Hello Miles. Are you aware that you can remove the large slotted screws at the base of the saloon table where it meets the sole and then lift the table ( it is heavy ) to find the access ports into the several baffle sections of your fresh water tanks? When you clean out the organic matter I am sure you will find, DO NOT USE BLEACH. White vinegar is a good alternative If you intend to drink the water from the tank, there are several high quality filters that get rid of most any nasty stuff that may find its way back inside such as a Seagull from www..generalecology.com. Other systems work too but I am very familiar with the Seagull as it was optional from Amel at original construction and often ordered by my customers. You should access and clean the interior of your tanks yearly.
James, your boat almost certainly does have an anti-osmotic epoxy/platelet barrier coating system. It is installed INSIDE the gel coat. In other words, after the gel coat is applied to the mold, the anti-osmosis system goes in after. This is a proprietary system from Amel. The logic was if installed behind the gel coat, it is less likely to be inadvertently removed by overly aggressive bottom preparation/sanding by a boatyard worker paying more attention to the pretty girl with a nice figure walking by than his power sanding technique. That is exactly how it was explained to me by Amel guys at the shipyard!! Perspective. Ah, just one more reason I love the French.
Maybe Olivier will let us know precisely when this osmosis treatment was implemented. I think it was late 1985 or early 1986.
Have fun with your Anel. Joel
Joel F. Potter/Cruising Yacht Specialist LLC
THE EXPERIENCED AMEL GUY
954 462 5869 office
954 812 2485 cell
From: amelyachtowners@... [mailto:amelyachtowners@...]
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 6:09 AM
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Fresh water tanks
Miles,
When I bought my 1987 Maramu, the water had been sitting in the tank about 1/3 full for 4 years. I did not drink it as it smelled a bit “swampy”. Upon opening the tanks, I found snails and a considerable growth of black mildew, mainly on the upper portion and undersides of the tank. After a thorough scrubbing and removal of the organics plus flushing the water tank a few times, the water no longer has any smell or taste The interior coating which appears to be gelcoat on my boat is is cracked in a few places and so the water is getting to the laminate in places. There were also a lot of gelcoat chips in the bottom of the tank which were getting into the plumbing and plugging the faucets. The interior of my tank showed no blistering at all but the exterior of the hull which has never been barrier coated also shows no blisters (and no voids when tested with Ultrasonics) so this may be a function of the resin used. When my boat is laid up, I completely drain the tank, open the very fwd and aft access port and run a fan for a couple of days to remove the rest of the moisture. (I was told by Michel Charpentier that this was the best way to leave the tank if the boat will be in storage for a while and it makes sense to me as well) This should reduce the future mildew growth. While the tank water now tastes fine, I have been using bottled water for drinking where possible for personal consumption unless I am out of the bottled water. My long term plan so currently is to recoat the interior of the tank with a safe coating and to then install a low pressure RO unit such as is used in homes (driven by the city water pressure) for the drinking water source.
The 1000L water capacity is a great feature of the boat IMO.
SV Sueno, Maramu #220 1987
Hi there
On previous boats I've had stainless water tanks
My 1985 maramu has the tanks built into the hull. I guess all the Amels of that era did
The water has a pretty unpleasant tang to it so I'll do some tank cleaning
But I'm due to fit a watermaker soon and wondering if I should fit a small additional tank isolated just for drinking Something that is easy to clean etc
I wonder if the tart is due to the water tanks being integral to hull.
I'd be interested to hear if others with a similar original setup have issues with unpleasant taste of water.
Many thanks
Miles
Maramu #162
