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if I cut a hole just large enough for a gas pump to fit in above my gas tank will it damage or weaken the structure/integraty of the boat.

are you talking about the structural integrity of the seat?
that is, many X'ers have incorporated a 12 gallon permanent mount gas tank under one or both seats.
when this is done, the tank is generally not removed during fueling.
therefore, in order to pump fuel, a 3" or 4" deckplate is normally installed into the area on the seat surface just above the gas tank cap.
each time you pump fuel, you unscrew the deck plate. the opening is large enough to then unscrew the gas cap on the tank.
no structural weakening there...

personally, i'm still using side by side 6 gallon tanks under each seat (24 total gallons maximum) for more flexibility. they stick out into the cockpit a bit, but i'm OK with that.

you answered my question. We had the two 9 gallon tanks replace the 2 six when we purchased her. I've noticed we've been using the ob about as much as we've been sailing this year. So I'm going to simplify the fuel situation.
Thanks again.

We used 6 inch deck plates above the fillers of our 12 gallon tanks. I'm 250 lbs and notice no flex in the seat after doing so.

on second thought...why not use 6" plates?
they're probably best.
good idea Moe!

excellent! I thought I saw that mod posted before. This time when I searched I was unable to find it.

click here!
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/cgi-bin ... record=529

thank you both

My alternative solution wth the 12 gallon tank is to put them in backwards - ie - have the filler inboard where it can be accessed and the fuel connect outboard where it is hard to reach.

This does work on the .

Catigale wrote:My alternative solution wth the 12 gallon tank is to put them in backwards - ie - have the filler inboard where it can be accessed and the fuel connect outboard where it is hard to reach.

Don T mounted his the same way, but solved the hard to reach connector problem.