Rosalind's Potable Water System

While Rosalind is on the hard getting new bottom paint, we wanted to share with you some of the upgrades we did last year. When we got Rosalind, we knew that the water system would need to be overhauled.  We did not dare to taste the water; we just smelled it and saw what flowed out of the long-unused lines! So last year, as part of her overhaul, we set out to redo the entire water system.

The first step was to remove all the old water hoses and the leaky, old hot water heater. In order to remove the water hoses connected to the water tank, we had to remove the salon table and the floor underneath it.  When Rosalind was built, she was set up with one 100 gallon (375 liter) water tank. The tank started under the V-berth and was connected to the main tank under the main cabin sole with a small fiberglass pipe. Rosalind was built with the water tank as part of the hull with several access hatches.

Opening up the Main Water Tank

Once the old tubing and leaky hot water heater were disconnected and removed, we opened up the the main tank access ports in the V-berth and salon. It took many days of hard work to scrub the 100 gallon (375 liter) tank. There was a lot of debris at the bottom of the tank. We even found a penny in there and wonder how it ever got in there!

In cleaning the water tank, we found that some of the original paint has started to flake off the tank and after some research we identified the special epoxy paint for small water tanks. We learned that the smaller the tank, the more stringent the requirements for the epoxy paint. We had a gallon (4 liters) of paint shipped to us and it took the better part of two weeks of work to clean and paint the water tanks.

Debris from the Bottom of the Main Water Tank (See the penny?)

With the access hatches open, I took the opportunity to isolate the water tank under the V-berth from the water tank under the main cabin. There was no point in having all our eggs in just one basket. Now, we have an 80+ gallon (300+ liter) main tank and a 20 gallon (75 liter) reserve tank forward. The original tank had a deck fill at the bow that got water to the part of the tank under the V-berth. With the tank spit in two, I had to install a water fill for the main cabin tank and find a way to get the water out of the forward tank.

For the main tank, I modified the aft-most access hatch and installed a small standpipe with a "deck fill" on the aft settee. To fill the main tank, we now just lift the settee cushion and open the deck fill. The advantage of this system is that with the deck fill down below, it is unlikely that the water tank will get contaminated with saltwater from any seawater on deck. We made a nice graduated dipstick when we first filled the main tank. We now know at a glance how much water we have in our main tank down to the gallon. Our new system to gage the amount of water in the tank requires no electricity and has no wiring or display unit, and is pretty foolproof.

New "Deck Fill" and Standpipe for Main Water Tank (Aft Settee)

 Main Tank Water Fill Connection (far left) in Aft Settee (Cushion Removed)

New Water Hoses (Under Salon Table)

The forward water tank is now our spare water tank and a manual pump next to head sink ensures that we will be able to get the water out if it even if all the ship's electrics fail. We also have a piece of copper tubing and hose which we can connect to the manual pump and get water out of the main tank as well. This system is very nice not only as a backup to get water out of the main tank, but it also serves to get the last four gallons (15 liters) out of the main tank that the pressurized water electric pump is unable to pump out.

Manual Pump in Head (far right)

After installing all new hoses (all 130 ft or 40 m of them!), we replaced the hot water heater and installed a high purity potable water filter in the galley. During commissioning this spring, we also added a secondary coarser filter upstream of it, under the galley sink, to prevent the high purity water filter from clogging up.

New Hot Water Heater Installed in Aft Cabin Hanging Locker

Seagull IV High Purity Activated Charcoal Water Filter Faucet in Galley (far right)

Under Galley Sink, Seagull IV Filter Canister (in background) and Pre-filter (in foreground)

We are very pleased with the overhauled water system. The dipstick and two separate tanks give us peace of mind; and the pressurized filtered drinking water and hot water are definitely very pleasant luxuries on board.

We have had a number of requests, so here is another piece of artwork.

Colorful Fishing Boat

 Sifnos, Greece

Thank you for following,
Alex and Cheryl