{"id":3752,"date":"2026-07-28T16:28:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/?p=3752"},"modified":"2026-07-28T16:28:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:28:05","slug":"water-tanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/water-tanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Tanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I bought Samsara, she came with two 100-litre fibreglass water tanks tucked away under the bunks. This was a huge improvement \u2013 Largo <\/em>only had a single 25-litre stainless tank in the bilges (it once lasted me for 32 days).<\/p>\n

But Samsara\u2019s <\/em>\u00a0tanks leaked around the inspection hatches \u2013 as soon as the boat heeled, you could see it pouring out.<\/p>\n

I tried a variety of suggestions to fix them \u2013 re-seal the inspection hatches, of course \u2013 cut up one of those floppy buckets and try and glue a big patch over the top\u2026<\/p>\n

Eventually, I threw them into the skip at Dover Marina and installed two Plastimo flexible tanks. They were as leak-proof as the website claimed \u2013 it was just the connections that leaked. Obviously, if the tanks were going to flex, the connections would need to flex too (a bad idea with connections).<\/p>\n

This was when I wished I had not thrown the old fiberglass ones in the skip, but instead, had sent them off to be copied in polyethylene. But I was stuck with the flexible ones for my first Atlantic circuit.<\/p>\n

This was when I became captivated by the idea of a watermaker. Every day in Bequia a bright yellow catamaran roughly painted with the words \u201cWater, Diesel, Laundry\u201d would cruise around the anchorage touting for business. I needed some water, so I gave the skipper a wave.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember quite what I paid for that water \u2013 I know it wasn\u2019t cheap \u2013 and within a couple of days, it smelled of bad eggs.<\/p>\n

But the experts were adamant: Samsara<\/em> was too small for a watermaker.<\/p>\n

It was months before I thought of the solution: Get rid of one of the water tanks and put the watermaker in its place. If I had a watermaker, I wouldn\u2019t need two tanks.<\/p>\n

The low-pressure pump still had to be in the bilges because that has to be below the level of the high pressure, but at least there was room for everything.<\/p>\n

Well, this didn\u2019t work out quite the way I hoped (see https:\/\/oldmansailing.com\/the-watermaker<\/a>) The significant problem that I had never considered was that I made such a mess of trying to measure for the new (rigid) tank, that I suggested the yard manager should take over the whole project \u2013 if he got the measurements wrong, he would have to pay for a new tank.<\/p>\n

The upshot was that I ended up with a particularly conservative new tank \u2013 with absolutely no chance of it failing to fit. Just 55litres. Also, every time I flushed the system with freshly-made water \u2013 which you\u2019re supposed to do after each use \u2013 I would be losing 20 litres. Watermakers are designed for boats with big fuel tanks. In the end, it was decided that I should run it every day and give it a 45-second flush every three days, using just seven litres.<\/p>\n

The plan worked well enough \u2013 it was just that this wasn\u2019t ideal. Besides, what happened if it broke down \u2013 and I was left with just that 55-litre capacity. I know you can catch rain \u2013 but you do need somewhere to put it\u2026<\/p>\n

And then I met Michael McLoughlin. Michael runs The McLoughlin Boat Company in Waterford. He builds traditional wooden boats. He also does some engineering, some shipwrighting, electronics when they\u2019re called for. He spent a year fixing watermakers.<\/p>\n

I gave him my list. It was a short list. He made some suggestions for additions.<\/p>\n

One of them was: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of space back there behind the engine. You could get another water tank in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not just any water tank either \u2013 a 110-litre water tank. That\u2019s twice the capacity I had before. I would be tripling my water-storage capacity. Wouldn\u2019t that be useful on a circumnavigation! Apart from anything else, with the forecabin now used as the shed (with the dingy up there and the Brompton folding bike, not to mention 100metres of chain and a 20kg Spade anchor right on the stemhead, Samsara<\/em> tends to float nose down \u2013 you can tell that by the way water in the scuppers gathers just forward of the drains.<\/p>\n

Everything would have been fine if it weren\u2019t for the new engine. My 18-year-old 21hp Nanni had been overheating. Michael and his sidekick, Kevin gave it a thorough going over \u2013 new heat exchanger and all (cost a fortune). When it was all over, Steve from Peachment, the UK & Ireland Nanni agents, called to ask why I was ordering all these spare parts, then didn\u2019t wait for me to get through all the explanations before saying: \u201cYou should have called us. We would have done you a deal on a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that was before the sea trials of the reconditioned old one. It still overheated\u2026 because all the abuse over the years had cracked the block. It was only good for scrap.<\/p>\n

Peachment did do me a good deal \u2013 a really good deal. Conor, of Colfer Engineering, who handles Nanni distribution in Ireland, installed it free of charge. We launched (again), but this time, Michael and Kevin weren\u2019t happy with the amount of vibration. They insisted the engine should be re-aligned now the boat was in the water. They wanted me to stay another day.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t believing in staying another day \u2013 not when I can just get to the OCC party in Falmouth if I leave by six o\u2019clock. Steve at Peachment and Conor of Colfer would have to sort it out. Steve wasn\u2019t happy about the weight of the new water tank right over the stern gear. Meanwhile, I had a hundred miles of calm with the vibrating rattling my back teeth. I mentioned it on Instagram, on Facebook, on YouTube. All right, I complained on Instagram, Facebook etc.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, every amateur naval architect came up with dire warnings about suddenly adding 110kg\u00a0 to a previously buoyant section of the hull. Steve worried about distorting the hull (on a 1973 Rival, built like a brick conservatory?)<\/p>\n

Besides, it never is going to be 110kg is it? Every time I fill it up, I\u2019m going to be emptying out 20litres flushing the watermaker\u2026<\/p>\n

Also, what\u2019s 110kg \u2013 the weight of a pair of teenagers in the cockpit\u2026<\/p>\n

When I got to Falmouth, Peachment arranged for Rustler Yachts to send round an engineer who confirmed that the engine was out of alignment d (and the coupling was distorted) but it won\u2019t do any damage (except to my nerves).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll see if I can get it sorted in Poole. Conor says he\u2019ll pay.<\/p>\n

Besides, if this sort of thing didn\u2019t happen, wouldn\u2019t life be dull?<\/p>\n

\"\"
The plastic 55l tank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
New 110l stainless tank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Watermaker under berth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Low pressure pump in the bilges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I bought Samsara, she came with two 100-litre fibreglass water tanks tucked away under the bunks. This was a huge improvement \u2013 Largo only had a single 25-litre stainless tank in the bilges (it once lasted me for 32 days). But Samsara\u2019s \u00a0tanks leaked around the inspection hatches \u2013 as soon as the boat … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-singlehanded"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3757,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3752\/revisions\/3757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}