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Occasionally when sailing the water from the tank was throwing up some funky material so it needed a clean-out.

Keen to get some advice from others

There's an old inspection hatch that's impossible to access on the aft end of the tank facing the engine and a small fill point in the cabin floor.


The tank runs the entire length of the cabin up to the v-berth i'm pretty sure.. is that the same as everyone elses? it's a Mk1

I'll have to make a few posts cause my photos too big

so i cracked it open with a bigger hole


and there was all sorts of crazy gunk in there.. including the garden hose..



here's the view from inside looking forward. .you can see the baffle, seems like a big tank



the aft inspection hatch has some rubber stuff on the inside that is flaking off



Anyway so i'm gonna put in a flexible water tank plastimo or something, the tank looks a bit too gnarly to refill with drinking water although the water tasted great before i looked inside..

At some point I'd like to open it up and recoat it with some epoxy paint like this guy but that'll be a future thing
http://atomvoyages.com/gallery/video-ga ... -tank.html

new inspection port

i'll set it down flush next visit

That is certainly a big tank, Sailtime. Haha, now you have a new hose nozzle. Certainly interesting what you find in those hidden away spaces.

troppo

That's a Mark 1, 169 litre water tank!

As Formit lowered the cabin roof in the Mk2 and then again in the Mk3 they also lowered the floor each time so as to maintain the ceiling height.
Subsequently, this reduced the water in the sub floor tank for the Mk 2 & 3.

As far as cleaning the tank I had the same problem, and in 2005 cleaned it out with Whitworths Tank Clean 85507. I gave it 3 or 4 doses.

My water has been Ok since then and I always try and full it with water contaminated with chlorine from time to time

Check to see that the air breather is intact. You will find in the forward bilge, trace it up the main bulkhead behind the quarter bead.

Cool - do you have an inspection hatch at the aft end of the tank sort of in the bilge?

There's some serious sediment floating around down there in mine..

Hi Sailtime

A lot of water tanks were sealed with Aridite (which is an epoxy ) as it as no flavour .We did all our yachts tanks that way and the water in the Swanson still tastes fine 32 years on.

Cheers Bear

Yes Sailtime,

All Mark 1's have that inspection panel in the bilge area for the water tank.

Can't remember if the Formit builds have the same inspection panel, any comment Mark 2 and 3 owners?

Windchaser (MkII) never had any inspection panel for the water tank. Could have been half full of muck and I would never have noticed. Water tasted fine.

troppo

A bit off topic...
Are there any other Top Hat's without the under floor water tank?

Blue Moon MKIII, shallow draft, does not have the integral tank.