When we got the boat to the slip, after a tow due to low batteries, we got serious about the removal of the errant water tank. Mike (Stenbak) had helped to uncover the tank when we were in the work yard before going back to the States for a few days. It took the better part of a day and lots and lots of unscrewing bulkheads from the covering shelf and tank veneer. When the builders put together the typical boat they do some strange things. I mean, not only is the tank attached to the hull via six (6) aluminum tabs with four (4) lag bolts each but it's also encased in a shelf/front arrangement that is FIRMLY attached to the two bulkheads at either end!!
First, they (the builders) assume that nothing on the boat will ever break. That's a bad assumption but you see the evidence everywhere. On Faith the water tank seems to be the cornerstone, so to speak, of the whole construct. They install the tank before they put the deck on... in fact, it is clear now that they put the bulk heads and installed the tank before they built the aft cabinetry.
Secondly, since it is an aluminum tank you would think that people would go to great lengths to be sure that dissimilar metals never come in contact with it. When we got the tank uncovered we found that coins, in particular pennies, had slipped down behind the tank and started a corrosive process that led to some of the leaks we found.
So, third, an extension of the first problem really, the tank does not fit through any of the possible openings to exit the boat. The companionway is 23" wide but one end of the tank was 26" plus the tabs that hold it in place (another 2").
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| Tank gets to bottom of the companionway |
After talking to various people and contacting my welder friend in Guaymas we came to the conclusion that we would just have to cut a chunk off of the side of the tank. At one point while were turning and examining the tank we turned it so that the input spout tilted too far and a white milkshake like substance oozed all over the galley sole (don't tell Sandy). Later when I was cleaning that up it was obvious I will also have to completely clean all of my tools in one of the tool boxes because it was also in the way of the yuck that poured out!!
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| David Cuts away the excess |
Normally I wear a mask and earplugs when cutting metal. Likewise, I normally have everything sketched out so I can follow a precise pattern to take off exactly what needs to come off. Well, David the Welder just scored the metal with the end of a file I had sitting there and used a very long screw driver I had as well as a straight edge!! The tabs were soon history too and we then tugged and pushed the tank through the companionway and onto the dock and later up into his van... as it spewed radiator substances all over the place. It turned out the David had an accident on his way to the marina that morning.
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| The cut away piece!! |
Anyway, the long and short of where we are today is that the tank has gone off to the shop in Guaymas to be cleaned and repaired and we hope to put it back in place on Wednesday or Thursday.
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| Tank on the Dock... Finally!! |
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