2010 Bavaria 32 Cruiser additional water tank

[Adam Turner]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and pleased to have found it.  In November, I bought a 2010 Bavaria 32 cruiser, which is moored in Spain. This coming summer I plan to spend coastal cruising the Med, basically seeing how far I get from west to east, although at a casual pace. I'm hoping to spend stretches of five days or so at anchor, taking shelter and moorings when I need supplies and/or want a break on land.

I expect I'll have quite a few questions, and my first one is about extra water tanks. The yacht has fairly limited fresh water capacity, and I'm wondering what experience members have had installing additional tanks, in terms of make/model, durability, ease of installation and so on. Basically what I want is your advice and recommendations.

Thanks in advance and best wishes,

Adam

[SYJetzt]

Welcome to the forum!

It takes a lot of effort (and money) adding another tank, and if Bavaria does not have an optional tank solution, you end up with a custom made tank, taking precious space and cost a fortune. The standard tanks are put in place to the naked hull at the first manufacturing steps before mounting all the furniture and deck.
 
I would suggest spending the first year and plan such a project after knowing the real demand.
I`m cruising the med usually with my first mate (2 PAX on board) and my water tanks (430 liter/ B46) last for 3 weeks+. We take shower after each swim (which we often do in summer), use it for washing dishes, but seldom drink it  . I assume you have a 150l tank, so it should reach for a week+/-.
But all depends on your usage pattern.

[symphony2]

Not possible in that hull as there is nowhere to put another tank except possibly under the cockpit locker floor behind the engine start battery. However, apart from being a major job with a custom made tank you would not get any meaningful capacity. The standard tank is 150l which is normally adequate for a small boat like that with 2 people, but obviously not if you take lots of showers! Carry drinking water in 5l bottles and washes dishes in seawater then rinse in fresh.

[Yngmar]

Would also recommend a temporary solution first, as it sounds like you're still working out your style of cruising. A few jerrycans can be easily stowed below or lashed on the toerail and require no additional plumbing. It also lets you move them around so you can experiment with the impact on the sailing - a hundred litres weight of water in the bow or on one side will undoubtedly have quite an impact on a 32 footer. Some racing yachts trim their boat by pumping around lots of seawater in ballast tanks

I believe the 2010 32 Cruiser has 150 litres capacity, which should easily last a week for 1-2 people, including a daily shower (wash with seawater, rinse with fresh).

[Adam Turner]

Thanks all, sensible suggestions, appreciated.

I thought perhaps there'd been some soft-skin tank people might've had success with, but it sounds like:

150L + jerry cans - awkward install = just fine for the time being.

Best,

Adam

[sunshine]

I'm in the process of fitting a 100l bladder under the forward bunk on a 2006 Bavaria 30. Plumbing has been easy, making a flat false floor so the bladder is above and well clear of the transponders has been a bit trickier. Haven't finished it yet. The bladder is a stop-gap - if it works well I'll see about a solid plastic tank from somewhere like tek tanks in a season or two. Don't see why similar won't work on a 32 but i don't know exactly your layout.

[symphony2]

On the later type of 32, the main tank is where you are putting your extra tank. There is a small amount of space aft of the tank but above the transponders but you might get 30l in there, but would have to then cut access through the bulkhead for the transponders.

[Keweetoo]

I've had poor experience with the bladder type tanks in a previous boat - the water does not keep well even with using the Aquatabs. It may be OK for a a short extended trip (use this tank first before main) but we found the residual water left in the bladder went mouldy unless the bladder was removed after use and thoroughly cleaned and dried. It may be just the type we had but gave up on it after a couple of seasons.