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Hi I have a narrowboat built by Coalcraft. The watertank is steel not stainless steel. I empty the tank every September, October when I winterise the boat. In April when I wake the boat up the initial water from the tank shows signs of rust. The watertank is under the deck and gas locker at the front of the boat Has anyone else experience this? Has anyone got into the watertank to de-rust it and paint it? Thanks

Hi, I'm looking at a boat to buy which I love, but the toilet is a cassette toilet. Does anyone know how easy/expensive it is to get the whole system installed professionally?

I have a grey plastic water tank situated under my front deck. I discovered a very slow leak in a joint in the plastic pipework coming from the pump in that area and that's now completely sorted out. However, I've noticed that the cupboard which houses the tank is still wet. On further investigation I've discovered that there is a small hole right on the top edge of the tank from which water squirts a fine spray when the tank is filled/full. Obviously I need to fix this PDQ. I can't get to actually see where the leak is coming from but I know roughly where the squirt comes out. I was thinking of using Fernox LX sealant, with perhaps a piece of right angled plastic profile over the area bonded on with the Fernox. Is there a better solution, bearing in mind that this water is used for drinking? I'd also really like a water gauge to see how full the tank is. Any recommendations here would also be very welcome. Many thanks for reading this whether or not you have any solutions!

This web site about water tank coating has just come up on Facebook. It looks to solve everyone's problems, who knows? https://www.specialist-coatings.co.uk/narrowboats__barges__wide_beams__canal_boats__houseboats__leisure_cruisers___general_water_craft?fbclid=IwAR0AnvbZR3flGhpCeYHYLsPFufoAT72498lik4rMivNN4dq0oxa7zJ1CRDI

My regular steel built in water tank has an over flow pipe which snapped when we were doing work. Can I just seal it up or will this cause an issue with pressure in the tank? How would I replace a snapped over flow pipe? This is the only way in getting air into the tank. Thanks!

Hi, I need to get a new water tank, as mine is extremally small and not in the place it should be. Where can I get it from? Are they made to dimensions or standard size?

