2006 Mainship 400 Port Water Tank Loose

[jefndeb]

Hello,
We had an issue where a few strange things occurred that got me wondering. I noticed our boat was listing to port more than normal and then that same night the water quit while in the shower...uhg.
Long story short, We found, after doing some investigating, that the port water tank had slid aft aboit 6 inches and that movement kinked the crossover water line to the starboard tank. This blockage prevented the two tanks from equalizing and the starboard tank of course went dry first.
Had a bouncy passage the other day so i suppose thats when it moved aft.
I managed to move the hose a little to unkink the line about 80% and then the two tanks eventually balanced out.
Now I have to time our trip here in the Bahamas so when the port tank is very near empty to try to re-position it and brace it to keep this from happening again.

Just an FYI in case anybody else has a similar issue.

Ps. Our water quality sensor is only on the port tank, which was showing full and so thats why I was dumbstruck.
Jeff
Indigo Star

 

[Dougcole]

Geez.


Maybe slide it forward and screw a cleat made of starboard or pressure treated wood in behind it to keep it from sliding?


Can you get some sort of little bottle jack in between it and the transom to slide it forward? You would need to put some sort of wood across the tank for the jack to push on so it wouldn't hurt the tank. If you get most of the water out of it it should be pretty light, you may even be able to pry it forward with a 2x4 or something.

 

[garmstro55]

Interested in this issue as both of the water tanks on my 2004 MS400 have the outboard end of the brackets seemingly loose. This came up in the survey but there is virtually no way to get at those brackets unless you come through cockpit deck above with an opening of some kind. I may have to look at a brace like Doug suggests as a preventive measure.

 

[jefndeb]

Geez.


Maybe slide it forward and screw a cleat made of starboard or pressure treated wood in behind it to keep it from sliding?


Can you get some sort of little bottle jack in between it and the transom to slide it forward? You would need to put some sort of wood across the tank for the jack to push on so it wouldn't hurt the tank. If you get most of the water out of it it should be pretty light, you may even be able to pry it forward with a 2x4 or something.

Yes, the plan is to brace it best way possible. Probably like you suggested.

 

[Comodave]

If you can slide it back into position then maybe cut a piece of plywood the width of the space and lay it on the shelf that the tank is sitting on. It would be nice to screw it down but if you can’t get to it the plywood should hold it in place. Poor way to design the tanks.