Newbie to trawler forum

Hi folks, thanks for accepting me into your forums, I live in nz, bay of islands, and have few questions.... any comments or theories would be much appreciated, as my question may not necessarily have a answer...?.��
I have just purchased a rather large toy... 30 meter Japanese ex research ship/boat, and will be using it privately. It has fuel capacity in 4 seperate tanks of 4000 plus litres in each tank for extended journeys, I will never need that amount of fuel, but don’t want to close the option of ‘one day I might need them’ and I need the ballast/ weight to give her some weight as nearly all her fuel tanks are empty and she’s sitting pretty high in the waterline, there’s two fuel tanks up front and one astern and one in the centre lower bilge area, and two 4000 litre water tanks astern either side of the stern diesel tank. Could I open up the front tanks and clean them out properly as it’s a fibreglass ship, and fill them with fresh water to use for shower water, or even just fill them with fresh water so I can get her a bit lower in the waterline?.has anyone had success in cleaning a diesel oil tank and used it as water? If required could that tank be re In statted to diesel if required?.
Sorry about the throw into the pile question but this is my first LARGE vessell so haven’t much experience in this size of things....lol

Welcome aboard. Good question, I am not an expert on cleaning out a diesel tank to use for water. I think it might be tough to get it to potable standards but probably pretty easy to get it for ballast purposes.

nice buy !!!

Roelandkor said:

Hi folks, thanks for accepting me into your forums, I live in nz, bay of islands, and have few questions.... any comments or theories would be much appreciated, as my question may not necessarily have a answer...?.��
I have just purchased a rather large toy... 30 meter Japanese ex research ship/boat, and will be using it privately. It has fuel capacity in 4 seperate tanks of 4000 plus litres in each tank for extended journeys, I will never need that amount of fuel, but don’t want to close the option of ‘one day I might need them’ and I need the ballast/ weight to give her some weight as nearly all her fuel tanks are empty and she’s sitting pretty high in the waterline, there’s two fuel tanks up front and one astern and one in the centre lower bilge area, and two 4000 litre water tanks astern either side of the stern diesel tank. Could I open up the front tanks and clean them out properly as it’s a fibreglass ship, and fill them with fresh water to use for shower water, or even just fill them with fresh water so I can get her a bit lower in the waterline?.has anyone had success in cleaning a diesel oil tank and used it as water? If required could that tank be re In statted to diesel if required?.
Sorry about the throw into the pile question but this is my first LARGE vessell so haven’t much experience in this size of things....lol

Click to expand...

Big welcome to you and a Big boat for you.
What a cracker !! nice buy roelandkor

I think i'm turning Japanese
I think i'm turning Japanese
I really think so...


30m Ex-Research Vessel - Reduced for Fast Sale - Built Japan in 1985 of fibreglass construction. ... - SeaBoats

Now that’s a boat. It would take a year just to figure out what everything is onboard. Have a great time with your new baby.

Thanks for a reply, I guess the the way I was directing the question is , are larger vessels designed to be at fully loaded capacity for optimum stability or does it not matter about its lighter waterline,...

If you have the bucks to buy your boat and money to do the necessary work (23,000 hours on the engines), then I'd suggest some money spent on a naval or marine engineer might be in order rather than listen to most of us who don't have a clue.

I doubt if you will ever get the diesel smell/taste out of diesel tanks. However, being that it is/was a commercial vessel I bet you can access the tanks , might require taking the top off, and inserting rubber or plastic liners between the baffles. If fresh water is free where you are (it is free here) fill the tanks. Add a quarter cup of bleach for every hundred gallons of water to keep it fresh and shower to your hearts content. When you are ready for your world tour just pull the liners and cash in your hoard of gold and fill the tanks with fresh diesel.

A problem with simply adding water for ballast is that if the tanks are steel they well might rust. If rust is not a concern you have just made yourself 1000 gallons of toxic water/diesel concoction per tank which will be difficult to get rid of legally .

Finally, Welcome Aboard. Very few Trawler Forum members have a ship as large as yours. Please send pictures, (it is almost a requirement) lots of them.

pete

Link is supplied on post #3
With 95 pics ��

NZD 130,000 = $ 83,495.10 US dollars.....

Yes, my concern was the taste etc, they are fibreglass ranks with large man hole style access, I’m probably going to have to clean them out manually, so that if I am in need of disposing the water I can simply turn the fuel transfer pump to overboard and get the water out without any contamination...where I’m really really getting to with, is in other peoples opinions, is a heavily ballasted vessel better with the weight on her, or would I just be lugging around a extra 10ton for nothing? She’s really only coastal stuff for first few seasons till I get her to a better living quarter etc, then maybe later I would look at open sea adventures, she only consumes approx 50litres per hour at 11 knots(so they say�&#56784

Hi, and welcome to a fellow Kiwi, as that's where I started out, although now an Aussie.

In my view, just putting in the common sense view here, rather than as an expert, which I'm not, it would probably be fine for just coastal (choosing the weather) stuff, to be lightly ballasted. If so, just have all the fuel you need in tanks nearest the middle as possible of the boat, keeping the ends light.

It also occurs to me that if there is something that over time might clean the other tanks well enough for at least shower/toilet flush water for later longer cruising, then putting some in those, plus some water, and letting that slosh around in your coastal travels, pumping them out occasionally while well out, then repeating that exercise a number of times, might just clean them up over time..? Just a thought..?