Earlier this year we had a new (steel) cabin built, but we decided not to go for a new built in stainless water tank at the same time (we probably should have done, but hindsight and all that...). Now we find ourselves in need of a water tank that will fit through the door or a hatch (both limited by the opening in the steel. So I've been scratching my head trying to find something that we can get into the boat as well as ftting under the front deck, and hit upon what I hope will be the perfect solution: A loft water tank. These are designed to fit through a loft hatch and this one is the largest I can find that will fit through the door as well af fitting nicely under the front deck. the plan is to use two tanks (probably with separate fillers) that will be plumbed together to provide one "reservoir" of water that the pump can provide pressurised water from. I'm aware I'll need additional pipe joins and therefore more potential leak points but I should only need to add one T to join the two tanks to provide one feed to the pump and one additional filler (though this might not be required). Is this type of tank a feasable option for a narrowboat and are there any major pitfalls with a double-tank configuration that I might not have thought of? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I am a new boater, excited to be on the canals, enjoying the experience, and learning a lot in a short period of time. After a recent visit from a River Canal Rescue (RCR) engineer, who was very helpful, I found myself in need of a tank clean and an informal recommendation to use Tankbusters. As this seems to be an issue many boaters will come across at some point I thought an honest review of the Tankbusters service and what to expect from their pricing would be useful. I've seen a request on this forum for advice too. I called Bruce from Tankbusters and after a pleasant phone call ended with a quote for cleaning the fuel tank on my narrowboat which amounted to £275 for a "base clean and removal of contaminants", plus extras and the hire of their generator, filters and £0.22 per mile for travel. A few days later Bruce and his Wife arrived in their van. The actual tank cleaning was pleasant enough. We helped with the fetching and carrying of equipment from the van, the Tankbusters along with a very friendly fellow boater helped us pull my boat a short distance to the nearest bridge. Before Bruce started I asked how much the actual total would come to and in a joking way Bruce told me a story about a large river boat "at least twice the size of yours" whose tank he had recently cleaned "they had change from a grand" at the end of the process. This was given across with a joking reassuring tone the implication being "so yours will be nothing like that". With the £275 quote at the time I was assured that all would be well. During the cleaning conversation flowed, and I kept the tea and biscuits coming. The Tankbusters gave me a few samples of the nitrile gloves they were using, we used my power cable for their generator. For interest, the process was simple, a generator runs a pump connected to a long metal nozzle and a filter, sucks up the diesel, filters it and runs it back into the tank. This is repeated as required. At the end of the cleaning (approx two hours) I was given three diesel samples from my tank, a sample pre-cleaning, a sample post-cleaning and one Tankbusters considered as minimal requirements for any diesel we put into the tank. I was advised strongly against taking fuel from any work narrowboats on the canal and informed I should take the "minimum requirement" sample to any refueling station from here on in and not to refuel if the diesel was dirtier than the sample. When it came to starting the engine up, the Tankbusters sprayed a little quick-start to get things moving. We helped pack the gear away I was given an invoice for the job (which I confess I did not pay close enough attention to - it was getting dark and I wanted to move the boat to out of sight of the bridge to moor overnight. We said goodbye with the understanding we would take care of payment the next day. The next day I looked at the invoice for the service, this amounted to £679.70 The original quote was £275 The extras had totaled £407.70 Water filters (£192) 1 micron filter bags (£68) Fuel additive (£24) All year fuel additive (£18) Generator (£12.50) Mileage had been added at 0.55p a mile. (£90.20) I called Bruce to discuss the invoice, he insisted that I has misheard the cost per mile for travel, I had written this down during the quote conversation and certainly would not have been happy with 0.55 a mile. I also communicated that I believed he had over charged me for an extra set of filters (£94) which had not been used and also that I believed he had misrepresented the final cost of the job when he had given me the quote. He told me the invoice was correct and that he cannot give a full quote at the time of quoting as he does not know the full extent of the job before arriving. Personally I think it would be an honest better practice to give the price of the filters and a general impression of the final cost. Also to give the correct price for mileage. The next day Bruce called and informed me the 4 water filters were added accidentally to the invoice and he would subtract them from the total. I requested an updated invoice to reflect this which I would pay. Bruce demanded I paid the full amount before sending the invoice and after a back and forth of text messages Bruce agreed to produce the invoice. I pressed the point for an invoice as by this time I was concerned at the amount of trust I should have and I wanted to cover myself in case something more were to happen. Bruce emailed the invoice through, a total of £583.70 (still a £308,70 difference) & I paid. On a personal note, I would consider that if the 'extras' for a job are to exceed the quoted price to this extent then an explanation of these costs of those extras should be explained at the time of the quote. The jovial demeanour and impression over the phone in my case certainly did not reflect this and was, in my opinion a calculated decision. Now I must stress that this was my personal experience and I have no experience with any of the Tankbusters team beyond Bruce. Obviously it goes without saying that you are free to make your own choices. My sincere hope is that my experience is useful to anyone who is looking to have their tank cleaned in the future. As a new boater (and as such in a vulnerable position) I certainly would have benefited from this information and I would have made a very different decision at the time. It is probably obvious that I had a disappointing experience here but I have tried to be as objective as possible so other boaters might benefit from the experience either way. Happy boating!

Hi All :) I am planning to buy narrowboat and making my budget predictions. I know that most of older boats have nonplastic water tanks, black water tanks and sewer tanks. I would like to take out all of them and put in only plastic black water tank and fresh water tank (as composting toilet is my choice). How much of the flooring I will be in need of removing to do that? I am ready to remove as much as needed (I am planning to put new insulation and wooden floors, so that's not a problem). Maybe someone has experience with this kind of project and could give me some advice? I could not find any articles or YouTube videos on that... Thank you :)

I've lost the hexagonal keyed metal water tank plug for our boat. (At the Bath Widcombe Lock Flight water point in the unlikely chance anyone has it!). Are these easily replaceable? How would I know widths, depths and thread pitch of the plug without trying to measure it crudely? It's a 1987 Colecraft. Any pointers well appreciated.

