Extra Water??

F

foxyc

New Member
Jul 28, 2010
36
Vancouver Island
Boat Info
2001 Sundancer 310 DA
Engines
Twin 454 Mercruisers EFI w/Bravo III Drives
Hello All....
Just wondering if anyone has thought of putting an extra water tank in their boat. I have a 2001 310da, twin 454's and lots of room in the front of the motors for an extra tank. My concern is... Will the weight of the water throw anything out of balance? Would I be better to put it on one side?

Any help or suggestions.....?

Thanks
 
Yup.... by the time we do dishes, have a shower or two... We're looking to refill. I would like to be more independant and not have to refill every two to three days.
 
Wayne's World said:
Is this extra water really needed ??
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If you are away from the dock for any extended period extra fresh water is completely necessary.

After you add say a 20 gallon tank and run plumbing You would probably be looking right around 200lbs full. I would say if you put it on the centerline of the boat not much would change.
 
by the time we do dishes, have a shower or two...
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My boat suck up the freshwater from our lake for all that. :smt001

I have a 30 gal drinking water tank that I don't use.
 
My boat suck up the freshwater from our lake for all that. :smt001

Cool.... But when you boat in salt water.... The showers suck!
 
Use salt-away soap then. :grin: . :smt043

Sorry I didn't notice where you were at. :smt021
 
I want a portable reservoir for longer times on the hook that will safely lay in the bilge. Would this be an option for you? (OP) Any ideas on a reservoir for this purpose? Must be food grade and tear resistant.

MM
 
MonacoMike said:
I want a portable reservoir for longer times on the hook that will safely lay in the bilge. Would this be an option for you? (OP) Any ideas on a reservoir for this purpose? Must be food grade and tear resistant.

MM
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I've got one of these. It's not super big, but especially when talking about drinking water, 5 gal is a lot. And it folds down flat and tucks out of the way just about anywhere when not in use! :thumbsup:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Clear-5-Gallon-...444?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cae34a10c
 
I think a watermaker is way more money than an additional tank. I want something a little more permanent.
 
foxyc said:
Hello All....
Just wondering if anyone has thought of putting an extra water tank in their boat. I have a 2001 310da, twin 454's and lots of room in the front of the motors for an extra tank. My concern is... Will the weight of the water throw anything out of balance? Would I be better to put it on one side?

Any help or suggestions.....?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean and I had the same idea as we would be running out of water kind of fast when anchored for two or more days. This was with my 320DA. The only place I could see the tank fit was uner the forward berth, as there is good room and it's right in the middle of the boat. It's a triangle shape large storage compartment which is useless, since you have to take the bed apart to get to it. Another advantage I saw was the added weight at the bow to keep it down and sort of "fixing" the riding bow high (320s are known for that). The only unknow and possible issue I could see with that location is the affects of bow bouncing on the waves.

I don't remember if your model has the same compartment under forward berth, but since you have outdrives you may have extra room in the ER. Without seeing a picture of your ER it's hard to comment. The only thing to watch out for is the added weight in the aft. If I recall, having outrdives and engines all the way to the stern you have extra weight there. So, you would have to be carefull where you add the extra tank.

Regardless of the location, I would look in to professionals to do this installation. You can only imagine the possible damage if you do it wrong and the tank having hundreds of pounds worth of water weight gets loose.

Try to find reputable local company and just get their opinion and pricing. They may suggest something better or give you a reason why it's not a good idea.

Lastly, the reason why I didn't make this project a high priority is b/c I always thought that for the most part we're in costal/inland waters and not too far from a marina. So, the worst case scenario I'd have to raise the hook and go to a near by marina for refill and then back to my anchoring spot. Also, since we're overnighting with other boats it helps to distribute water usage. So, if we're running low on water we would do the dishes on the boat with larger water tank. Just giving you different ideas here.....
 
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trit21 said:
Just get a water maker, less space and use it when needed and only a small amount of weight added.
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It's a good idea but I'm not sure it would justify the cost.

Do you know what the water maker installed system cost?
 
I stopped with the dish washing. It is a pain in the boat anyway and does use a ton of water. On trips we use the coffee cups you can buy at target like Starbucks has and the thicker/stronger paper plates. At most all I have to clean now is the grill and grilling gear. No more doing dishes, no more using up water, and saves valuable hard earned fun time from being destroyed washing dishes in a boat sink. Granted it isnt classy to use paper plates and whatnot but I'm not in an 85 footer here either.
 
MonacoMike said:
That is my default choice. I was trying to find other options. I own 5 of them in the RV, but they tear easy.
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Gotcha. Sorry I couldn't help more. I've only used mine a few times, and the little I've used it, its held up pretty good.
 
A water tank in the e.r. is going to warm up when running. You could always resort to drinking more beer. :grin: Check out this site. http://www.water-storage-tank.com/portable_tanks.html

Slip one of these babies under your fwd. bed and eliminate the need for a custom shaped tank. Connect it up to a separate pump to a dedicated faucet in the head and galley and your drinking water problems are solved.

~Ken
 
Under the forwars bed, that's the right place. I'm with Alex!
You can use a flexible tank or build it in stainless steel as I did. Just be sure to fix it properly or it will destroy your bow...
Mine holds some 65 gallons and I fill it only when I'm planning to stay a few days without touching land.
 
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