Potable Water Fills

[O'Neal]

I have a 1981 CD-30 with two fresh water tanks under the settees. The previous owner removed the plumbing from the deck fill to the tanks. Since there is one deck fill for two tanks, I am uncertain if the single fill was plumbed to a simple T-fitting or if the hose was connected to a valved manifold. Any guidance is appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd Nelson
CD-30C, #0220

[Joe Mac Phee]

Todd

My 1977 CD-30 ketch originally had 3 water tanks, 1 in the v-berth and 2 tanks under the setees. The v-berth tank was plumbed to the deck fill and the 2 setee tanks were filled through ports in the top of the tanks under the setee cushion. I subsequently replaced the v-berth water tank with a holding tank. The old deck fill was repurposed.

Joe Mac Phee

[Klem]

Hi Todd,

I would strongly recommend installing some form of valving. Probably the simplest thing to do is to use a Y valve but you could put a valve on both. A T fitting will work but gives you no control over which tank you are filling which means if you are not going to be sailing the boat a lot or you have a leaking tank, you can't choose to keep one tank dry. If you do decide to go with a T, make sure it is fairly high up so that water can't shift from tank to tank as you heel. On our 30, there is a y valve mounted about 1' below the fill against the bulkhead that is there.

[Jim Walsh]

I have a 1981 CD-30 with two fresh water tanks under the settees. The previous owner removed the plumbing from the deck fill to the tanks. Since there is one deck fill for two tanks, I am uncertain if the single fill was plumbed to a simple T-fitting or if the hose was connected to a valved manifold. Any guidance is appreciated.

Thanks,
Todd Nelson
CD-30C, #0220

http://www.capedory.org/cdsoalook-group ... inemanuals
The information you requested is available on our site. Use the link to the Cape Dory Owners Manuals and open the 1981 owners manual. Page 60 has the answer to your specific questions on the original set up.

[Maine_Buzzard]

After cutting out the 30 year old hoses that were black on the inside, I plugged everything off and fill with a hose through the cleanout ports. It's about 10 more feet of hose and I can fill each as needed.

No muss, no fuss.

Give your current setup a try for a summer if the boat is new to you.

And welcome to the board!

[Steve Laume]

Raven had the original water fill system when I took over. I tried using it once or so and then went to removing the inspection ports on the tanks and filling from there. After a year or so I cut out the fill hoses, filled the holes in the tanks and blocked off the deck fill so it could not accidentally be used.

There is nothing to recommend the original set up. When filling from the deck fill you cannot tell how full each tank is or even tell if they are overflowing until you are pushing water out of the vents and into the bilge. The hoses and fittings are just more places for a possible leak to occur and those hoses get extremely nasty inside.

When filling through the inspection ports, I drop the water hose down the main hatch and fill each tank to the desired level. You can see exactly what is happening and they never get overfilled. It is simple, sure and easy.

Adding valves to the system would only make things worse as now you would have to be switching things as you fill the tanks, you can not monitor, unless you remove the inspection ports. To accomplish this you will be running back and forth, risking a flood of fresh water while you do so.

Trust the PO on this one and be happy some one else changed things for you. I would check the plugs they used on the tanks and make sure the deck fill is blocked. Unnecessary plumbing in the fresh water system is not an advantage, in my opinion, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

I have a 1981 CD-30 with two fresh water tanks under the settees. The previous owner removed the plumbing from the deck fill to the tanks. Since there is one deck fill for two tanks, I am uncertain if the single fill was plumbed to a simple T-fitting or if the hose was connected to a valved manifold.

I agree with the "live with it for a year" principal.

As for deck fill, and with or without a T fitting, one advantage of separate tanks is that you don't lose all of your fresh water if one tank is contaminated.

[O'Neal]

Good suggestions all, thank you. I fell in to the trap of thinking because the deck fill is available I should use it; instead, I will utilize the clean-outs to also fill the tanks. And since I am having new tanks manufactured from stainless, I will just eliminate the tank fills altogether. Thank you for the advice.

Todd Nelson
Galveston, TX

[Jim Walsh]

I must confess to using the clean out ports and the deck fills to top off my tanks (the CD 31 has three separate tanks) without prejudice. I also appreciate the original design and installation which allows me to decide which tank to draw from. I inspect the tanks, fitting, and hoses (as much as is possible) once a year prior to servicing my seacocks. I did have to trim a little cabinetry to allow for easy access to hose connections but the original installations were done very well.