Aft water tank leak- baffles?

[llldks]

On my 73 53MY my aft water tank is leaking. It is coming from the bottom or backside- of course. I have a large area of access to the port half of the tank from above and to the front and sides of the tank. I was first going to determine the level of the leak by putting a stick in the tank, start filling, and observe when the leak starts. I was then thinking of cutting a large access hole in the top of the tank and fixing from the inside. So, first question- is the tank baffled?

Any other suggestions?

Larry
Seadation

[SKYCHENEY]

I think all hatteras tanks are baffled.

[Tim Powell]

[QUOTE=llldks;184239]On my 73 53MY my aft water tank is leaking. It is coming from the bottom or backside- of course. I have a large area of access to the port half of the tank from above and to the front and sides of the tank. I was first going to determine the level of the leak by putting a stick in the tank, start filling, and observe when the leak starts. I was then thinking of cutting a large access hole in the top of the tank and fixing from the inside. So, first question- is the tank baffled?

Any other suggestions?

Larry
Seadation[/QFor what it is worth nthe tank on my 45c was baffled and had to cut a hold under the burth to get to the leak but fiberglass fixed it Tim

[Fanfare]

If your aft tank is like mine you should have a tank level sensor in the top. Pull this out and use your stick here. The baffles probably go fore and aft in the tank. There is nothing where the sender is.

Your leak is probably not in the tank. All the other tanks were made discretely and foamed in place. The aft tank probably also, although I can't get to that side of mine due to the steering gear. It's probably glued to the stern. Check the fill line and the outlet and the aft vent lines. Hatteras really sealed these water lines well to prevent contamination. I have thought about replacing my connecting hoses due to ther age, but they look like I have to get at the connections from inside the tank. You might check with Roger Wetherington who really knows.

[REBrueckner]

I had the same reaction as fanfare...are you POSITIVE it is the tank itself leaking?? and that's tough to figure out....good idea to try to determine the level of the leak as you suggested...

Previous discussions in this forum does confirm that tanks were foamed in place...in fact it's likely that foam tank support is what gets wet and leads to the "Hattears smell" we all "love" (not).

Also, and this may sound crazy at first:
Has the leak always been there or is it recent? Consider an accidentally drilled hole.....

The reason I ask is that it took me two years of ownership to find the source of a "bilge" leak in my 1972 48 YF...drove me NUTS.....turned out it was a DRILLED HOLE in the port muffler and it leaked only above maybe 1500 RPM when apparently there was enough raw water flow to reach that level...it HAD to be from original construction because it was adjacent to the master shower stall, completely inaccessible with the shower stall in place, and when that was constructed someone I think drilled into the muffler which is maybe three inches forward.....



Definitely check with Roger....also ask him if he knows which way baffles are placed....or call Hatteras....

[llldks]

Well, when there is more than 10 inches of water in the tank, there is a leak. After examining with flashlight and mirrors, it would appear the water is coming from the bottom of the tank, starboard side. The drain to the keel tank is dry. Most of the water runs out from under the starboard end of the tank but there are a few drops just midline to the starboard most baffle ( turns out there are three baffles in tank running forward/aft). Thinking of cutting into tank on the starboard side of the starboard baffle and applying epoxy and possibly some cloth. ( I once stopped a leak in a diesel fuel tank with a two part compound used to seal jet engine tanks which you just spread on but concerned about using this in potable water tank) .Sure would feel better if I could see the drip but cannot see more than an inch or two under the tank with the mirror. I did have a support for the swim platform replaced about a year ago, but this is midline to where the water is running out.

Larry
Seadation

[llldks]

Well, when there is more than 10 inches of water in the tank, there is a leak. After examining with flashlight and mirrors, it would appear the water is coming from the bottom of the tank, starboard side. The drain to the keel tank is dry. Most of the water runs out from under the starboard end of the tank but there are a few drops just midline to the starboard most baffle ( turns out there are three baffles in tank running forward/aft). Thinking of cutting into tank on the starboard side of the starboard baffle and applying epoxy and possibly some cloth. ( I once stopped a leak in a diesel fuel tank with a two part compound used to seal jet engine tanks which you just spread on but concerned about using this in potable water tank) .Sure would feel better if I could see the drip but cannot see more than an inch or two under the tank with the mirror. I did have a support for the swim platform replaced about a year ago, but this is midline to where the water is running out.

Larry
Seadation