Fiberglas Water Tank

[Meuritt]

I am about to take possession of a boat that has been a dock queen for a while. The owner has kept up even the mechanical system and improved the electrical, but there is one tell-tail sign of a potential problem, he brings his drinking water aboard.

The Fiberglass boat was made with integrated tanks in 1972, to Lloyd's of London standards of the day. My concern is not just in doing a shock treatment, but if it is safe at all to drink from. I figure I have three choices:

Not at all, use for showering and washing only

OK to use but filter potable water first

or, as a sister ship does, no problem drink away after they did the chlorine bleach trick.

thanks for your thought

mike
San Francisco Bay

 

[Vic Willman]

Most people carry their own bottled water aboard for drinking. Even though the water in your tank may be perfectly safe to drink, it generally doesn't taste very good.

Also, see "sticky" up top, about recommissioning your water system in the spring.

 

[Silverton_34]

You can always flush the system with a diluted solution of chlorine then a couple of times with fresh water. You can also add an in-line filter to the galley sink. I bring bottled water on board because we put them in the fridge. I put an in-line filter on our ice maker just for kicks. Probably not needed but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling hoping my ice cubes are clean. I do flush my water tanks often with diluted bleach and several flushes with just plain fresh water afterwards.