7 October Cleaning water tank

When we removed the seat at the table as part of the freezer upgrade (see 6 October post) up and out of the cabin sole it revealed the forward of three access hatches to the water tank.

Our water tank sits within the top of the keel. It holds 1000L and has three sections separated by baffles which prevent the water slopping as we move. They also stop us from seeing into the other two sections – they are connected by small flow points at top and bottom of the baffles.

centre hatch

Each section has it's own inspection hatch. The centre one is easily found under the floor in the galley and we open and clean this part annually. The aft hatch is under the sink cupboard. The forward hatch sits under the freezer. I doubt that they have been open, or that part of the tank cleaned since Jackster was made.

This is the positive side of being in a marina sitting out hurricane season. We have the time and resources to undertake major projects which would be harder, or impossible, while at anchor.

I was nervous as we opened the forward hatch. This is what we drink. Will it be a horror of dirt, muck and decomposing critters? No. It is in incredibly good, clean condition. I flash a torch around and find a few black spots on the roof and very top of the tank which, according to Google, are a harmless type of spore which grow in total dark.

The tank is fibreglass finished with a cream coloured gel coat. It looks hygienic. The bolts at the bottom are our keel bolts keeping five and a half tonnes of cast iron attached to the bottom of the boat. A very effective means to keep us upright in all conditions.

We set to work cleaning with an eclectic mix of cleaning tools, a shaving mirror and torches all on strings. Strings to prevent them clattering to the bottom if dropped. However, we discovered a long arm Handy Helper grabber left over from my hip op is long enough to enable us to retrieve an item from the bottom. The distance we need to reach to brush the walls and ceiling are a challenge even when I'm lying flat on the floor with my shoulder part way into the tank. A brand new never used loo brush proves effective to loosen the black spots and using the shaving mirror and torch we can see the roof. After scrubbing comes a liberal spray of diluted bleach (the brand without perfume) and pressure washing using the hose and dock water.

forward section before cleaning

forward after cleaning

Three times we rinsed, drained and mopped displaced debris before we were happy we had the cleanest water tank possible. It is very clean, but for a final check we added a cup of Chlorox to the filled tank and ran it through all taps to flush pipes and taps.

centre section before

centre section after scrub

Owning a boat is not all sundowners at sunset. Maintenance is a key part of ownership and it's sometimes very physical. At the end of the afternoon I was wet with sweat from working inside in humid conditions, wet from spraying water with tired arms and shoulders. Our sundowners were deservedly earned today.