Replacement Water Tank

[John]

Has anyone recently purchased either a ready-made or fabricated water tank? I would like to replace the fiberglass tank I pulled several years ago, and if there is a tank manufacturer who already has the plans then it would save a step.

May I assume by the lack of notation on the drawing in the manual, that the same tank was used in both the Commander sand the Ariel?

[Bill]

May I assume by the lack of notation on the drawing in the manual, that the same tank was used in both the Commander sand the Ariel?

Probably, but it's not clear when Pearson began using fiberglass. Earliest boats (all Ariels) had galvanized steel water tanks. That was followed by Monel (high grade aluminum) tanks. Would be great if you got one of those from someone doing a major interior redesign. I snagged Ebb's . . .

[John]

That would be great if I could. Valhalla is a 1967 according to the PO, and it was a fiberglass tank, so they were using fiberglass at least that early.

[ebb]

Could build yourself a model in place out of posterboard and blue tape
to see what will fit in the space - gives you hard measures to choose from.
www.oceanlinkinc.com
used to have pages of plastic tanks listed with diagrams.
You'll want your fittings in the right place. So you may have to retro.
Maybe they sell that stuff too.
Don't know anything about the outfit - so can't vouch for prices and quality.
People who sell rotomold tanks (Tempo Todd Sealand) might have links on the net as a source.

Again, don't know how far bladder tanks have progressed taste wise, but there is always that alternative - might get more volume that way - and I think triangular bow versions are available. If you have tie points for the bag, this seems like the easiest solution.

You could make your own out of fiberglass and epoxy, but it's argueable that polyethylene or polypropylene or even abs is more better for potable water. Cheers

[John]

OceanLink is around the corner - sorta. I am going to scan the tank diagram from the manual and email it to them tomorrow.

Now for the glasswork...The glass guy came and said my deck is solid but that I had a stress crack behind the step, and he said to do it myself. Mix up resin and silica and fill after grinding off the thin area of the crack. There is not any flex in the deck even when I jumped. Hmmmm Wonder why he used me... Life is getting better.

[ebb]

John,
No tuna fish in the deck is one hell of a plus!
Read up on the mast step in the archives.
It may be that the mast has pushed the natural bow of the cabin flat (decades of pressure) causing the stress crack. It may indeed be an easy fix but you'll probably have to lower the mast and provide some support inside on top of the compression beam. To keep the bow up where it belongs.

It is my personal opinion (I have not seen the boat) that if you have no rot in the oak beam and your bracing is also in good shape you may get away with carefully shaped pieces (band saw) placed on top of the beam from inside the V'berth. But you'd have to take the pressure off the cabin top. (You would also have to remove the round mast step screws.) Be advised, this is only my opinion, there is an official fix in the Manual.
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Imtra make a 14.5 gal nitril (no taste) 26.5 X 24.5 water bag with a 5 yr warranty for $175. And you don't need a vent.

[John]

Ebb,

My Commander has the compression post rather than the strongback. The deck area under the step seems to have retained it's natural, builtin, camber. I did check the block between the keel and the post before. ( I have also heard that standing on one's head will increase the intellect.) So I will check it again with more care, and be smarter in the process. Can't beat that deal with a stick.


The PO used 5 minute epoxy to hold the curtain rails above and below the sidelights. It seems as though it really is 1 season epoxy as I am forever reglueing the bloody things. Radio Shack as a 3M high strength high temp double faced tape that I have been thinking of trying. Have you used it for anything in the interior?

[c_amos]

Faith continues to evolve as we make our way down the coast. Our current water stowage is the original tank forward, and 4 6.5g (and plans to add 2 more before we cross to the islands) cans that we keep in the bottom of the cockpit lockers. Those cans are really hard to get out, and use most of the lockers. THe ~39 gallons of water will be very handy when going to explore the Exumas but dosent stow very well.

We only use storage under the starboard settee for 'emergency' bottled water, which again does not utilize it very well.

I am looking at the Plastimo 39 gallon water bladder with a fill in the cockpit and a 'y' valve on the original 1/2" hose leading from the original tank forward.

It is 27" x 55" and comes with a 1 1/2" fill barb and a 1/2" supply barb.

Plastimo flexible water tanks - consist of a welded non-porous tasteless PVC water chamber (inner bladder) inside a tough nylon envelope, for complete watertightness and resistance to tearing and abrasion.
Separate chambers allow the water tanks the flexibility to adapt their shape during heavy pitching, and to remain rigid enough not to burst under pressure.
The inner bladder is slightly oversized allowing pressure of water in tank to be exerted on the outter envelope not the inner bladder.
1 1/2 inlet and outlet fittings included. This model: capacity - 39.6 gal.

