Aside from the problems of giving up a water tank (if you get stuck, you
can always drink water, can't drink much diesel...), this creates a
number of trim problems. OWTW is already a bit off to starboard thanks
to the batteries (for weekends we fill only the port tank, to keep her
in trim) but that can be corrected by cross-feeding the water tanks, if
needed. Not so easy with one diesel tank out near the rail.

Bladders in general seem to be plagued with wear issues, long term.
Additionally, OWTW's tank is 6' 6" long - baffles are a must in a long,
narrow tank like this. Baffles aren't an option for a bladder. All in
all, bladders are a great idea until reality intrudes. I sincerely wish
it were otherwise.

- - -

OWTW is now lying at Hartge Yacht Yard in Galesville. I had a long chat
with the head carpenter and he did two things that make me feel a little
better. First, he asked a lot of questions, looked around a lot, and
generally didn't assume he knew the answer before coming aboard.
Second, after all the talk was done and the tape put away, he literally
sat and meditated on the boat and tank. Some of the path to a "fix" is
emerging but, in the main, he and the carpenter who'll be doing much of
the work are still "thinking this over". I am encouraged.

Cheers,
Rick

Michael Kramer wrote:
> The Previous Owners [...] turned one of the saddle water tanks into a
> fuel tank. The result was one tank for fresh water - 80 gallons - and
> one tank for fuel - 55 gallons. [...]
> Thinking about it now, I believe it might be worth checking into
> cutting the top off the existing tank and use the sides as support for
> a fuel bladder.
>

-----------------------------------------------------------
Baba Panda and Tashiba Owners Mailing List --
For more info, please check out the FAQ...
http://www.ballreich.net/hypermail/baba-l/faq.html
Received on Mon Jun 11 18:35:01 2007