Tank Sizes

[joda cancruise]

Hello, I am a first time poster and will introduce myself and plans in the future. My wife and I are planning to buy a Cat in the 40 ft range, in the near future. In doing research I have noticed that many "Cruising Cats" have very small tanks.
Is 20 gal for a holding tank sufficient, does it seem reasonable that fuel tanks are much smaller than Water when most boats have watermakers? Can you post your boat type tank sizes and what you feel if they are adequate?

[Unicorn Dreams]

My 43' mono has water maker,
135 gal water tank,
65 gal fuel tank,
20 gal holding tank.

65 gals of fuel will last a very long time, about 80 hrs of tun time..

[capnorv]

My 45' mono has 180 gallon water, 180 gallon fuel (diesel), 32 gallon holding, and 12 gallon grey water. It's about average when in the 40's range of boat. Oh , and 3x d-8 and 2 group 31 batteries also.

[Poozer]

Catana 471
Water - 2 x 300L (160 gallons total)
Diesel - 2 x 400L (211 gallons total)
Holding - 2 x 40L (20 gallons total)
Watermaker - 60L/hr

Based on our experience I would say: Water is a bit on the low side, we definitely need to run the watermaker after a few days. Diesel is plenty. Holding tanks are plenty as well, just keep an eye on your levels and pump out as soon as they're high - we're offshore a lot so no big deal.

Other specs on our boat:
2 x 20L water heaters
1040 AH House battery bank
8 x 70Watt solar panels
5.5kW generator
200L Fridge
100L Freezer

[Factor]

Nice boat Poozer, I crew on a cat near you at RQ and look at your boat regularly

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, joda cancruise.

[Poozer]

Originally Posted by Factor

Nice boat Poozer, I crew on a cat near you at RQ and look at your boat regularly

Hi Factor, be sure to stop by and say hi next time you're over!

[joda cancruise]

Thanks to all that have posted, that the info I am looking for.
20 gals for black water does not seem like much when we plan to anchor or pick up a mooring as much as possible, how long does 20 gals last for two people on board? On the fuel / water side I understand that to be "green" other options are available, for charging, that was not my question. What I was looking for was range, looking at production Cat photos it is shocking to me how many jerry cans are stored on boats in our price range and size. We have personal reasons for not wanting to be at the pumpout / fuel dock on a weekly bases.
Dave

[capn_billl]

You haven't specified your fuel tank, but the biggest limitation on a sailing vessel will most likely be water and holding tank. 100 gals of water last's my family a week, but they will fill a 10 gal holding tank in a weekend.

[Lancerbye]

The size of the holding tank and how long it takes to fill up is determined by the type of head you have. Some use a lot more water than others. I have a 23 gal. holding tank which lasts 2 weeks for two persons. The head is a Mansfield Vacuflush. Uses very little fresh water.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by joda cancruise

Thanks to all that have posted, that the info I am looking for.
20 gals for black water does not seem like much when we plan to anchor or pick up a mooring as much as possible, how long does 20 gals last for two people on board? On the fuel / water side I understand that to be "green" other options are available, for charging, that was not my question. What I was looking for was range, looking at production Cat photos it is shocking to me how many jerry cans are stored on boats in our price range and size. We have personal reasons for not wanting to be at the pumpout / fuel dock on a weekly bases.
Dave

Although I'm sure it happens, I honestly have never seen jerry cans being carried out on deck on a cat. Not saying there wouldn't be any stored in lockers, but I haven't seen them on deck.

I have seen plenty of mono's with jerry cans on deck though.

[joda cancruise]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Although I'm sure it happens, I honestly have never seen jerry cans being carried out on deck on a cat. Not saying there wouldn't be any stored in lockers, but I haven't seen them on deck.

I have only seen them on deck on one boat a leapord 3800, but many in lockers on all sized boats.

Dave

[Conch Cruzer]

My Island Packet 40, Eventyr, had:
170 gallon water tank;
90 gallon diesel tank;
30 gallon holding tank;
300 gallon per day watermaker (Spectra).

I prefer big tankage. I despise having a jerry can/tank farm on the deck of a sailboat. It blocks your passage forward, ruins the lines of the boat, and is generally a hassle. I never thought that 90 gallons of diesel was overkill. I could choose where to buy fuel and nearly always had more than half a tank. The big water tank was also great to have. When I was in a harbor where I didn't want to make water, the 170 gallons would last the two of us more than three weeks if needed. It also gave a nice reserve if the watermaker ever died.

Compare the above specs to a Catalina 42--it has about half the tankage. To me, it's an indication of intended purpose.

Cheers,
Conch

[Bash]

Welcome to the forum.

My 46' mono has 200 gallons water, 100 fuel, 50 holding.

[Paul Lefebvre]

Originally Posted by joda cancruise

20 gals for black water does not seem like much when we plan to anchor or pick up a mooring as much as possible, how long does 20 gals last for two people on board?
Dave

You haven't indicated where you plan on cruising, but once you head out to the islands and beyond, there are no pumpouts in most places and your sewage goes overboard, so the tank size shouldn't be a limiting factor. Of course , you should be heading 3 miles offshore to discharge your tanks, so this would typically be done when going between islands. Unfortunately, this isn't always practiced or practical, so you can be sure a lot just gets pumped overboard right in the anchorage at night time.

Paul