I doubt that I will fill it to capacity (it is too thick for the space full). If I did manage I know I would be adding something like ~250# of water.... about like an extra large crew member sleeping in the starbord settee....

What say the pannel?

[Tony G]

Congrats on the voyage! I'm green with envy but also inspired more than ever.

Being Faith is an outboard model, and you already store water in the cockpit lockers why not mount the bladder centered under the cockpit on the hull? There is the concern of protecting the cockpit scupper drains but it should be doable. Even though it is more weight in the stern I think it would be better to be balanced athwartship vs. the fore and aft squatting. I may be way off the mark, but fuel tanks and holding tanks are found in this area as are batteries which can be equally as heavy. There is alot of volume under the cockpit that could/should be used for something. I'm not so sure I'd like to sleep there but someone should think of a good use for the space.

Tony

[jshisha]

When I brought my Commander this year it had an aluminum tank. It had been taken out and is in my garage. If you need any measurements I can take them for you and also send you photos.

[c_amos]

jshisha,

Thank you for the offer, I still have that tank onboard 'Faith'. Fortunately mine is one of the monel tanks so it is in good shape, and I regurally drink the water out of it. THe only problem with this tank is that it does not hold the water Rose and I need for the Exumas.

Tony,
I agree that is a good location, it was were I had originally planned to put the tank. The problem I see is that the bladders are not designed to be supported by straps or tied down to keep them from sliding.

The lashings are described by Plastimo (and others) as keeping the tank in place, but I do not read their instructions as saying the tie points will support the tank on an incline.

Of course a 'ledge' could be fabricated to go aft of the pair of Trojan T-105 batteries I already have there, but it is more then I really want to undertake while cruising south.

As it was I had an entire day spent in a marina to make the tank work... but it is in place now.

I went with the Plastimo 39gallon bladder I posted about above, and mounted it under the starboard settee.

The space has the natural 'bladder friendly' curve of the hull already except for the bottom edge where there could potentially be a crease.

I drilled 4 pair of holes in the setee to lash the corners to, but none of the lashings have any weight on them (unless the boat is pitching at some strange angle.)

I then drilled a 2.1/8" hole in the aft end of the bulkhead to pass the fill hose to, and a 7/8" for the 1/2" tap hose.

I installed a stainless deck fill in the vertical starboard side of the cockpit. I did not install it on the horizontal surface so it will neither be a lump to sit on, nor will it be as likely to collect salt water.

I ran the supply line to a diverter valve under the sink where I can draw the water from either the forward tank (18 gallon?) or the new 39 gallon tank (although It does not have the full 9" of vertical clearance across it's surface while in the locker so I doubt it is filling to the entire 39 gallons but I estimate it is between 32 and 35 gallons (guess).

I filled it till water ran out of the fill once it was installed and noticed a very slight list to starboard, less then I get when someone sits on only one side of the cockpit. I think it is acceptable, and I got my cockpit lockers back

I will post more on this as it is used, but my initial impression is that it is going to work out well.

[commanderpete]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BRASS...QQcmdZViewItem

This triangular tank is shaped to fit in the small area in the front of a sailboat. This one was used in a freshwater Pearson sailboat. The overall measurements are 25 inches tall, 35 inches wide tapering to 15 inches wide and 12 inches deep tapering to 6 inches. The tag on the tank reads, Mfg by STAR SHEET METAL WORKS BOSTON, MASS. The material, date and capacity on the label are not filled out. The tank has a fill marked WATER, cap missing, a fill breather and pick up tube. The tank did not leak when it was removed, the pick up tube was loosened during the removal.

[frank durant]

In the years since this thread was started (Yep Bill....I used the search *) found a roto molded tank that fits in where our current tank resides??
Thought this one was kinda close http://www.customroto.com/marinetank.asp?ID=43

[ebb]

hey Frank, they don't make a deal about openings/drains etc.
But the price is certainly right!

Assume fills/drains can be customed to where you want them.
And that they also install them, melt/weld them on?

One thing seems like a good idea to me, is to have an access plate
big enough to get a hand/arm, vacuum hose, inside for cleaning and inspection.
Also for adding a two piece gasketed 'thru-hull' later in case the fill or pump-out has to be moved.

Polyethylene imco has the best rep for potable water storage. Steer clear of poltyester.


Does this mean you're working on your new restoration?

[frank durant]

Means I'm really really thinkin bout it ;-)
In Revival 1...I put a 20 gallon tank under the cockpit. Thinkin that keepin the extra lbs forward would help with the typical Ariel "squat"
I'd use that "inboard engine" space for lighter weight storage.