A25 water tank padding and hose replacement

[nebulatech]

Hi all!

I recently removed my water tank to clean and paint under it. I remember that DesertAlbin recently patched a hole in his water tank (I hope it's holding!) and I did notice some abrasion on my tank as well. Like anything in a boat, the water tank surely shifts around in pounding seas. In order to help ensure this custom made tank lasts another 40 years, I am trying to figure out some sort of padding material for it. I have considered rubber sheets (1/8" thick), closed cell foam, and spray foam (in the can). Because this area can and will get damp, I know open cell foam won't be a good choice. I'm wondering if anyone has come up with a solution that works for them?


Additionally, I have a question regarding the hoses. My hoses look like they have mold growing inside. I'm not sure any amount of bleach and scrubbing with a bottle brush will make me comfortable putting my family's water supply through them, so I am trying to find replacements. I measured the main fill hose as 1 3/8" inner diameter, and the supply hoses (out to the sinks) as 7/16" inner diameter. Before I invest in these heavy duty hoses, I was wondering if anyone can confirm?

I found 7/16" reinforced food grade tubing in 10' and 25' lengths. I could not find a clear vinyl food grade tube in 1 3/8" ID, but I did find 1.5" ID flexible PVC at Lowes, which states it is OK for potable water. Thoughts?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/EASTMAN-1-1-2- ... 1000329643


Thank you as always for all of your insight!

[DesertAlbin736]

Fun getting that tank in and out, n'est ce pa? The cracks in my tank were on the back side near the outlets, not where it touches anything. Not sure how yours is secured, but on mine there are two wood cross pieces across the top of the tank that are screwed to the underside of the lip that the plywood pieces attach to and keep the tank from shifting or bouncing. I didn't bother painting the area under the tank because that's totally out of sight.

[nebulatech]

Steve, that's exactly how mine was secured. I'm painting because I'm painting from cabin sole to the roof, and that's just one small area. Plus, underneath the vinyl liner I removed there was mold/mildew. So I'm scrubbing the hull with deck cleaner (Like wooden house decks) which is mostly bleach, as the grocery is out of bleach due to Covid. After I kill the growth, I'm going over it with 2 coats of stain blocking primer and 2 coats of exterior porch paint to make future maintenance easier. I understand water migration wasn't a problem on your boat, but it was on mine, and in my experience, once mold and mildew get in, it takes a total clean and extra vigilance moving forward to keep it out.

My tank has some abrasion on one of the sides. I'm thinking that a half empty tank sloshing back and forth creates enough force to shift the tank around. It doesn't have to move much to start wearing away.

Absent any other ideas, I think my current plan is to use roof repair tape. It's pretty sturdy stuff intended to have leaves and limbs dropped on it, and it will stay in place. About $20 for a roll, I should be able to pad all of the areas of contact. I'll post pictures. I may get to it as early as Sunday.

[nebulatech]

Water tank reinstalled. I ended up using door/window seam tape as the padding. Its a 6" waterproof rubber/tar like material. My primary concern is water getting trapped between the tape and the hull when the adhesive breaks down years from now. When that happens, hopefully the tape peels off easy for replacement.

As for the hoses, the main feed hose is 1.5" and the vent and supply lines I usedare 1/2" inner diameter. The supply lines are very tight fitting.

20200426_143912.jpg

[DesertAlbin736]

Tight fit, eh?

[nebulatech]

Nice and snug. I also applied padding to the top cross members.

[Sunsetrider]

I would like t fix the split along the bottom of my tank which I just discovered - I never have had the need to use it until now, as I start to turn around my thinking about selling. Maybe at this time I should accommodate myself to the vessel instead of looking for one that accommodates to my more lounging lifestyle?
The prospect of removing the tank to address the split is to say the least, daunting. Can I do it without essentially rebuilding the boat?
Steve: have you done it?

[nebulatech]

Sunsetrider, as for removing the tank it's not THAT bad. Well, maybe...

In my case, I removed the forward bulkhead, which required removing the cabinets and the shelves, but it's mostly flat head wood screws and some small nuts. 8mm IIRC. It looks like a lot but it really isnt that bad. You will probably want to remove the bulkhead if for no other reason that to provide easy access to the hose clamp for the fill hose where it meets the deck.

The hose clamps where the fill hose meets the tank may be too corroded to remove in place. If this proves to be the case, again having the forward bulkhead removed will make for much easier work to remove the tank with fill hose attached. Underneath the plywood panel covering the water tank are two wood cross members. Both need to come out, including the aft one attached to the vertical plywood panel (thanks Steve for pointing that out!)

It sounds like you would like to avoid removing too much of the furniture. This may be possible, but you may find that opening up the workspace makes the work easier. I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures other than what I've posted and I buttoned it all up last weekend, but I'm happy to answer any questions. PM me if you would like to chat.

