Am I being silly?

[Burgiesburnin]

I conceed to having limited and practical knowledge having only spent limited time [a few weeks]on hire boats but to being a very enthusiastic canal lover generally.

Like most people in this position, I spend a fair amount of time on this site and think a lot about the practicalities of extended cruising and what it would be like and whats involved. I intend to buy a boat in 2015. Its an age and retirement issue.

A couple of thing occure to me having rented and I hope they are not silly questions, if they are, I will take the abuse that goes with the asking.

 

1] Is it practical/possible to install a water lever gauge for the clean water tank?

 

2] Why are clean water tanks not roof mounted to allow gravity feed? They could be say 6 inches high and fit inside the hand rails and formed to the roof shape. Easy to fill also. I appreciate that this would make the centre of gravity high but is this the reason for not doing this?

 

3] As per two above but with a heater element fitted for hot water, a geiser set up sytem as in domestic homes?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Ally]

1) Yes...plenty available and often fitted.

2) Centre of gravity ....water is very heavy as I'm sure you are aware, it would also slosh around a lot more on the roof instead of low down and the noise would be awful. Water needs to be pumped through the boat anyway to get pressure on it, so keep it low!

3) Have a calorifier which can have an electrical water filament if desired for landline running.

 

Good luck with your boat when you get to that stage!

[sueb]

reply to question 1. If you mean a gauge yes you can.

[mayalld]

I conceed to having limited and practical knowledge having only spent limited time [a few weeks]on hire boats but to being a very enthusiastic canal lover generally.

Like most people in this position, I spend a fair amount of time on this site and think a lot about the practicalities of extended cruising and what it would be like and whats involved. I intend to buy a boat in 2015. Its an age and retirement issue.

A couple of thing occure to me having rented and I hope they are not silly questions, if they are, I will take the abuse that goes with the asking.

 

1] Is it practical/possible to install a water lever gauge for the clean water tank?

 

2] Why are clean water tanks not roof mounted to allow gravity feed? They could be say 6 inches high and fit inside the hand rails and formed to the roof shape. Easy to fill also. I appreciate that this would make the centre of gravity high but is this the reason for not doing this?

 

3] As per two above but with a heater element fitted for hot water, a geiser set up sytem as in domestic homes?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

1) Yes.

2) Centre of Gravity is the reason. A full water load on the roof would make a boat unstable. A half full tank would allow all the water to move to one side, and the risk of capsize would be severe. There still wouldn't be sufficient head of water to remove the need for pumping.

3) As above, plus massive opportunities for heat loss, and complicated pipework to allow engine heating of the water.

[Henhouse]

In answer to your questions.

 

1) No reason at all not to be able to have a water level guage.

 

2) 100 gallons of water weighs about half a ton,plus the weight of the tank. Sit that on the roof, and you will have serious stability issues. Especially when it starts slopping about, and gaining inertia. It doesn't bear thinking about.

 

3) A calorifier, is basically the same as a domestic immersion heater. Giving you the option of using 240v when connected to mains. Or heating from the internal copper coil tubes from either the engine cooling circuit, or the cabin heating system, or both if you have a calorifier with twin tubes.

[ditchcrawler]

But No 2 use to be done, probably before pumps were as good as today, the pumped/pressure system is much better.

I think Cressy had a roof mounted tank to fill the bath.

[RLWP]

<heretic> Didn't some of the early pleasure boats of the 40's and 50's have roof tanks? </heretic>

 

Mind you, they were only for drinking - not dishwashers, washing machines, showers, baths, flushing toilets, many days cruising

 

Richard

[Gibbo]

A roof mounted tank would put water into a shower head, but it would be like standing under a coke bottle with a few holes in it.

 

Therefore it would have to be pumped anyway. So what would be the point in a roof mounted tank? There's no advantage in it anyway. But lots of disadvantages if it's going to be big enough to actually be useful.

[churchward]

<heretic> Didn't some of the early pleasure boats of the 40's and 50's have roof tanks? </heretic>

 

Mind you, they were only for drinking - not dishwashers, washing machines, showers, baths, flushing toilets, many days cruising

 

Richard

Yes they did. I have been on a boat with a roof water tank. However, compared to modern boats the tank was very small. I can't remember exactly but it was no more than about 20 gallons and could easily have been much less.

[Keeping Up]

All the hire boats from Wyvern Shipping used to have roof-mounted water tanks. One of the other disadvantages was that in summer you could only have hot water, as the sun shone directly on the tank. Here is a picture of one (the tank has the plank sitting on it)

 

 

 

 

Regarding the matter of a gauge, I was strongly encouraged by my wife to fit one, after an incident when I said "Yes there's plenty of water for you to have a shower" and it ran out just after she'd covered herself in soap. Rather than pay for an expensive item. I made one using a length of twin-flex as a sensor and a little bit of electronics to light an LED if the level dropped too low, later improved so that it shows green for over half a tank (anything goes), yellow for a quarter to a half (no showering or clothes-washing), and red for less than one quarter of a tank (strictly drinking only).

