Adding Bow water Tank to B37

[Konan the Bavarian]

Hi,
I have ordered a 160 litre water tank to be installed in the bow of my 2 cabin  B37cr 2006.
I would like to make some preparations before hand, including installing the delivery side pipework.
I would like some information, and photos if possible, of other similar installations.

I would like particular information on,
 1.  the pipework route eg from bow to stern where the water pump is, via the bilge,
 2. the connect details of the new delivery pipe to the existing pump/pipework,
 3. additional valves, valve types, and their arrangement

Basically, I am after any information on setting this system up, so I don't have to "reinvent the wheel"

Thank you in advanced.

Steven
Konan the Bavarian

[Symphony]

Your handbook  will have the schematic layout for the two tank option.

Basically you need a 3 way valve close to the pump. Your new feed will go into one outlet and your current into the other. Then a single pipe to the pump. Very straightforward. At the tank end good idea to have a stop valve on the outlet so you can isolate the tank. As to pipe run from tank to changeover vale you will have to investigate the best run. On my earlier 37 it went into the port locker in the forecabin, through the bulkhead and behind the galley, through the bulkhead into the loo compartment, and then under the inner moulding and up to the pump board in a locker behind the basin. Your run will be determined by the location of the pump.

[tiger79]

Bavaria tend to install the tanks before building the rest of the boat around them!  Make sure you can get the tank into position without having to dismantle too much woodwork.

[Salty]

In addition to the postings above, on my B36(2002), the tank filler cap is located within the chain locker, and the filler pipe runs down through the hollow area ahead of the fore cabin forward bulkhead lining and under the windlass. A problem here I've found is that the lining must have been installed before the rest of the furniture, which means that the lining cannot be removed without some serious work, and although removing the screw fastenings for the liner will allow it to flex, there is a risk of damaging the liner if you try to flex it too much.
That's a good idea from Symphony to fit a stop valve, as it allows you to work on the plumbing at a later date without having to empty the tank(s) first. I've already fitted one for the forward tank on my 36, but fitting one at the aft tank is a bit more difficult on account of very limited space and pipe in which to fit it, so it's still under consideration as the three way valve for the pump also acts as a shut off for one or other tank, but not both at the same time.

[dawntreader]

It is possible to remove the forward bulkhead lining but you must do it with care. Remove the screws down the middle, ease one side out and slide out sideways. See attached. Putting back is more difficult as it has to be bent slightly and pushed at the same time but it does go back in.

ps. This is the only way you will be able to replace the front navigation light's cable when the (unprotected) copper cable fails 

[Salty]

Thanks Dawntreader, the panels on my 36 seem to be very tightly held in place even with all of the screws out, such that I have been reluctant to risk damaging them. Knowing that you have managed to remove your panels gives me hope that with a little more elbow I can move them, one will be enough. I need to beef up the support for the platform under and astern of the windlass and removing a panel will allow easier access to that area.

[Sen Mora]

I had to get behind the front panel (to repair windlass control wire break) on my B41(2003). In order to be able to slide back the half I pulled out the small panel (curved and very tight against the bulkhead lining) between the last shelf door and the lining. I fixed it with 2 small screws, top and bottom so it becomes an easy job if I have to go there again.
There is an other issue to watch. If by any chance some water gets under the tank there is no way to get it out as there are no limber holes (a major issue in several places) and the tank is fit so tight without any gap to thread a small hose to pump it out.

[Symphony]

If it is any help, when I installed a replacement tank, I modified the standard arrangement considerably. I bonded in an 18mm ply platform which sat on a shaped plywood knee at the forward end and a batten on the aft bulkhead of the compartment. The tank had lugs welded to the forward lower end with 2*M10 coach screws down into the platform and the knee. At the aft end 3 lugs welded at right angles to the top for 3* M10 bolts through the bulkhead which I reinforced with an extra 18mm batten. Very secure but easy to remove if necessary.

Can't help with getting the filler pipe in as mine was already there - even if very tight up to the inlet spigot. The cover for the berth was all in one piece and very cumbersome so I cut in two from front to back.

[Konan the Bavarian]

Thank you for all your advice.

I didn't realize access to the chain would be my biggest issue to contend with.

Steven
Konan the Bavarian

[Salty]

Several things I want to say here, firstly thanks again to Dawntreader regarding the removal of the linings forming the forward end of the fore cabin on my B36. I spent yesterday and today onboard my boat where it is laid up for the winter in Beaumaris in North Wales, and I had a closer look at those panels and found one more screw on each that I'd not previously noticed. With the screws now all removed the panels were quite easy to take out, but I was horrified by what I found, more about that later.

For Steven, (K the B) here in the 1st photo below you can see the arrangement for the filling and breather hoses for the forward water tank. The filler connection is fitted into the aft starboard corner of the shelf on which the windlass is mounted, and this allows (just) for the filler cap to fit in that corner, and internally for the filling and vent hoses to connect to the filler cap. It may seem difficult from the earlier conversations, but getting every one of the screws out of those two panels made all the difference. A bit obvious of course, but lighting in the forward part of the forecabin does not exist and the unnoticed screws were just below the inboard edges of the line of cupboards and had not been noticed.

Next point was the cable joints for the windlass wiring. Some of you may remember that after I bought my boat from a yacht charter firm, that two groups of people, all friends and acquainted with each other hired two boats, mine and another owned by the charter firm, and they proceeded to play silly beggars while enjoying a stag party, but at the expense of the charter firms and my boat. The resulting collision damaged the bow of my boat such that the whole bow and chain locker area had to be rebuilt. And in answer to your unspoken question, my boat does not go out on charter any more !!
Once the repair was completed, a yacht surveyor (waste of space) confirmed that the repair had been carried out satisfactorily, and so I paid my money and took the boat home to North Wales.

For the bow and chain locker to be repaired, it would have been necessary for the windlass to be removed to allow access to the inside of the locker, and the shelf on which the windlass stood was partially removed, namely that part of it which projected forward from the sloping aft bulkhead of the chain locker, and this would have required the windlass electric cable joints to be undone so that the windlass could be moved. I had not seen inside the hollow area consisting of that part between the forward linings within the forecabin and the aft bulkhead of the chain locker before because I'd missed those screws referred to earlier and had not been able to remove the linings. So you can imagine my surprise and horror to find that the electric cable connections for driving the windlass had not been insulated after the work that the repairer had done. Indeed the cables were relatively loose and the bare connections were just millimetres apart, see the second photo. This was a fire waiting to be started in anybody's language, and was completely missed by the surveyor who complained when I asked questions of the work he'd done that I was impugning his character and knowledge. Yeah, right !! A repair is not just a rebuilding of what has been broken, but of ensuring that all parts of the repair are put back correctly and that the end result is as safe and as properly done as it should be.
As for that partially removed shelf, well when it was put back, the join was such that after a few years it has separated and hence the need to access the area and to beef up the joint.
The cable connections will also be properly insulated now !!
Good luck Steven with your installation.