PSC37 Forward Water Tank

[Curiouser]

Hi there,

We've discovered a leak in the forward water tank of our 1986 Crealock 37. It appears to be under the tank. I would appreciate any feedback on 1) best ways to remove the tank, 2) whether it will fit through the companionway aft or does it need to be cut in pieces, 3) are there polypropylene tanks available for our year and a supplier?

Thanks for the help.

David Boyer
PSC37 Papillon II

[granche1]

David,

I also have an 86 crealock 37 and have had a similar question about my water tanks. The peeps on sailnet did a great job of helping me figure out what was going on and what to expect underneath the wooden lids. Look for the thread titled- Water tanks leaching plastic taste. To sum up, the tanks are not removable. The only way that they could leak would seem to be around the lid or at one of the in/outlet holes. There is nothing to cut up and remove, but you could in theory have a tank made to fit in that space. You would likely loose a bit of capacity though.

Im curious to know what your symptoms of a leak are. Where is the water appearing?

Grant
s/v Viandante

[brokesailor]

On my Crealock 37 Hull 141 the water tanks are under the port setee and under the quarterberth. What do you have in those locations instead?

[DMD]

David,
The water tanks on our '37 are fiberglass and are actually part of the interior liner structure. Ours have plywood lids (that are coated with fiberglass on the underside. Though our lids have not leaked (yet) we did develop a leak on one tank caused by a cracked plastic vent fitting. The fix entailed cutting holes in the plywood tank covers to allow access to the tank interior to install new vent fittings. The holes were sized (about 4.5" dia.) to be covered with plastic screw in covers available at most marine stores. I think we used the Beckson parts with o-ring seals. We sealed the edges of the cover cutouts with epoxy prior to installing the covers. That was about 8 years ago, and no problems yet, and the covers allow me to periodically scrub out the tanks. So, the point of the story is to check out your tank fittings before tearing off the tank cover.
Dave
Crealock 37 #151
"Eowyn"

[Curiouser]

Hi there,

Well this all gets interesting. I called Thumper at PSC to get some advice. After describing that had stainless steel tanks he stated that fiberglass tanks as part of the hull were standard even for 1986. So something has happened since then with one of the prior owners modifiying tankage forward. (a holding tank was installed sometime inn the recent past just aft of of the forward water tank).

So where do we go from here? Do we reconfigure and rebuild the original fiberglass tank or copy the existing stainless steel tank. I'm inclined to revert to the original design.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Regards,

David Boyer
1986 PSC37 Papillon II

[MarcHall]

Originally Posted by brokesailor

On my Crealock 37 Hull 141 the water tanks are under the port setee and under the quarterberth. What do you have in those locations instead?

On Crazy Fish (Crealock 37, Hull 207) the water tanks are under the quarterberth and up forward under the main berth. Under the main berth there is also an open locker adjacent to the seat and the holding tank adjacent to the head bulkhead. It was an option to use the open locker under the main berth as additional fuel storage.

Under the port setee is storage but I could see how that space could have been used as water storage with no mods to the interior mold.

Leaks in the water tanks are commonly due to the seal between the PVC lid on the built in fiberglass tanks. The inspection port on tanks will also leak at times. I always monitor fhe filling of my tanks when using normal city water via a hose. When the tank is full or close to full I pull the hose. If I let the water continue to run I will get some leakage. The PVC lids leaked from the beginning - I think the switch from plywood lids to PVC lids happen just before Crazy Fish was built. The tank lids were removed and resealed using a process faxed to me by Robin from the Fullerton Pacific Seacraft days.

I am currently having a lot of fun replacing all of the fresh water hose on the boat. The original hose was getting quite sticky to the touch. Had to remove the fuel tank in order to get access to the 4 hoses running from beneath the galley sink forward to the head and the forward water tank.

Regards

Marc Hall
Crazy Fish, Crealock 37, Hull 207 Currently in San Diego

[DosMarinaros]

The problem of leaking stainless and aluminum potable water tanks appears to be a recurrent problem in not only PSC and Island Packet vessels.

So the question I have is whether using epoxy to repair the leaks in such tank may not be more cost effective and expedient than destroying expensive joinery and replacing the leaking tank with a new metal or plastic tank.

West System G/flex 650 epoxy has been used to successfully to fix leaking seams and rivets, as well as punctures, in aluminum boats, so why not use this product to repair a leaking water tank? If toxicity is an issue, wouldn’t coating the interior of a tank repaired in such a manner with gelcoat used in OEM integrally molded water tanks prevent the leaching of the epoxy’s toxicants, particularly if used in conjunction with a high-end filter like the Seagull filter?

Indeed, given the apparent scope of this problem, it is surprising that West and other sources don’t offer a product for this specific purpose, if not already available.

The Cruisin' Cronins
Melisse & Tim Cronin
s/v Ruby
Pacific Seacraft
Dana 24 No. 101

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"I blew most of my money on broads, booze and boats... the rest I just wasted." - Elmore Leonard

[rwhalen]

Hello,
You may have the answer by now but the tanks are part of the inner liner and cannot be replaced. I had a leak and had PSC replace them when I was in Washington NC. They had some lids on the shelf and maybe they would have replacement lids for your year they can send you. Contact them and ask for Thumper or Steve. Good luck.

Ray Whalen
PSC 37 Adagio

[Curiouser]

Thanks Ray,

This tank is a replacement installed by one of the previous owners. It's stainless steel. I already talked to Thumper and will get some pictures to him. My yard has suggested that we consider installing a flexible tank as a replacement. It would have attach points to keep it's shape and would be customised to fit the space.

It may be the solution. What are your thoughts?

David Boyer
1986 PSC37, #176
Papillon II

[wsmurdoch]

The stainless steel holding plate in my Kollmann Marine Products refrigeration system sprung a leak at its bottom weld. It was a spot that I could not see and could just barely touch with my finger. Removing the plate for repairs would have been a major job involving the dismantlement of both the engine drive and electrical refrigeration systems. At the sugestion of Richard Kollmann I emptied the plate of its water/PG mixture and added a little water and red food dye then pressurized the tank with air. With a bit of paper towel wapped around my finger I padded around until I found the leak location. I emptied the plate again, refilled it with acetone, let the acetone leak for a while, emptied the acetone out, and blew the cold plate dry with compressed air. I sanded the area on the outside of the tank around the leak with 100 grit paper and cleaned the outside with acetone. The actual repair was three coats of JB Weld applied one at a time each larger than the one before to the offending area with the tip of my finger. The entire repair was done by feel alone. I could not even get a mirror in place to see the damaged area.

It had been a couple of years now, and so far so good.

Bill Murdoch
Irish Eyes
1988 PSC 34