Our 2 cents worth: The previous owner of our Panda 40
removed the large fuel tank in the bilge and made the
starboard side water tank the new fuel tank. It is
only 55 gallons, so the boat lost a lot of fuel and
water tank capacity, but we have managed to adjust to
it well enough. We carry nine five-gallon and
six-gallon short fuel jugs (Chilton and Scepter) which
brings our fuel carrying capacity to about 105
gallons. The jugs can be stored in the bilge where the
tank was, under the cockpit footwell in the lazartte,
or on the side deck. It is handy to have a lot of jugs
out here in Mexico 'cuz there aren't many fuel docks
and usually we have to go to an inland Pemex station
to get diesel; many jugs cuts down on the number of
return trips. We also have a huge amount of space in
the bilge in which we can carry spares - a mixed
blessing. The water tank is "augmented" by a Spectra
380 watermaker which has cranked out 10 to 12 gallons
of fresh water for us every day for the past six
years.
For those same six years we used a Moen kitchen faucet
in the galley and it worked just fine. It too came
with the boat and when it got tired and started giving
out on us we replaced it with a one-hole American
Standard with an extension out of the spout. It too
works just fine. Parts on domestic faucets are much
easier to obtain and much cheaper than their "marine"
counterparts. Our water pressure is from a Shurflo 3.5
gpm pump, set at the factory setting of 40 psi (you
can change it up or down) and delivers plenty of
water.
One note on the fuel tank - after a couple of years we
noticed the center of our sole was sagging. Apparently
some support for that came from the tank. We placed
2"x2" mahogany posts under the stringers to keep it
steady.
Michael and Elzabeth Kramer
S/V Cambria Pand 40
Sonora, Mexico



                
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Received on Fri Nov 18 16:30:03 2005