Freshwater Tank

[CHris F]

I have just purchased a 1976 Oday 20, and am in the process of cleaning it up in preparation for sailing this Spring. I cannot see how to fill the freshwater tank, and have searched for this topic in the forums. Also, was there ever a cover for the hole just inside of the cabin floor that accesses the bilge? Any assistance would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Tally Ho]

If you can expose the water tank, look for a hose leading up to the deck. Maybe in an anchor locker ( that is where the water fill was on my Hunter 280). A blue cap deck fill is what you should be looking for.

On my O'Day 322, there are 2 water tanks, port and starboard, and a deck fill on either side of the deck.

Don't know anything about your boat, but if the bilge is an open hole, I suspect there should have been a cover over it.


Greg

 

[CHris F]

If you can expose the water tank, look for a hose leading up to the deck. Maybe in an anchor locker ( that is where the water fill was on my Hunter 280). A blue cap deck fill is what you should be looking for.

On my O'Day 322, there are 2 water tanks, port and starboard, and a deck fill on either side of the deck.

Don't know anything about your boat, but if the bilge is an open hole, I suspect there should have been a cover over it.


Greg

Thank you for your assistance. I did find the hose you are referring to in the anchor / battery locker, it is a hose with a small filter on it, going through a screw-on cap. Now I need to find a tank or large water container.

 

[Pat]

Call Rudy at D & R Marine in Assonet,Ma....he should be able to tell you.....are you sure you have a tank? sorry to ask this, but not all of the boats came with water tanks.....Good Luck, Patrick

 

[Tally Ho]

Thank you for your assistance. I did find the hose you are referring to in the anchor / battery locker, it is a hose with a small filter on it, going through a screw-on cap. Now I need to find a tank or large water container.

Do you have a photo? Not sure what you mean about finding a large tank or water container...to fill the water tank? Most people do it with a garden hose.

Greg

 

[CHris F]

Do you have a photo? Not sure what you mean about finding a large tank or water container...to fill the water tank? Most people do it with a garden hose.

Greg

There is a 1/2 opaque plastic tube that runs from the sink faucet down towards the stern, under the cockpit, and ends under the starboard cockpit seat where there is a hinged lid for the cockpit storage for an anchor, battery, etc. The hose has a small filter on it the same diameter of the hose, and then runs through a small screw-on cap, roughly the size of the top of a Clorox bottle. I am assuming that this at one point this screwed onto some sort of plastic container that contained drinking water, but this container is not there. I am familiar with what you are referring to - in other boats that I have sailed on the freshwater tank is filled through a fitting on the outside of the hull, but this is not the case here.

Thank you for your reply, I hope I am being clear, and as you suggest will try to post a picture.

 

[SFS]

It sound like you are describing a direct connection for shoreside water to your faucet. I don't know your boat, but it is possible you never had a freshwater tank? A 20' daysailer might not have had one. Sailboatdata.com does not list any freshwater tankage for your boat.

Perhaps another O'Day 20 owner will weigh in. You may also want to look for any owners' associations that might be able to help you.

 

[Pat]

Your boat might have had a removable 2 or 3 gallon container that could be filled either inside the house, etc. My daysailer was 17 ft. but had no provision for water...that would have complicated an otherwise very simple and fun to sail boat....2 -3 gallons available as you describe, and filled inside the house would have been the next step up from no water to a simple
system....The container is now missing I suppose...we did not need or want a sink at the time...good luck! Pat

 

[Capt James]

My recently acquired O'Day 20 has the water system you describe with an approximately 3 gallon plastic tank which is dark blue in color. It is similar in construction to a portable gas tank, with a small vent cap at one end of the molded in handle and a large diameter cap at the other end. That cap has a male threaded quick-connect garden hose attachment that allows easy removal from the boat without having to unscrew the hose. Removal of the large cap then allows filling the tank at a fresh water spigot or with a garden hose. There are bungie cords to secure the tank standing on end with the vent up and the hose connection down, resting on the plywood shelf from which the plastic tube emerges. The arrangement works fine, but I've never actually drank any water from the sink. It's a hand wash station only until I can figure out how to replace the really grungy looking plastic tube. Sorry, no picture to share. I'm a few hundred miles away from the boat at the moment.