87Chappy
New member
Hi all,
I am New to the forum and boating! I recently got a 1987 Chaparral 198C cuddy cabin with an SEI 106 outdrive (likely swapped from the original Mercruiser Alpha One) and what appears to be a crate performance marine engine with thru hull exhaust.This was a boat my best friends dad bought new in 1987 and made a lot of customizations to it. I grew up on this boat (summers in northern MI) I’m excited to fix it up but new to the game, so I’m here for advice.
I need to replace the aluminum fuel tank (probably 48 gallons, original). I’d like to stick with aluminum for the new one. I’ll have to pull up the floor to get to it, which sounds like a project.
Has anyone swapped the tank on a similar ‘80s Chaparral cuddy?
- How hard is it to access/remove the tank? Tips for cutting/lifting the deck without wrecking it?
- What’s the swap process like? Any tight spots or tricky fittings to watch for?
- Pitfalls to avoid? I’m handy but new to boats.
- Where’d you get your aluminum tank? Looking at West Marine or custom fab—any recommendations?
Really would like to get this boat back on the water but not sure where to get a tank. Already have gone through and replaced lines and what not so I am sure it’s the tank. Last time I had it running I only put about 5 gallons of fuel to “test” if it was low or on the bottom of the tank and sure enough it leaked. Oddly the fuel was seen coming into the bilge area (if that sounds right) and then out where the drain plug would go (I was on land hooked to water muffs)
I am New to the forum and boating! I recently got a 1987 Chaparral 198C cuddy cabin with an SEI 106 outdrive (likely swapped from the original Mercruiser Alpha One) and what appears to be a crate performance marine engine with thru hull exhaust.This was a boat my best friends dad bought new in 1987 and made a lot of customizations to it. I grew up on this boat (summers in northern MI) I’m excited to fix it up but new to the game, so I’m here for advice.
I need to replace the aluminum fuel tank (probably 48 gallons, original). I’d like to stick with aluminum for the new one. I’ll have to pull up the floor to get to it, which sounds like a project.
Has anyone swapped the tank on a similar ‘80s Chaparral cuddy?
- How hard is it to access/remove the tank? Tips for cutting/lifting the deck without wrecking it?
- What’s the swap process like? Any tight spots or tricky fittings to watch for?
- Pitfalls to avoid? I’m handy but new to boats.
- Where’d you get your aluminum tank? Looking at West Marine or custom fab—any recommendations?
Really would like to get this boat back on the water but not sure where to get a tank. Already have gone through and replaced lines and what not so I am sure it’s the tank. Last time I had it running I only put about 5 gallons of fuel to “test” if it was low or on the bottom of the tank and sure enough it leaked. Oddly the fuel was seen coming into the bilge area (if that sounds right) and then out where the drain plug would go (I was on land hooked to water muffs)
