Accessing Gas Tank & Sending Unit

markpollitz

I have a 1997 SunDeck 23'. It sat for 1 1/2 years. I wanted to inspect the gas tank to see if there was water in it & if so, remove the gas/water contents. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was an easy job!
The gas tank deck panel has 2 round access plates that screw off. The plate nearest the Captains chair gives access to the fill hose & vapor exhaust hose. The plate nearest the stern gives access to the fuel dip pipe, sending unit (for the gas gauge) & drain hose. But trying to repair anything in these access ports is not practical.

1. However what is easy, is removing the gas tank deck panel. It has 9 Phillips screws to remove it. There is 1 drain hose that has to be removed to fully remove the deck panel. This took about 15 minutes.
2. Once removed you have easy access to the sending unit which has 5 screws (5/16"). It has one wire in the center & mine has 2 ground/negative wires attached with a 6th screw. 
3. After removing the screws, use a putty knife to gently peel off the rubber gasket. If it tears, you can replace it with a cork or fiber self-made gasket. These gasket materials are sold in all auto parts stores.
4. Then gently lift strait up on the sending unit being careful not to bend the rod. The float at the rod end is barely smaller than the hole in the tank so pull gently. This took another 15 minutes.
5. I used an extendable flashlight & was able to see into the tanks bottom & to my surprise, no water in the tank.
6. But I wanted proof so I pumped out a half gallon of gas from the lowest point in the tank & confirmed no water.
7. I used a hand pump purchased from Harbor Freight for $10. This took another 15 minutes.
8. DO NOT use any electric pump. As soon as gas fumes contact the brushes & sparks in an electric motor,,,, KABOOM.....
9. Re-assemble in reverse order. This took another 15 minutes. 1 hour in total & I was done.
10. If you do have water & need to pump out the contents, it'll take longer based on the amount of gas in the tank.

Here's some Specs on the tank itself:
66 gallons
Dimensions:
42.5" long x 28.25" wide x 14.5" deep
Plastic tank thickness is 1/4"
I've posted pictures in the order of the removal process.
I hope this helps!!

cjjjdeck

This is an awesome post and the pictures are especially appreciated!  Thanks for sharing this experience markpollitz!

However, there may be a number of Hurricane owners that wish their model had the same type of access to the fuel tank as yours does!