Plastimo water tanks

[paul culver]

Does anyone use a bladder style fresh water tank from Plastimo? Would be interested to know your opinion of the product and I'm also curious how you secure them from moving around. It looks like they might have loops at the corners for this purpose.

Paul
E29 "Bear"

 

[Glyn Judson]

Fresh water bladder.

Paul, Others with more experience using bladders can chime in but I've heard more than once that bladders tend to chafe possibly leading to leaking. Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

 

[Desiderata]

Hi Paul,

In an effort to increase our fresh water capacity (18 gals), we added a Plastimo bladder tank of 31 gals under the V berth of our E-27 which we've been told tends to sail nose up a bit. With a total of nearly 50 gals capacity, @ 8 lbs pr gal, that should definately solve that issue. Since we did this only last week, I can't advise you on its durabilty yet. I will say that my wife lived aboard a boat whose ONLY fresh water supply was a bladder that lasted the 6-7 yrs she lived aboard, but that was 20 yrs ago. We were aware of the potential chaffing issue, so we , smoothed and painted the locker ahead of time. We may, at some point opt to empty the tank and slide a 1/4" high density sheet of foam under it. We're trying to negotiate the provided loops sewn to the tank but have also been advised that since the model we chose was designed to fit V-berths and given the concave shape of the bow, the tank's weight may be enough for it to "snuggle" securely in. Will keep you posted.

Mike & Cheri McNulty

 

[rwthomas1]

Practical Sailor tested Vetus, Plastimo and Nauta brand tanks in the latest issue. They did some "destructive" testing with drag and drop tests. The Plastimo was judged to be the best choice however they prefered the heavy duty grommets on the other brands as opposed to the webbing loops on the Plastimo. Careful mounting, securing, etc. should take care of most of those issues. RT