When i first bought my boat a few months back i kept having problems with water in the fuel tank. my tank is inside the hull so removing it was out of the question. I tried the metho trick but there must have been too much water as that didn't solve the problem. The only access point i had to the tank was through a round deck hatch which was for the fuel gauge sender unit. I ended up making a little syphoning device out of a bit of copper pipe, 8m of clear flexible tube and a inline fuel pumping bulb. here's step by step how to get the water out.

1. fuel floats on top of water so work out which end of the tank the sender unit is and then raise or lower the jockey wheel so that the tank will drain to that point. once you've done that let the boat sit for a day or so to make sure the water has properly settled to the bottom of the tank

2. open the deck inspection hatch to expose the fuel sender gauge. the sender gauge should have 2 wires going to it. remove the fuel gauge sender unit. mine was held in place with 8 screws. there is a rubber gasket that seals the unit to the tank.

3. make up syphonig device. join clear hose to copper pipe. i used 8mm clear hose from the hardware with a fuel pumping bulb thingo

3. put copper pipe end in fuel tank through sender unit hole. try and feel for the lowest point in the tank.

4. put other end of hose in a gerry can or drum

5. pump fuel bulb to get it syphoning and watch the clear hose for change of colour in the fluid. it should start pumping a clear, half fuel half water colour. after a while the colour will change to a darker fuel colour. once there is no clear colour coming through the hose any more, thats when you know most of the water is gone.

6. after i got most the water out i put a litre of metho in the tank and i reinstalled the sender unit.

7. i dont think this mehod will remove ALL the water in your tank but it should make it more manageable with the help from a good fuel/water seperating filter. some of the ways to prevent water in your tank in future from what i've heard and read is to keep your fuel tank as full as possible year round (less condensation), check the fuel breather hose which should have a loop or non return valve to prevent water ingress and also check the fuel cap seal is ok. also if you dont have a fuel/water seperating filter with an inspection bowl on the bottom it's worth getting one installed and check it each time you use your boat.

Cheers everyone

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