Website design By BotEap.comBuying an old used motor yacht can be worrying. Some of these shortcomings can be positively alarming. However, the true understanding that buying a boat that has problems can be approached cheaply is appreciated.

Website design By BotEap.comA few weeks ago our 300 gallon stainless steel water supply tank started leaking; the problem was first discovered at 3:00 a.m. because the aft bilge pump was still running. Although the actual leak has not yet been found, we realize that it is at the top. Our ship is 27 years old; What are you waiting for! Things just break.

Website design By BotEap.comMike did a lot of research with both custom aluminum tanks and made the decision to order a 130 gallon poly tank. Polyethylene tanks are molded in one piece and the plastic will never break down. He sent a diagram to the retailer, Plastic-Mart, revealing the area where all the fixtures were to be installed. The retailer asked the manufacturer to email us directly to make sure our fit areas were correct. The water tank arrived on a truck a couple of days later and all the accessories we bought fit perfectly into the factory holes.

Website design By BotEap.comThe big day was finally here. Our great friend and ship surveyor, Mike Hagan of CYA Surveys, volunteered to help us with this mammoth task. We start doing the work at 9:00 am on Saturday morning. Mike and Mike did the hard work; Nadine and I act as assistants. They operated a Sawzall to cut through the stainless steel tank so we could remove it from the boat. Due to its size, the freshwater tank was placed on our used trawler before the superstructure was built. They flew through approximately fifteen metallic cutting blades. Simply cutting down the first tank took about five hours. It was a huge task. They finished cutting the old tank into several different sections. I insisted they wear gloves so they wouldn’t cut themselves on the ragged edges. They methodically lifted each part and placed it on the dock. Fortunately, that ended with negligible damage to our teak bulkheads.

Website design By BotEap.comThe next phase was to build a new casing for the new freshwater tank to sit in and secure. The new water tank is approximately 3/4 the size of the old stainless steel water tank. Mike used 2×4’s and built a nice frame for it to stay on. After that, it was time to put the new water tank in his new residence. The new freshwater tank is made of plastic, so it wasn’t as hard to lift as the old stainless steel tank. All of our custom holes had been drilled in the proper location – my Mike did an outstanding job.

Website design By BotEap.comThe next step was to connect the new hose to the tank…oops…we bought the wrong dimension hose. At this point, Nadine and Mike broke up. They wanted to go home. It was late and we were all exhausted.

Website design By BotEap.comThe next morning, Mike and I retrieved the wrong size hose and went out to find the correct hose. We went to Home Depot and Lowe’s, neither of which had enough of the right size. We eventually ended up at Ace where they stored a large number of plastic hoses. We got back into the boat and needed to cut a hole in the wall at our head to get the new hose through. Making a hole in a trawler is a scary thing. We stretched the hose from the new tank all the way forward to the fresh water pump. We needed to prime the water hose to get the air out and then started adding water to the tank. I was a little worried about completing this task, so Mike kept a close eye on all the props to make sure nothing leaked out. And we had no leaks…thank God!

Website design By BotEap.comThe total cost of this project was $1,002.00 and it required an amount of eleven hours to complete. Our friend refused any cash and I can assure you that if he hired a shipyard to do it, the labor charge would in all likelihood be almost $1,000. So we installed a new water tank for half the selling price they charge you at a shipyard.

Website design By BotEap.comOur trawler should be fine for the rest of her life now with the new polyethylene freshwater tank. All said and done, this project turned out to be easier than we had imagined.

Website design By BotEap.comSo if your trawler needs a new freshwater tank, here is my guide:

Website design By BotEap.comYou’ll probably need two men to handle the bulky freshwater tank.

Website design By BotEap.comMake sure you have a good Sawzall and about 20 saw blades for thick metal.

Website design By BotEap.comMake sure you have some towels to dry the blood…you’ll probably cut yourself.

Website design By BotEap.comKeep some gloves handy for when you need to move the cut tank around the boat.

Website design By BotEap.comKeep several blankets to protect teak that may be near your work.

Website design By BotEap.comOur next task is the replacement of our fuel tanks. Goodness!