Potable Water and Epoxy

[ChrisPandPam]

I like the idea of a bladder in the ballast. I don't have the bandwidth to implement it. But I like it. If you empty the ballast, then, yes, the water in the bladder will be sloshing around. I think you could use bladder tubes and they could lay in a fiberglass tubular shaped compartment within the ballast tanks. There would have to be passage ways of some sort to transfer the ballast water back and forth from the bladder compartment to the ballast tanks. And the compartment would keep the sloshing of the half empty bladder under control.

But I don't see the difference between that and having storing water in a conventional container - baffled or not. Plus if the water is in a conventional container, it's usually higher in the boat and so that would be less stable. And finally, I'm pretty sure that they recommend ballast when motoring. But I think that a reasonable amount of drinking water stored low or even stored high in the boat and sloshing around shouldn't prevent reasonable operation of the boat.

[K9Kampers]

...the difference between that and having storing water in a conventional container - baffled or not. Plus if the water is in a conventional container, it's usually higher in the boat and so that would be less stable.

Agreed on the lower CoG.
I see the potable water in smaller tanks as not being an issue for sloshing as a larger half-full ballast tank would, because the mass of water is less in a smaller area and not able to build effecting momentum. Small - carry on fresh water tanks stored in the cabin have the ability to manually be shifted for trim.

[Hamin' X]

Here's my thought on using the ballast tank for potable water: It needs to be sealed from the water that the boat is floating in. The potable water needs to be pushed out with the water coming in. In other words, you don't pump your drinking water out, you pump the ballast in. This will keep the amount of ballast constant, with no sloshing.

~Rich

[Catigale]

I had a nice exterior fill attachment that I installed inside, on seat immediately forward of the table on my

My 10 gallon tank sits forward of this, and I carry a 7 gallon tank (same as KM's) empty in the rear - when my house runs out, I fill the portable potable and then just let it drain into the main.

Ive found the 9-10 gallon main tank to be perfectly sized for my one week trip, 6-8 people up, house supply (washing/rinsing) only.

[Don T]

Hello,
You guys are doing pretty good. In the early days I carried 2 of those collapsable water carriers that came with the boat and they would last a week with the 4 of us. Of course this is when we had to manually pump the water. After putting in a 16 gallon bladder and demand pump (mods), usage went up filling every 2 days. We get 3 days with only 2 of us.

I find water usage is inversely proportional to the amount of work it takes to get it.

How did you get your crew to leave the "home habits" home?

Don

[restless]

I'm still working on a good solution to fresh water. Hate the fiddling of cleaning bladders out, top of my list is a ss tank I can easily get my arm in to scrub out any mould. Till then I'm still on the poxy flabby 20l jobbies that kind of do the job ok. How would you clean a bladder in a ballast tank?

[Catigale]

Don - one of the keys is we kept the delivery system to a manual double action pump at the galley, so you dont waste it at all!! I think your usage does shoot up when you have on-demand pressurised delivery.

[K9Kampers]

I have two Reliance blue cube tanks, 5 gallons each I think. From there I fill a 1 gallon jug for drinking / cooking / cleaning. Dishwashing is done in a dishpan. Could probably save more water by using a spray bottle to rinse dishes rather than pouring from jug.

[Catigale]

I think the Reliance cubes are more like 7 gallons each...they just fit through the seat locker opening of course.

[Russ]

Here's my thought on using the ballast tank for potable water: It needs to be sealed from the water that the boat is floating in. The potable water needs to be pushed out with the water coming in. In other words, you don't pump your drinking water out, you pump the ballast in. This will keep the amount of ballast constant, with no sloshing.

~Rich

Well, that's one way I suppose.
If the ballast vent were sealed and an intake were deep below the waterline and unable to lift out whilst healing, I would think that if you pumped fresh water out of a bladder it would have to draw sea water into the ballast to fill the void of the missing fresh water. As long as you kept the tanks (both fresh and sea) full, the space wouldn't slosh around. Filling the bladder with fresh would force the sea water back out.

All this is silliness of course because the ballast tanks are glassed into the hull and you can't get to them to insert a bladder. Bladders would need to be shaped like long socks (the shape of the ballast tanks) and allow sea water to pass past them.


As for me. I've used Duane's method. It works really well and is so simple. 2 jugs connected to the pressure pump to the sink. When one is empty, switch hose to the other. The benefit is I know when I'm 1/2 out of water and as he mentioned it's easy to bring the jugs to shore for refill. It's fairly easy to drop a freshly filled jug down the forward hatch into the v-berth compartments.

One thing I have noticed is the X seems to have MUCH deeper compartments than the M. I use the same 5 gal Coleman jugs and they don't fit as well in the V-berth compartments. The jug "valve" just about touches the hatch covers. Strangely, the starboard side seems to have even less room. I would have thought the v-berth storage lockers were symmetrical.


--Russ

[Hamin' X]

The idea of pumping ballast in, instead of sucking it in, is to avoid draining the ballast, should an air leak develop in the potable water lines. Agreed that this is all just a mental exercise, but it might just be a good item for future models.

~Rich

[DaveB]

Don, during my 3 years cruise Thur the Carribean water was priceless. You learn how to collect Rain water.
On my Mac.X we have a inflated 13 gal. Plasmas but can only get 10.5 gal. in it but for the two of us easy can do 5-7 day trip. You just have to think it's Beer coming out the faucet.
We do showers in a 1 gal. pesticide container we modified for a shower, our hot water comes from the stove..we heat up a pint of water and put it in the 1 gal. container.
Camping out has it's living tight but rewards are much greater.
Dave

Hello,
You guys are doing pretty good. In the early days I carried 2 of those collapsable water carriers that came with the boat and they would last a week with the 4 of us. Of course this is when we had to manually pump the water. After putting in a 16 gallon bladder and demand pump (mods), usage went up filling every 2 days. We get 3 days with only 2 of us.

I find water usage is inversely proportional to the amount of work it takes to get it.

How did you get your crew to leave the "home habits" home?

Don

[BNG]

Duane,

Are your water jugs located under the port side seat or the v birth compartment where the ballast vent is located. I have a 2002 mac26X and I'm not sure if they would fit in there with the vent tube collar in there.

Thanks
Brian

[waternwaves]

............In other words, you don't pump your drinking water out, you pump the ballast in. This will keep the amount of ballast constant, with no sloshing.

tried it, doesnt work,

hull is not designed for those kind of pressures........ Valves do come off, hull bulges. things can crack. 10 psi with that kind of area is a big mistake.

[keith]

I have 4x20 litre and 2x15 litre water cubes under the forward dinnette seat.Two of the 20's are plumbed together and connect to pressure pump for head sprayer and transom shower.When empty change spears to others and the emptys become extra flotation.The 15's are for the galley which is still manual and plumbed the same to use one at a time.