Wee Vee

You're welcome Steve, glad it helped. Ours too was very brown and silty – I took buckets of crap out after scraping. It looked to me like ours had been bitumined once upon a time, but it had degraded to the point that water had ingressed behind. Glad I got shot of it. To clean up the water taste I added a carbon filter after the pump (so water tank–pump–filter). They're not big money in the grand scheme and I've yet to need to change the filter inside it. Have a look on Screwfix. You might want to add a one-way valve too, as I got flow-back initially, which caused the pump to cycle periodically. A valve between the filter housing and the pump sorted this out. Our water is now like Evian. Good luck! It's a shitty job but it's worth it. Vickie

Just Vactan.

Hello Steve! Re. our rusty old water tank: I knew the prep wouldn't be perfect without it being sandblasted, but I spent the best part of a week with a mix of power and hand tools. The pitted areas is where I struggled to get a really good result – the white mineral deposits were very difficult to remove completely. So in the end I decided to go just with Vactan (two coats), until I could assess how successful the prep had been. That was nearly nine months ago, and bar a few white streaks coming from the heavily mineralised areas, it's still looking pretty damn good. My intention is to drain again next time the boat is out for blacking and prep and touch up those areas which have failed. The only other gem of wisdom I can offer is that Vactan takes a very long time to cure below the waterline. I certainly wouldn't attempt a refurb outside of spring/summer if the boat's in the water. I used a heater to speed things up and that was early May. Hope that helps! Vickie PS. The casualties of this project were: 1 x headscarf 1 x tee shirt 1 x bra 1 x pair of trainers 1 x set of overalls The washing machine and a friend's bath It took over a week for the greasy rust coating to completely leave my skin. I looked like Donald Trump for quite a while. My advice would be to purchase a hazmat suit! PPS. 'Before' pics attached, I'll upload 'after' pics, in another reply. Here are the 'after' pics.

Isn't it! Hi Mike, nice to hear from you. Yep, grit blasting could be interesting if stood in the tank – we'd need leather chaps. ? I wondered if a good prep followed by Vactan would be a solid base to paint on. I'm going to make a start and see how good I can get it. Doubting if Maxkote is any more cost effective than Jotun DW though, as 1L only covers approx 2sq m (I can't find coverage specs for Jotun). It's about £85 for a 2L tin so that would add up in a tank our size. As always when I start investigating anything boat-related, it feels like a can of worms has been opened. ?

Hello all, Thought I'd share some info on a product I came across today, just in case you think it may be a top coat solution for our water tanks. Have a read, see what you think. https://www.maxkote.co.uk/shop/maxline-100-flexible-water-tank-lining/ I've ordered the Vactan, now to dig out the face mask, goggles and wire brush. ?

Correct. I wouldn't use the other products you quoted in your earlier edit in a potable water tank.

That is the smallest tin.

I have read of some people using Jotun 2 part epoxy over the top. It comes in white and light grey. It's around £250 for a 15L tin – we'll have to start a syndicate.

1L will cover approximately 8 – 9 sq m. So have a reccie at your tank dimensions. That sounds like a pig of a job. How will you get the rusty crap out when you're finished scraping? Perhaps a small sand blaster might be an easier solution, though I'm sure if you start a separate thread on it you'll get some better advice.

That's just the news I needed, thanks Paul! We do drink our water, and my plan is to add a decent water filter inline once this refurb is completed. After 15 years of drinking from the current tank I think we're pretty hardy. Certainly no iron deficiencies on this boat anyhow. I can climb into our tank with relative ease so I should be able to do a really good prep job on the metalwork prior to painting the stuff on. The lads at the boatyard where we are have rigged me up a separate water tank so that I can bypass the boat tank for as long as the project requires. I'll be sure to check a weather forecast to get favourable conditions. One last thing – do you give it just one coat, or two? Thanks again for your help, really appreciate it. Vickie

Hello Quebec! I'm dredging up a very old post of yours here because I'd be interested to know your thoughts on Vactan after the years have passed. I'm about to start the unenviable task of sorting out our rusty water tank in the bow and choosing the right product(s) seems to be a bit of a minefield. Your insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

Glad it worked out for you Peter, sounds like it's made a lovely boat. As Mike said, because of our interior requirements being a little unusual, we're sure that stretching is the way to go. It also gives us the chance to increase the size of the galley & bathroom, which are a little pokey at present.

That's really useful info – thanks for sharing Peter.

That's really useful information, many thanks. Do you take on interior refurb work too?

Very similar to renovating a property I'm guessing – it's only once it's taken apart that the true extent of work can be appreciated. We'll bear this in mind, thanks Mike.