Edited August 24, 2011 by Keeping Up

[MoominPapa]

Another option for tank contents is to fit a water meter. Since these are no boat-specific items they're in general cheaper than gauges and more accurate. We fitted one and I can tell within 10l how much water is left in the tank.

 

MP.

[steelaway]

Another option for tank contents is to fit a water meter. Since these are no boat-specific items they're in general cheaper than gauges and more accurate. We fitted one and I can tell within 10l how much water is left in the tank.

 

MP.

 

I cant understand why it is so critical to know how much water you have left? It not as though the nearest supply is going to be many days away.

We quickly realised with our boat, that after 4 showers we needed water -SIMPLES

[MoominPapa]

It not as though the nearest supply is going to be many days away.

We moor on the Middle Level

 

MP.

[bizzard]

I have a separate water tank not an integral one and when it gets down to about 20 gallons i can hear it sloshing about when the boat rocks a bit,so that is my gauge. bizzard.

[Lady Muck]

I can tell how much water is left in our tank quite easily -

How the boat sits in the water - there is a tidemark around the hull at the waterline, soon as this tidemark sticks up out of the water I know we are running out. How the boat moves, if it feels more 'tippy'. When the tank is almost empty, the water pump sounds different and also the tank itself flexes, making a booming noise (it does this whne almost full as well).

[homer2911]

A roof mounted tank would put water into a shower head, but it would be like standing under a coke bottle with a few holes in it.

 

Therefore it would have to be pumped anyway. So what would be the point in a roof mounted tank? There's no advantage in it anyway. But lots of disadvantages if it's going to be big enough to actually be useful.

 

I've never stood under a coke bottle with holes in it!

[RLWP]

I've never stood under a coke bottle with holes in it!

 

You haven't lived!

 

Richard

[bizzard]

If you run out and need to make tea, just put a finger over the spout of your kettle,a gas one,Hold it a couple of inches below the surface of the 'canal-river' take finger off spout and fill,this ensures no surface muck goes in. Make tea. bizzard.

[steelaway]

We moor on the Middle Level

 

MP.

 

 

 

Errrr ...........................Buy a good gauge.

 

Alex

[Top cat]

our water gauge a piece of dowel with marks every inch just dip it into the tank and see how far up the wet bit goes.

 

TC

[ChrisR]

1] Is it practical/possible to install a water lever gauge for the clean water tank?

Much depends on how and where and what type of tank is fitted, but the marked dowel down the filler works fine for a tank with straight top access. So you can spend your fit-out money on something more interesting!

 

2] Why are clean water tanks not roof mounted to allow gravity feed?

Apart from the points raised by everyone else, clearance for bridges matters. While on the Nene and Middle Levels a couple weeks ago, we only just cleared a couple of the very low bridges and ours is not a tall boat. The steerer just about had room to see over the top - a 6" tank would certainly have been in the way!

 

chris

[Guest]

our water gauge a piece of dowel with marks every inch just dip it into the tank and see how far up the wet bit goes.

 

TC

I have a similar one. Also (different one ) for diesel.

[ditchcrawler]

We moor on the Middle Level

 

MP.

Beat me to it and the Nene is no better

[nbfiresprite]

Much depends on how and where and what type of tank is fitted, but the marked dowel down the filler works fine for a tank with straight top access. So you can spend your fit-out money on something more interesting!

 

 

Apart from the points raised by everyone else, clearance for bridges matters. While on the Nene and Middle Levels a couple weeks ago, we only just cleared a couple of the very low bridges and ours is not a tall boat. The steerer just about had room to see over the top - a 6" tank would certainly have been in the way!

 

chris

That will be the `Five Bells` Bridge at at Outwell Where many boater has lost a chimney,

The other being `NordDelph` bridge. The water levels around here have been around normal

levels even low we are in a drought according Defra since June.

 

As to the water tank level, paint a\white line on the bow marking the point where the tank

is half full(Do so well the tank is nearly empty). So that a quick look at the bow, will

show if the tank needs to be filled(When the line breaks the surface of the water). I do

the same thing with the fuel (When the top of the rudder breaks the surface, I known

that I have 1/4 tank remaining)

 

Firesprite

 

In the Fens

[Gibbo]

The depth of our bow changes more depending upon how many of the usual store of 1000 cans of beer I've drunk. Relying on that for a water level would be useless.