Pix of 2006 cruiser water tank???

[potter water]

I've been installing pressure water for the sink in Still C-razy. I'm getting some air in the line and the only place I can't verify is on the water tank. I've opened up the tank area just under the forward facing port side seat. There is a board over the tank that makes up the bottom of the storage compartment under that seat. I'd like to see what the tank outlet fittings look like. The are in the front left corner of the tank and un-seeable even with the top cover board removed.

Does anyone have a pix of the naked tank or a model number of the tank I can look up and see those fittings.

It appears that the tank isn't secured to the bottom of the boat. It looks to be a cube tank, but it sits at and angle in its enclosure. I'm pretty sure there is a void the shape of the hull curve under the tank. I'm doing to pick up some storage just having taken that board off the top of the tank. I'm going to modify it so the board can be taken in and out to use the hidden storage behind the tank. I don't see any way to use the void that probably exists between the bottom of the tank and the hull.

Someone may have pix of removing this water tank???

 

[Sunbeam]

Does anyone have a pix of the naked tank or a model number of the tank I can look up and see those fittings.

I removed my tank, and thus have photos of the fittings, plus knowledge of how they are set up because I handled each of them. Not sure if they used the same tank in your year boat (mine is a 2002), but mine was just barely 18 gallons (although supposedly it was 20...). The fittings were spin-welded female boss type. The fill and vent were on the outboard side, upper/aft corner. Fill 1-1/2" female; vent .... I'll have to check, can't remember if it was 1/2" or 5/8" - I think it was 5/8".

The supply fitting is (unfortunately, IMO) on the inboard edge at the aft/bottom corner. It is 1/2" The "sight tube" fitting is just forward of that, and IIRC is 3/8" On my tank the supply fitting sprung a leak at the spin weld.

On my boat the tank was not properly supported. It was a bit too wide (athwartships), and rather than make a platform to support it (as the tank mfgrs recommend) they "suspended" it between the chine and the sole inboard. Not the best setup.

Before I decided to abandon the tank completely, I simply made a 1/2" Starboard platform to go under the tank. This supported it fine without it "spanning" the hull curve. I then put in footman loops for a hold down strap. I removed the board that goes on top and the angle brackets it was suspended from, and instead put cleats below the board on the forward bulkhead and the after bulkhead. Thus I could remove the board and get to the tank and all available stowage. The board is a piece of Decragard and so could be used to match the cabinetry and another board could be put in its place (that didn't need to exactly match).

I will dig back and see what I can find for photos.

Sunbeam

PS: For starters here is one photo of the tank when it was out of the boat and I was measuring the capacity. The side on the left side of the photo is the outboard side and has the fill and vent fittings. You can just see the supply fitting on the right, but cannot see the sight tube fitting just behind it.

 

[Two Bears]

I took my tank out and stored it the attic of my barn. Reasons include those you described above. Mounted at an angle there was a lot of wasted storage space. I tried a fabric tank but you don't gain much. It needs a false top shelf above it or anything you store on it pressurizes the water. I tried mounting the fabric tank in the bow but my mechanical skills prevented me from getting a good system. Last try as I pushed the fabric tank into the hole in front of the porta-poty space, I unknowingly kinked the outlet hose. Then I could not get water to flow. Started taking apart and of course when working in awkward places you can't get plastic hose off of nipples once a ring clamp was tightened. So it had to be cut apart. And the last piece out was the kink. I might have said a few unkind words.

We have gone to the system we use in our camper. We carry water in separate jugs and have found that we use about 2.5 gallons per day. For longer trips we carry a hard sided 6 gallon jug and two 5 gallon folding/ collapsible jugs. Most times the collapsible jugs are in storage. Once a day we fill two one gallon "apple juice" jugs and the coffee pot that ride in the kitchen sink. We love all the storage space in that now open rear seat. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Chuck

 

[Sunbeam]

Okay, here is a series of photos showing how my original tank was set up, including the starboard platform/cleats/footman loops I put in to fully support and hold down the tank (since the upper shelf sitting on cleats was no longer suppressing the tank as the "permanent" angle brackets that were suspending the shelf were doing).

