Leaking water tank....

[Allure2sail]

My fears have become reality. The water tank has sprung a leak and it is underneath the back vertical wall that makes up the tank. At first I thought it was the fitting or hose but no luck. Has anyone opened the tank lid (a million screws and most likely ten pounds of 5200). I tried to get in there on my parts boat and just gave up. If I thought the leak could be fixed I'd cut an access port but I'm at the point of just putting a saw to the cover and put a bladder tank in it's place. This is a really bad design, take it from an engineer, no access, no real tank and who needs 55 gallons of water on a 27 foot sailboat. Has anyone gone thru this dilemma. How did you replace or restore your water tank.
Bruce
Allure 27/2
Swansea , MA

[cfelle2]

I've recently discovered a leak in my water tank as well.  There is a number of nice posts in this forum concerning the repair.  Just search for "water tank" in the search and you will find many results.  My favorite is the one for which I have pasted the link below.  For myself I think I will cut the top off and put a bladder tank in to replace.  It seems much easier than removing fabricating and replacing the lid.

http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=6782.0

Chris

[bobp]

My fears have become reality. The water tank has sprung a leak and it is underneath the back vertical wall that makes up the tank. At first I thought it was the fitting or hose but no luck. Has anyone opened the tank lid (a million screws and most likely ten pounds of 5200). I tried to get in there on my parts boat and just gave up. If I thought the leak could be fixed I'd cut an access port but I'm at the point of just putting a saw to the cover and put a bladder tank in it's place. This is a really bad design, take it from an engineer, no access, no real tank and who needs 55 gallons of water on a 27 foot sailboat. Has anyone gone thru this dilemma. How did you replace or restore your water tank.
Bruce
Allure 27/2
Swansea , MA

My boat came with the top already off and a bladder installed, so they do come off. Good luckP
           Bob P

[Allure2sail]

Water tank leak.....
Hi All:
I purchased a 10" latched deck plate recently to get inside the water tank. Today marked it up to do my cut. I drilled a 1/2" hole and the used a saber saw to cut the circle marked up with a sharpie. Cut pretty easy with a new blade and was looking inside in short order. I was totally surprised to see how clean it was in there, no slim, no mildew, no slim anywhere to be found !! Inside surface of cover was still intact and clean. I attribute this to bleaching it out periodically...good practice. Much to my surprise there was no crack to be found anywhere, and trust me I looked. I'm not doing this job twice. I do believe now it that it was the fitting. I had tried to thighten it but it started to turn so rather than break the 5200 seal I stopped. I'm going to pick up a new fitting/barb tomorrow then reinstall and re-bed it. Hope to find one that I can put a wrench on the nut and inside on the head, that way once the 5200 sets I can snug it up a little more just to make sure it does not leak. Good side of the project....now I can get inside the water tank to clean it if need be. I was really surprised at how clean it was in there......thought I might have to spend a lot of time in there cleaning it up. Makes me want to change all the waterlines to finish the job !00%. Good ending to what I suspected was going to be a nightmare.
Bruce
S/V Allure
Swansea, MA

[skip1930]

For those of us who have 85 year old cars maybe POR-15 FUEL TANK SEALER  would be of interest.
But I don't know how to 'get it in the tank to all surfaces' without the tank on the work bench.

Just an idea.

When our metal water tank took a dump on the houseboat, my dad cut a new tank out of six pieces of clear plastic and glued it together.
It was easy to remove because it simply sat on a shelf in a locker.

skip.

[deisher6]

Hey Bruce:
Good to hear that the top of your tank was in good condition.  Replacing that is a chore.

Is the cover on your water tank 3/4 inch plywood with a plastic laminate for the outer layers?

Windrunner also leaked at the water tank outlet.  Replacement of the fitting was a pretty easy job.  I bought the part at West Marine.  I recall that the plug had a slotted top that a deck fitting wrench would fit into.

Nice info on the ballast and cabin sole.

Thanks.

regards charlie

[Allure2sail]

Hi all:
I installed the fitting yesterday and just snugged it up until the 4500 started to squish out. Let it dry out and setup for a few days now I'll tighten it up the rest of the way then put the hose back on and fill it with some water in the tank to check it for leaks. I do believe it should be all set now. End result is I have a way of getting inside the tank and clean it.
Bruce
P.S. It did have a slot in the head of it to hold it while you tighten up the nut on the outside of the tank. on the outside of the tank.

[Allure2sail]

Water tank update:
No leaks, put in a new hose, it is all set and back in service. Deck plate was 10.5 inch diameter size and had two latching features. One thing I would have done differently. I would have moved the hole for the deck plate forward a few inches. If I was a basketball pro my arms would have been long enough to be able to reach all of the internal surfaces to clean them up with a hand towel. The forward few inches I have to put the towel on a ruler to reach all the way forward (no big deal). Other than sealing the cover where the saw had cut through so it would not delaminate as time went by it really wasn't all that bad of a job. I think the bleach I would put in when I filled the tank every spring kept it pretty clean in there. I would add a gallon to the tank when I filled it up with water in the spring and let it sit for a few days while in my slip. I would then empty it and refill with fresh water and also add those tablets they sell to keep it fresh. Works out pretty well. I heard there is a filter that you can put on the end of the hose that you use to fill the water tank up with. They are popular with the RV people and it gives you another measure of filtration. I must admit even after all this and the filter added in the mix I drink and brush my teeth with bottled spring water....call me a skeptic.
Bruce
S/V Allure

[Allure2sail]

Water tank final chapter.....
I use to just put the water hose into the fill pipe and let it flow until water came out the fill pipe and out the vent. Can not do that anymore, seems the deck plate I used even though it has two latching handles and an o'ring for the lid will not seal off the inspection port so it is water tight. I did 4500's the outer flange mounting face and around the mounting screw holes, also let it dry before tightening the screws all the way down. End result, the tank now holds 50 gallons instead of 55. No big deal.                                                                                     
Bruce
S/V Allure

[deisher6]

Hey Bruce:
The screw in inspection port that I installed also leaks if I use the deck fill.  When you think about it there is a couple of feet of head between the vent and/or deck fill and the top of the tank. Quite a bit of pressure, enough to bow the 3/4 starboard that I used to replace the top of the tank. Like you I now just fill it to near the top.  All in all though the inspection port to keep the tank clean and the new top that I had to install to replace the decaying plywood one are worth it. 

I drink the water from the tank.

regards charlie

[Allure2sail]

Hi Charlie:
Yea, I have to agree with you it is a much better setup. Now we can get into the tank to clean it.
Bruce