ldnjr
New Member
Just purchased a 2012 310 Sundancer. Would love some advice on maintenance of the water system and things to look for or avoid.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Water System Maintenance
- Thread starter ldnjr
- Start date
dpmulvey
Active Member
- Dec 19, 2007
- 4,188
- Boat Info
- 1999/2007 330 Sundancer Hardtop.
- Engines
- 6.2 Merc Horixons
1.5:1 Velvet Drives
Which water system? Engine or drinking?
ldnjr
New Member
drinking
- Oct 4, 2006
- 2,344
- Boat Info
- 2006 300DA Sundancer
- Engines
- 350 Mags / Bravo III
Use Aquabon water treatment (chlorine is for swimming pools, imo) and an inline water filter when filling your tank. Check the inlet strainer on the water pump for contaminants, if there is a lot of stuff on the screen, consider cleaning the water tank.
Last edited:
reelnauti
Member
- May 5, 2009
- 64
- Boat Info
- 2010 370 Sundancer Raymarine E-120, HD digital Raydome, Genset
- Engines
- t-496 sterndrives axius
In addition, don't fill the tank until you are ready to start using the boat and the water system, ensuring that you are drawing water and refilling with fresh water. Also be sure to treat the new fill. Water laying in the tank of a boat will spoil over time.
FootballFan
Well-Known Member
Normally use treatment we get at West Marine for the fresh water system.
I am always suspect of the water at the slip - but we fill our water tank with it anyway. Note, we don't drink the water, use bottled water for drinking and cooking - but shower and brush our teeth with the water out of the fresh water system. Very careful with the hose we will with.
That said, in July we were out of the home marina cruising for 2 weeks. When we left the home, water was great. Somewhere along the way, we got some water that was horrible. Filling from the outlet at the slip.
Treated. Got to the next place, dumped water, refilled, treated again, etc. And oh by the way, you have to go to every water outlet on the boat and run the water enough to get the bad water out of the line. Treatment does nothing to the water in the line. Finally got back to good water again.
An interesting story related to the fresh water system. At one point pulled up the fuel dock at a marina for fuel and pump out prior to going to the slip. While we are fueling, dockhand suggested we go ahead and do the pump out. I was like sure, go right ahead. He looked at me, said well we don't do pump outs, you have to do it yourself!
We cruise quite a bit with this boat. Have been doing several weeks a year on bare boats in Florida, Chesapeake, and Maine over the last 6 years. Between that, and my previous boat, I had never done a pump out. Maybe its common, I just had never been told to do it myself.
OK, well, looks like I am doing my first self service pump out. I proceeded to go through the process, no way the admiral was going to go to the slip without it. Not a problem, handed the pump out hose back to the dock hand and asked for a water hose to wash down the area and make sure there was just a bit of water in the holding tank.
He handed me the hose, turned the water on, I did the hose thing. When I was handing the hose back to him, he asked if I wanted him to drag the hose up to the fresh water fill to take on fresh water. The same hose! I guess if the hose didn't come in contact with anything technically it might not be a problem - but I politely declined and said we were fine with fresh water.
Note to self, never take on fresh water at the fuel dock....
Mark
I am always suspect of the water at the slip - but we fill our water tank with it anyway. Note, we don't drink the water, use bottled water for drinking and cooking - but shower and brush our teeth with the water out of the fresh water system. Very careful with the hose we will with.
That said, in July we were out of the home marina cruising for 2 weeks. When we left the home, water was great. Somewhere along the way, we got some water that was horrible. Filling from the outlet at the slip.
Treated. Got to the next place, dumped water, refilled, treated again, etc. And oh by the way, you have to go to every water outlet on the boat and run the water enough to get the bad water out of the line. Treatment does nothing to the water in the line. Finally got back to good water again.
An interesting story related to the fresh water system. At one point pulled up the fuel dock at a marina for fuel and pump out prior to going to the slip. While we are fueling, dockhand suggested we go ahead and do the pump out. I was like sure, go right ahead. He looked at me, said well we don't do pump outs, you have to do it yourself!
We cruise quite a bit with this boat. Have been doing several weeks a year on bare boats in Florida, Chesapeake, and Maine over the last 6 years. Between that, and my previous boat, I had never done a pump out. Maybe its common, I just had never been told to do it myself.
OK, well, looks like I am doing my first self service pump out. I proceeded to go through the process, no way the admiral was going to go to the slip without it. Not a problem, handed the pump out hose back to the dock hand and asked for a water hose to wash down the area and make sure there was just a bit of water in the holding tank.
He handed me the hose, turned the water on, I did the hose thing. When I was handing the hose back to him, he asked if I wanted him to drag the hose up to the fresh water fill to take on fresh water. The same hose! I guess if the hose didn't come in contact with anything technically it might not be a problem - but I politely declined and said we were fine with fresh water.
Note to self, never take on fresh water at the fuel dock....
Mark
Sundancer
Well-Known Member
- Jul 20, 2005
- 2,909
- Boat Info
- 34 year old CLASSIC 300 DA, towed almost anywhere behind the Duramax Dually Crew Cab.
- Engines
- 16 cyl, 700 cu. in./Alpha I's
I always use my own hose! Most of the time they hand you a hose with black rubber inside and that sits on the dock and gets hot. That makes for some horrible tasting water. Use one of the white RV hoses for potable water. I sanitize the tank in the spring, dump what's left after each trip and refill prior to the next trip. I drink it all the time and have never had an issue. The onboard tank is no different from a municipal water tank other than the ratio of turn over in water used.
FootballFan
Well-Known Member
I agree. Carry two hoses, gray one that is 75ft, use it for washing down the boat and the dinghy, flushing the dinghy motor.
A white one, that is only used for fresh water fill. Keep the ends screwed together when not using the hose. Cardinal rule, that hose never ever dips in the water.
Sometimes you never know the quality of the water system that is delivering the fresh water to the connection at a slip. Home port you know what to expect, but transient marinas - who knows how clean the water system is delivering the water to that outlet. Fine for washing the boat - but - like I posted above - you can get bad water.
Mark
mquiet
Well-Known Member
When I needed to transition our boat from Florida to NC, we filled the freshwater tank in FL. The sulfur smell was so bad from that water, it took me the week of travel and then a month of using the tank and flushing to get the smell out. I only fill in our marina and use the transient water for a direct connect only if I have too. No longer fill the tank. Smell was just too much to go through again.
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JVM225
Well-Known Member
I try not to use the dockside hook up, prefering to run water through the tank instead. It keeps the tank from smelling or growing funny things in it.
I add a couple of ounces of bleach every time I fill the tank, and we use it for everything except drinking.
I add a couple of ounces of bleach every time I fill the tank, and we use it for everything except drinking.
bbwhitejr
Well-Known Member
Our 260DA is on a trailer and is kept at home. I have never done anything except fill the tank with water from our well. We do rent transient slips from time to time and hook up to the water at the dock. I remember once that the dockside water was awful. Never had an issue with our well water, never added any bleach, or anything else. Tank is never emptied during the season and just add to it to fill it before leaving home. Again, never had an issue.
Bennett
Bennett
FootballFan
Well-Known Member
When we are on the boat - we are moving - no option but to fill from transient slips. Try to take every precaution - but it happens.
We never connect to dockside water in a transient slip - mainly because if we fill the tank - we have an option to treat the water.
I hate a shower with smelly water - just cant do it.
Mark
We never connect to dockside water in a transient slip - mainly because if we fill the tank - we have an option to treat the water.
I hate a shower with smelly water - just cant do it.
Mark