Water tank inspection port

[deisher6]

I finally remembered to take our camera to the marina.  Here is a shot of the inspection port and a couple of shots inside.  It had very little crud inside and smelled remarkably fresh.  The top piece of plywood was just starting to delaminate, but it is not serious.





Here are two shots of the sliding doors in the galley and head.  Simple replacement with 1/4 inch plexaglass.  I like to see what is in the cupboard and think that they look better than the teal or velvet.





Wishing you '86 fixer uppers well.

regards charlie

[Harrier]

nice touch.  modern feel.

[wes]

Seriously thinking about replacing the entire plywood tank cover with a new plexiglas one. Creeps me out not to know what's going on in that tank that I'm sleeping on top of, and not sure an inspection port will cure my anxieties.

Wes

[deisher6]

Hey Wes:
I may very well replace the cover also, if the plywood de-lamination becomes a problem.  I understand your concerns.

I think that an inspection port and the ability to clean out the tank is the minimum that should be done.  I think that it was standard on later models.

Hope to be in the water as soon as I get the engine running.

regards charlie

[deisher6]

After replacing the outlet in front of the tank to stop a leak.  I filled up the tank and dumped in some clorox.  I opened up the system (after replacing the pump) to circulate the clorox water.  I let it sit for a a day then flushed it out.  When I was wiping out the tank, all the mold lines and mold came out.

BUT I had a hard time reaching the forward parts of the tank.  RECOMMEND that you place the inspection port a little further forward than mine.  3-5 inches more forward wound be great.

regards
charlie

[JD]

Just purchased my 27 on Sunday. She had a wonderful over the road trip from Ct. To the Sassafras River on the upper Chesapeqke Bay.l am now inspecting all of the workings inside. Things to do.
After taking out a million screws in the forward water supply I found out that the laminated wooden cover does not come off without damage. I spoke to Gary at Hutchens and he laughed and said just put an inspection cover there. ok!!!   I like your inspection cover. I may just put a larger one in .
When I bought the boat there was smell inside . I figured it was the head. No.... It's the bilge. he previous owner never cleaned it for 10 years. The fiberglass covered piece of angled wood in the bilge is rotted. I am ripping it out down to the cement in the keel. Have you ran into this at all? P U  what a smell.
All of the ports have a bit of leak to them . I tracked that down to the seals. ..... any thoughts
One really Teiresias thing that puzzles me is.... how does the run off in the anchor rode locker get to the bilge ?
I tried to follow where it would go and it seems like it goes under the center of the sole.  Thinking about fiberglass sing a small bulkhead and installing a hose for that runoff led directly to the bilge. Poor design I think ... thoughts
I guess I should be posting all these findings as this is my first day on the site. Please advice or give any thoughts on my findings.
Thanks
JD

[deisher6]

JD:
Good luck with your '27.  

If you do put in an inspection port in the water tank put it in a little further forward than I did.  I could not easily reach all of the tank.

I know what you mean about bilges....I cleaned and painted ours.

Not sure about the chain locker drainage.  Ours came with 200 ft of chain, when I pulled that out there was a bunch of crud that I vacuumed out.  I know that the locker is deep.  I dropped a favorite socket wrench down there out of sight when installing a new fresh water fill fitting.  I lucked out retrieving it with a telescoping wand with a magnet on it.

regards charlie

[wes]

Ha - me too! Dropped my favorite set of vise-grips down that hole while removing the bow eye. Never occurred to me that the chain locker didn't have a bottom. Possibly it's a portal to an alternate universe. Got my magnet and long piece of string to go fishing for it though. Wish me luck.

Wes

[deisher6]

Happy New Years!

While fooling around on our boat this morning, I drained the water tank.  Watching the water go down I stuck my hand inside to feel the plywood on the top of the tank.  Surprise, there is a membrane of some sort on the top of the tank.  Ours is badly split and peeling off (not where I put in the inspection port).  
this is probably why our water has a strong moldy plywood smell.  I tried making some sweet tea with a fair amount of rum from the onboard water, still didn't shake the taste.  

Anyhow, those thinking of inspection ports, think of a flange on each side.  Meanwhile I am considering cutting off the top and replacing it with something.

Any thoughts?

regards charlie

[wes]

Charlie - my current plan is to replace the entire top with a thick piece of plexiglas. That seems nice and inert, plus it will allow visibility into the tank. I will still install the access port, to have a way to clean the tank. Like all my plans this is prone to change after I get too deep into it to turn back.

Currently focused on my sanding and painting. Probably won't get to the water tank until the spring.

Wes

[skip1930]

On one of our houseboats, dad cut 6 pieces of Plexiglas and glued them together, making a replacement 30[?] gallon water tank as the metal one rusted away.

skip.

[deisher6]

Hey Wes:
I see in a previous post on this thread that JD had tried to take the top of the water tank off.  I wonder if and how he ever got it off.  Could it be easier to just cut the top off leaving enough of it to attach another cover ?

If anyone tackles the tank top keep us posted.

Thanks.

regards charlie

[peterg]

On my former 1990 Compac 27, Afternoon Beagle, I found the water to be pretty darned disgusting when I bought her. I decided to cut a hole in the plywood cover for an inspection port, and found the bottom of the plywood to be covered with a very thin (maybe 1/32" or less) plastic-like material that was falling off into the tank and allowing the plywood cover to rot- hence the nasty water. Removing the entire wooden cover was a chore, as there were many screws and 5200 adhesive holding the darned thing down. I used a small hydraulic jack placed in the bottom of the tank on some load distributing footers to get the lid to let go from the fiberglass, then I managed to use a thin flat bar to slowly pry the lid off. Very long and labor intensive project. A new lid from the factory comes in two pieces- the original one-piece was installed prior to the topsides being installed, and a one- piece no longer can be gotten through the companionway. At this point, I fabricated a new cover from 5/8" plywood, sanded and varnished,. I cut it initially as a full size cover, then cut the front off about a foot from the forward facing end. I put a rabbet joint between the pieces and installed the cover (without any screws) over a new flexible triangular water tank of 26 gallon capacity. Since the cover was removeable, I gained some more storage room in the bow, and we had fresh and clean water thereafter!

[wes]

Yikes, that's useful. At the moment I have the sliding hatch and hood completely off the boat for painting. Maybe that will allow a one piece tank cover back on. Note to self: measure soon!

Wes

[deisher6]

Great scoop!  Really appreciate your detailed response.  It explains the taste and the hanging plastic in our tank.  

Given that the top of the tank is important part of the boat structure.... In your opinion, would it be realistic to just remove the forward foot of the cover, install a flexible tank without removing the entire cover. Then replacing the front part with a removable hatch.  Along those same thoughts, possibly cutting a 1x1ft hole in the top of the tank, rabbeting in a removable hatch, and again installing a bladder for fresh water.

Again thank you for the insight.

regards charlie