Tony-B...
Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:29pm
Post Subject:
Fresh water tank
Well - first of all don't panic. It might just be warm, damp air coming into contact with cold tank so the water condenses out onto the tank. Make sure the bilge is dry, dry the tank as best as you can and the keep an eye on it. If after a spell of this weather it is still dripping then its time to panic. I am not sure what you mean by "the seal", come to that you give no indication about boat type or tank location. I will assume this is a narrowboat with the tank under the well deck, if not please come back with more information. If this is a mild steel "part of hull" tank then I would not expect you to be able to see the bottom as the hull forms the bottom of the tank and the "seal" on the lid would either be in the well deck floor or on the "gas locker type" lid on the front deck. Neither should be able to leak into the boat. Therefor I must assume its a separate metal or plastic tank that has been slid under the well deck during construction. I would not expect either type of tank to have an inspection cover, so you need to have a good look to see if it has an inspection cover. If it does then it may be a leak from there but it will only do it with a full tank. It could be a failed hose on the filler or breather but again it would normally only leak with a full/overfull tank. Until you let me know more about the tank, boat and location I can only advise removing the whole bulkhead, draining the tank and sliding it out to inspect for pinholes (often where it sits on bearers), leaking inspection covers, clacks, or failed hoses. Then you will be able to decide (depending upon material) if you will get it welded, fit a new tank or if its possible to fit a flexible liner inside it. Sorry not to be much help, but it is down to a lack of information. Tony Brooks PS if you do remove the whole bulkhead make the new one so you can remove it by undoing a few screws.