Hi I'm having problems with the gravity feed to my diesel stove. It is currently fed from the main diesel tank at the stern whilst the stove is right at the front of the boat. I have thought about having the fuel 'polished' but this is quite expensive and I'm not convinced it would cure the problem. A more permanent solution would be to fit a small separate diesel tank somewhere in the well deck with a simple gravity feed. Something like a 40 litre tank would do as I doubt I'm getting through more than 30 litres per week. Has anyone done this either DIY or getting a bloke in? If so, can you provide some advice and potential costs please? I've found some tanks online that aren't too expensive, but it's the fitting I'm not sure of - especially in terms of the BSS implications. Many thanks Adam

Since coating my fresh water tank with potable bitumen I have a brown contamination in the water. I have filled and emptied the tank many times and still have a residual brown tinge and an earthy smell especially from the hot side. I collected a sample and left it to settle, see picture. From an existing topic on water tank coating someone suggested an algae had formed. I put a water sterilizing tablet in the glass of sludge and it just made the sludge float. I am draining the tank down soon for winter. Can anyone suggest what I should do to sterilize the whole system.

I'm fitting a waste water tank and going to sight the pump out point on the gunnel should I fit the vent also on the gunnel or side.... Thanks in advance

I was trying to find a recent post about someone wanting to repaint the inside of their water tank, but slow internet today has caused me to give up. Anyway, a separate post might be more appropriate as what I am thinking of doing is turning my bow locker into a water tank. It has two tiny drain holes that would need welding up, (they are only 2-3cm above the water line btw) and I expect I could fit a screw down access plate with filler hole, under the lift up hatch (so keeping the appearance). Interestingly, the locker seems to have its floor at exactly water level, so I wonder if it means a bow thruster could be easily added underneath the portion towards the well deck? I digress. I could use the special paint on the inside of the locker. That or fit one of those bladder things. Ideally I'd fit a ss tank into the locker but it would waste a lot of capacity unless it was a special shape - though I could at least insulate it then. Getting it in through the hatch would be interesting. Pros and cons of this? I'm concerned about freezing in winter, and also wondering whether it would connect to the ss tank I have or if I would use a pump when the main tank is low, to transfer it through. My ss tank is I believe, 500l, the extra capacity could give me another 400 or 500l I reckon. I really need extra water for when I want to stay at a spot for the full 14 days without having to go into miser mode. Thoughts?

I'm no expert on diesel installations (my previous boat was home built with a petrol engine modded to run on paraffin!) but now I've got one I'm trying to understand it. I believe the normal fuel line set up has a return from the common rail or high-pressure pump back to the filter and then to the tank, the reasoning being that the fuel injectors react more quickly than a pump can so it's better to have excess pump capacity and return the excess fuel than to have the pressure drop when the injectors want more. My boat doesn't have any of that, just a single fuel line via the filter to the pump. I guess that because it's an old engine (Perkins 100 series) without any fancy ECU set up the injectors just squirt what the pump sends. Could also be that it was originally a petrol engined cruiser and the diesel was fitted by a cowboy, so I'd like your opinions. Is it OK as it is?

My water pump goes off intermittently - I mean, makes a quick burst of pumping noise once in a while (say, every 4 hours?). I usually turn it off at night for this reason. Is this normal? (I have heard of accumulators but my current set up doesn't have one). Surely pressure is being lost either forward (leak?) or back to the tank? No leaks anywhere... at the moment. AFAIK Perhaps this is why some of you have accumulators? Forgive my ignorance.

Hi. Just back from looking at a boat and thinking of making an offer. However, this particular boat has its' fuel tank in a thick plastic container on the stern deck. Haven't seen that before and wondered if anyone else had? Should I be concerned about this? Is it hazardous in any way? Also, is fuel theft a problem on our waterways? Any advice much appreciated.

Hi , i live in manchester and need a waste tank for my pumpout toilet , any advise