I ended up jettisoning the tank and doing a modular system (at least for now). You can see details on that in my Sunbeam ~ 22 Cruiser thread beginning on this page, about halfway down (there is follow up on the next page after I used it for five weeks living aboard with two people).

http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t= ... c&start=90

If I do get another permanent tank, it will have a dip tube for the supply not a supply at the bottom corner (which if it leaks you lose all your water plus have up to an 18-gallon flood aboard). It's at that supply fitting that my tank began to leak (off the boat, luckily).

Original tank as it was sitting in boat once I removed shelf above it. There was nothing to keep it from shifting forward and aft except for the hoses themselves:



The blue line tries to show the actual hull as opposed to the tank bottom. Essentially, the tank was suspended in air between the chine and the inboard side - not recommended.



Glimpse of supply and sight tube fittings through "mouse hole" in inboard side of aft seat (1/2" supply/3/8" sight tube):



The same two fittings with the tank out of the boat. The supply fitting on the left is the one that started leaking (out of the boat, thankfully). If I were doing a new tank this would be a dip tube (i.e. fitting on top of tank) and the sight tube fitting would not be there. I don't like any fittings on the bottom of the tank where a leak means you lose your water supply plus flood the boat.



The fill and vent fittings with the tank out of the boat. Fill is 1-1/2" and I think the vent was 5/8" (although 1/2" is also common for vents).



The compartment after I fitted a support platform (yelllow), cleats (white), and footman loops (black) for a hold down strap. I had not yet put in the support cleats for the upper shelf when I took this photo (used 1/2" stock for those). The u-shaped openings are where the mild steel angle brackets that hold the furniture were. I overdrilled and filled those, and the new furniture brackets are not mild steel and do not go into the hull core (they are not shown here though). This 1/2" platform was enough to fully support the tank, no longer "suspending" it from the chine. The cleat closest to the bottom of the photo was to keep the top edge of the tank from resting against the furniture there (because the tank sits on an angle).

 

[potter water]

Wow!! Stupendous, colossal, magnificent. You've given me the perfect reply. Now I'm really thinking about just how to run the water storage on my boat. My tank has no leaks, or does it? I wonder if it is possible that I'm getting some air into the suction line from the supply fitting of the tank, yet not getting any actual leak outside the tank.

In any case, it is pretty easy to see that this was not a well thought out design on the part of the C-Dory manufacturer. "Still C-razy" is a 2006, but looks like an identical setup as your 2002. I'm guessing that i'm due for a water leak from the tank anytime now. I'll probably leave things alone for now with the exception of modifying that big ol' white chunk of board that serves as the cover over the water tank. I'll put in some temporary wood longerons along the sides to hold the board so it doesn't sit exactly on top of the water tank. I will pick up some good added storage cubic inches just doing that. I'll have some room behind the tank for paper towels and T-paper, soft stuff that won't mar that part of the tank. But, this winter calls for some re-engineering of the water system for sure.

I like what you've done with the "temporary" water storage and I'm not at all sure that modular isn't the way to go permanently. I'm thinking that two 5 gallon reservoirs might be just plenty for our typical trips if I can find the right form factor. The bladder tanks may also have some value in this application.

At lest now, I know what is in the no-can-see part of the tank system.

Thanks so much.

 

[Sunbeam]

You're welcome. I'm so glad it helped you out :smile

It's funny because I was on the verge of ordering a custom tank, and never in a million years would have dreamed that I would want to keep something "temporary." But.... after having used the "temporary" setup through the five weeks on Powell, I found a lot to recommend it. And there would be ways to tweak it to make it slightly better (the way I set it up was never meant to be long term).

I did find three or four pretty suitable "non custom" sized permanent water tanks (capacities from around 18 gallons up to 32 gallons) that would fit that locker, and made mock ups to figure out what "propping height" they would need on each side to fit, plus how much stowage would be left above each of them. So if you do decide to go back with a permanent tank and want the data, I'm happy to share. These would all have been made with a dip tube for the supply fitting (this is a fitting on the top of the tank, with a tube that runs down to the bottom to suck up the water -- much like a fuel tank). That way a leak doesn't cause a flood or the loss of all your water.

Sunbeam