Im thinking about building a fiberglass holding tank. havent called the resin manufacturers yet to find out if i need to line the tank with any kind of coating. Any one here ever build a holding tank and how is it holding up? I know this will be a project from hell. It always is when trying to build something inside the boat. I want the tank to fit snug against the hull to take advantage of every square inch, therefore, i cant build it outside and fit it in. Although prior to actual building, i will take the dimentions and see how much i will lose if i fabricated it ouside and lost some space. Anyone that has ever fabricated anything of fiberglass inside a boat knows exactly what i'm talking about.
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Fiberglass is a porous material for water to invade. If you could somehow coat the inside of the tank with a barrier it might work. The alternative down the road as the FRG begins to absorb the contents of the tank is not an appealing one. I would opt for a slightly smaller tank of plastic but be certain that I would never have to deal with a leaking tank again. Ronco Tanks can make any size or shape tank you need. A reputable company with a great product at a fair price
I built my holding tank of polyester resin and
fiberglass mat. It is an independant unit tabbed to the hull. It is probably a 1/4 inch thick, is resin rich, and has given me completely satisfactory service for 7 years. Building with epoxy would be a little more resistant to soaking up odors and it isn't a very big piece, so material cost is not much of a factor. I think that if I planned to build to the hull I would make some flat sheet and cut it to fit the curve of the hull and glass that into place for the ends. I built mine to fit in the bilge so building in place didn't appeal to me. You get a much better density of glass/resin when you use chopped strand mat. Tony, if you are familar with the tic-stick method of taking off curves you can match the shape of the boat on the bench.
fiberglass mat. It is an independant unit tabbed to the hull. It is probably a 1/4 inch thick, is resin rich, and has given me completely satisfactory service for 7 years. Building with epoxy would be a little more resistant to soaking up odors and it isn't a very big piece, so material cost is not much of a factor. I think that if I planned to build to the hull I would make some flat sheet and cut it to fit the curve of the hull and glass that into place for the ends. I built mine to fit in the bilge so building in place didn't appeal to me. You get a much better density of glass/resin when you use chopped strand mat. Tony, if you are familar with the tic-stick method of taking off curves you can match the shape of the boat on the bench.
Thanks ROSS
Thats pretty much what i was thinking. And yes, am familiar with a tic-stick. My thought was to make as many sections as possible on the work bench then assemble and join inside the boat. That would keep my 'inside ' time down to a minimum. My septic tank on my RV looks like uncoated fiberglass and I'm sure it is polyester.
Thats pretty much what i was thinking. And yes, am familiar with a tic-stick. My thought was to make as many sections as possible on the work bench then assemble and join inside the boat. That would keep my 'inside ' time down to a minimum. My septic tank on my RV looks like uncoated fiberglass and I'm sure it is polyester.
When I worked the glass inside
Bietzpadlin I laid a box fan on the fore hatch to pull air through the boat. It still smelled of styrene resin but not deadly. Just plan carefully and don't be afraid of the grinder when you see something that didn't come out just right. G'luck. Ross
Bietzpadlin I laid a box fan on the fore hatch to pull air through the boat. It still smelled of styrene resin but not deadly. Just plan carefully and don't be afraid of the grinder when you see something that didn't come out just right. G'luck. Ross
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