. But, I am stumped as to how to remove the fuel tank, the removal of which is blocked by what appears to be a structural rib. Does one just tip it over and pull it out? Cut out the rib forward of its base and re-glass? I want to avoid cutting up the cockpit sole to get to it. Any suggestions? Also, does anybody have any suggestions or pointers as to a replacement fuel tank? I am expecting to put in an off the shelf plastic tank, changing from the 24+ gallons to 30-40 gallons.

I did this on my Cal 2-29. There was cribbing with a cross piece that was held by screws, as I recall. The 34 may be different. As for replacement, I weighed the savings of using an “off the shelf model and then having to redesign the cribbing against fabricating an identical tank. The identical tank won out. I took careful measurements and sent a diagram off to a fabricator in Bellingham, WA. They made me a duplicate tank for under $500 out of aluminum. My experience anyway. Terry Cal2-29 Capriccio Tacoma > On Mar 22, 2015, at 12:20 PM, 'Philip A. Lewis' ph… [at] phillewis.com [Cal_Boats] <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > Folks: > > > > I have a 1969 Cal 34 and am in the process of repowering (Atomic 4 to Beta 20), and want to put in a new fuel tank. But, I am stumped as to how to remove the fuel tank, the removal of which is blocked by what appears to be a structural rib. Does one just tip it over and pull it out? Cut out the rib forward of its base and re-glass? I want to avoid cutting up the cockpit sole to get to it. Any suggestions? > > > > Also, does anybody have any suggestions or pointers as to a replacement fuel tank? I am expecting to put in an off the shelf plastic tank, changing from the 24+ gallons to 30-40 gallons. > > >