Regarding the actual tank repair, Steve is your expert. My tank is holding water (fingers crossed).

[Sunsetrider]

Thanks - you describe more or less what I imagined to be involved. Working at the marina dock means it is difficult to find a place to put the material being removed.

[nebulatech]

That's absolutely true. The shelves won't fit in the aft cabin without the door open. The rest of it can and will go into the aft cabin though.

[WillieC]

Just store it in the stand up engine room. One can wish.

[nebulatech]

Just store it in the stand up engine room. One can wish.

While we're wishing, let the crew do it!

[DesertAlbin736]

Hi Stephen (sunsetrider)!

Hey, long time, no see! In a way I'm kind of glad you're thinking about keeping Manatee after all. Yes, you have to essentially pull the forward cabin apart to remove the water tank, but it can be done with the boat docked at the marina & there's room in the cockpit to store the various pieces of wood that you need to take apart. It is a PITA that takes some patience and elbow grease, but it's not rocket science. First, remove the settee cushions and everything stored on the side shelves & take them home to get them out of the way. Obviously you have to remove the panels right above the tank, that is everything from the "V" forward including the storage bin behind the tank. The pieces above that storage bin also extend to the back of the settees. But there's that glassed in demi bulkhead right behind the tank that can't be removed (you'll see). Therefore after disconnecting the outlet hoses and the fill & vent hoses up front the tank has to be lifted straight up without tilting it. BUT, the front end of the tank extends into the anchor locker space in front of that wood panel, so it too has to be removed. BUT the side shelves tie into that, so they have to be removed as well. My boat is the early model that doesn't have the little cabinets at the front end of the shelves, so in your case those also have to be removed. And of course you have to remove your anchor chain & rode too, which you could just throw in your car & take home or just stow in the aft cabin. Once all that's done it's a very tight fit getting the tank up past the lips that the wood panels attach to. Anyone offended by foul language during this operation should be warned to remain well out of earshot.

You have to go from this:

Albin wardrobe.jpg

To this:

20191017_165531.jpg

20191017_165518.jpg

Then as to tank repair there are a number of options depending on where and how big the crack is & if it affects the outlet fittings. Bad news is that to replace the tank with a new one it's difficult to impossible to find an exact or even close fit off the shelf replacement and EXTREMELY expensive to have a custom one made to order to match the size & shape. It's roto molded plastic which doesn't take to adhesives well, but you could 'thermo weld' small cracks with a hot knife or electric soldering iron. One problem with the way the outlet hose barbs attach is that they screw into tapped pipe threads cut directly in the wall of the tank rather than 'spin welded' actual threaded fittings. And since the back end of the tank fits flush against the glassed in bulkhead the hose barbs have to be removed first to get the tank out & can't be put back in until the tank is back in place. Since the crack in my tank impacted the threaded hole where one of the outlet hose bibs attach I had to blank off that one off & use the other. Previous owners had removed the vanity sink in the head so I only needed one hose coming out of the tank. I went through a number of frustrating iterations to completely seal the leaks, so I would advise testing your repair before re-installing the tank to be sure. Besides 'thermo welding' I ended up using FlexSeal brand rubberized adhesive, which I'm not sure if that or an equivalent is available in Canada, and finally on top of that a layer of West System G-Flex epoxy gel. Then for winter storage be sure to empty the tank to protect against freeze damage.

Anyway, we were hoping to be able to meet up with you and Andrea when we planned to make a stop at Gananoque on the St. Lawrence on the way to the Rideau Canal coming up from Oneida Lake in NY via Erie & Oswego Canals & Lake Ontario to Kingston. But now with the COVID pandemic we've put off those plans for this year. Hopefully we can give it a go next year, & if so how would you guys like to do the Rideau portion up to Ottowa & back down Montreal with us?

triangleloopmap.jpg

BoatUSmagaritcal1.jpg

Give our best to Andrea. We sure miss those delicious butter tarts!

20170903_101545.jpg

[Sunsetrider]

Great to hear from you Steve, and thanks for very detailed, if daunting, report/instruction booklet! Makes me wonder if I will really get all that thirsty. Or dirty. Who really needs tap water, after all? Thinking about the aching back and knees bent over the job make me wish I did have resort to the above-referenced "crew". Need to wind back the clock to find those teenage sons . . .

I found a showroom sale on an 8.5 ft Plastimo inflatable dinghy and got a 2.5 hp motor, so that will be a big improvement on the hard shell once I unwrap it and blow it up. Won't need it to accompany you guys up the Rideau and I am backing off the work load - Covid-19 teaching valuable lessons on how to do that. We'll sort of plan on it.

Thanks for the pic, but now everyone knows I'm an Oldie!

[Sunsetrider]

OK now I clicked on the mag - wow!