35TE fuel tank - deck access hatches

[tconnelly254]

My 35TE came with 3 deck access hatches in the cockpit, that I do not believe were standard.

See pics attached. My 2 questions:

1. The hatches (the 3 white Bomar access hatches) are used to inspect the fuel tanks. The center one also gives access to the fuel sending unit/hoses. This being my first multi-fuel tank boat ... I'm assuming the 2 side access hatches are just a "nice to have" feature, but I won't generally need this access. Is this correct? Is it worth keeping these, or glassing them over? I'm favoring the latter, can someone talk me out of it?

2. Does the large removable deck panel in the center (which appears to be standard on all 35TEs), afford me access to remove the central fuel tank if I remove that portion of the deck (say, down the road)? Likewise, does it also grant me access to the port and starboard fuel tanks, which I'm assuming have a similar or identical footprint to the central one?

For some background, I am planning to veneer the cockpit deck with Flexiteek, therefore I'm looking to clean things up a bit on the deck and possibly replace fuel tanks if needed. Or, if I can access all 3 fuel tanks via this removable deck panel, I won't worry about the fuel tanks before adding the Flexiteek to the decks.

[go.boating]

i'm doing something similar to mine, and someone also made some stupid holes that i will be glassing in.

yes all 3 tanks are same size and can be removed with the main hatch off