Fitting new Water Tanks

[Rustic Charm]

My boat is a 36 footer. When I purchased it four years ago it had no water tanks though I have the origional plans and it once had aluminium tanks. Not sure what happened to them.

Two years ago I had two 120 ltr plastic water tanks made up for me. Because they were fitting against bulkheads and under bunks they were an odd shape. So I drew them up and emailed my plans. The manafacturer quickly made them up to my specs and mailed them back to me. Perfect!

They are strong (7mm) and made from HDPE. White in colour. I got them to put double thickness in one area in the top so I could put in inspection hatches. HDPE does not affect water taste and the colour helps with discouraging any growth. They were both about $450 each.

I've yet to order another one for the foxall which will be about 200 ltrs I suspect.

Baffles? I'd definately put baffles in it. It's not about the size of the boat, it's about the size of your water tanks. Mine are approximately 1100 long and that's a lot of water and a lot of pressure being made if they are half full in rough seas. So definately baffles.

And make sure you use drinking quality hosing to connect them. Plastic all the way.

I'm in Australia and just so you can see what I mean, this is the company I used. http://www.abbertanks.com.au/

[jreiter190]

KAREN has two water and one fuel tank of Monel that are only 51 years old. No leaks. Should I worry?

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by jreiter190

KAREN has two water and one fuel tank of Monel that are only 51 years old. No leaks. Should I worry?

Monel is a high resistant to erosion metal. Mostly a copper nickel alloy with other support metals. Salt and acids are about the only thing that will degrade it. But lower grades are soft. Not good for stress related construction. Inconel is stronger.

Lucky you!

[jreiter190]

Yeah, I like the verdigris on them.I think it protects the surfaces. Water always tastes good and it is clear except when I forget to turn off the pump. It comes out cloudy, but clears right up. The early Albergs had bad tanks and had to be replaced. Good to have one that was towards the end of the middle of the production run. #190 of 280.

[robert sailor]

Current tanks are approx 60 gallons each and both have baffles. The tanks are odd shaped to maximise tankage.

[SVTatia]

There is an article in Good Old Boat about a guy who built his own HDPE holding tank. He bought a set of welding equipment from Harbor Freight and mentioned that the learning is achievable by ordinary DIYrs.
That is the first I saw of a DIY plastic tank, I always thought that had to be done by professionals....