ps 31 water tank leak

[Summit_Elan]

Okay, next question...I filled one of the water tanks( the second would not accept water......spider nest?) and the plywood cover to the tank became saturated through to the quarter berth cushions. The plywood is secured by several screws and appears to be caulked into position as well. Is it possible that the plywood IS the top to the water tank and that some waterproof seal has gone bad? I would have assumed there is just a big plastic Container in there. I'm going to tackle this this week but has anyone had this happen?

Thanks,

Elan

[AlLorman]

Elan:

Search the archives; this has come up before. I think you'll find that your 31 does have a plywood top to the aft water tank. I don't think there is an actual tank in there; it is the hull with a top on it. My 31, a year newer, has a plastic top to the tank.

Al Lorman

[Summit_Elan]

Wow, okay, I'll see if anyone else has come up with a repair.

[Summit_Elan]

Yep, found some good info. Thanks Al.

[Summit_Elan]

Still working on the water tanks....I am waiting on a quote from Thumper at PS for the prefab plastic tank lids and have looked into starboard-this item is not loved by the guy helping me with some of the work; his complaint has to do with its apparent inabilty to accept caulk without being screwed down...his issue, not mine since I have no idea.

I searched the threads and haven't seen that anyone has just pulled the old wooden lids and installed prefab plastic tanks into the cavities and then put plywood over top without sealing it. I realize that I would lose some capacity if I couldn't get a perfect fit and would have to secure the tank, but does anyone have any thoughts or have tried/seen this approach?

Thanks for the help!

Elan

[AlLorman]

Elan:

My boat has acrylic lids (caulked and screwed down). You can use the plywood lids as a pattern and simply use a router to copy them in acrylic. I think starboard is overkill and your guy is right: nothing sticks to it.

Al

[Summit_Elan]

I'd still like to hear about any plastic tanks out there, but where did you source the acrylic sheets?

Thanks,

[pc37howard]

pacific sea crafts make there tank lids out of fiber glass . i used one on my holding tank.that ps made. it fit did not have to trim it .4200 sealent and use the screws that match the tank lid you have know as a templet for the screw holes in the new lid from ps. the plastic lid will split around the screws holes. my boat is a 37ft ps hope this helps

[johnharch]

I thought the plastic lids were made of 1/2" PVC. If you Google you can find lots of suppliers for this. McMaster-Carr for one. I know it is available on Amazon as well.

My thoughts on the plastic tanks is that you would loose a lot of volume and incur a lot of work with fittings and fitting in general. Just cut a new PVC lid, caulk it and screw it down and you're done.

[niftynickers]

I just completed this project on NiftyNickers,the plywood top on the v-berth tank was leaking and I replaced it with 1/2" PVC from McMaster-Carr.Nothing sticks to Starboard so it"s not a good choice.I used non-toxic aquarium sealant also from McMaster-Carr for the sealant.
Good luck,
Dianne and Chuck Burke S/V NiftyNickers C37 #139