TANK OF POTABLE WATER

[ulterius]

Hello proud owners.

In the twilight of my life I decided to buy an old LM27 that is around 40 years old. In all the places where I have investigated it is said that the LM-27 has a capacity of 120 liters of diesel and 120 of drinking water. My boat does indeed have 2 tanks of 60 liters of Diesel, but a single flexible tank of 55 liters for water potable water in the aft engine compartment. Where was the 120-liter potable water tank installed in its original design?

Sorry for the ignorant question.

[jandane]

Port side under the cockpit. There is a manhole for inspection and cleaning of the tank just aft of the wall separating galley and cockpit. Just under the seat

[ulterius]

Thanks for your clarification. I believe that the previous owner chose to double the fuel capacity and installed the bypass that connects both the port and starboard tanks , using them for fuel . I have cleaned both tanks by opening the registers.
If I'm right, you have a single diesel tank on the starboard side and a water tank on the port side, each holding 120 liters. Is that so?

[Sula]

Yes. Fuel tank on the starboard side, water tank port side as standard. They are near identical tanks (though with different fittings), formed by the hull (outside, bottom and rear) and bulkheads (inside and forward) in GRP. (I thought I'd seen them listed as 110 litres each, but have never checked the exact amount.)

I can't imagine why someone would want to use both for fuel (the original starboard side tank is very generously large for a boat of this size), and confused why if they had done so they are listed as 2 x 60 litres. I suspect the information you have been given may not be accurate in all respects.

On my 1979 Mk 1 LM27 each of the tanks is accessed by removing a small square removable section, held down by screws, in the wooden cockpit sole under the side seats (I don't know how it is on the later boats with a GRP cockpit sole).
The port (water one) is right at the front of the cockpit, and once you remove the wood there is underneath it an enamelled metal lid, with a rubber seal and held down by a clamp, covering the top opening in the tank. The water tank outlet comes through into the engine compartment at the bottom of the tank (and has a sight gauge to show how full the tank is).
On the starboard (fuel) side, the removable section in the wooden sole is a little further aft but still under the seat, and when lifted reveals a small metal 'inspection' plate in the top of the tank, which has the engine fuel supply & return pipes and fuel gauge sender through it. There is no outlet at the bottom of the tank.

[ulterius]

Hello Sula. Thanks in advance.

 Everything you say regarding the location is correct. And I have opened both manholes and cleaned both tanks. The starboard tank differs from the port tank in that it has inner panels to prevent fuel agitation and electric level Volvo , and the port tank differs in that it has a visual level on the forward side. But I assure you that both are bay-walked (it can be seen at first glance because it is a thick hose with a disconnector key) and both contain diesel.

The previous owner I bought it from must have navigated it a lot. Its electronics is old, but it has 1 radar, 1 pilot, 2 GPS, 2 VHF, 2 probes/plotter, 1 tridata, bow thruster, 3 battery banks... and even installed side balance keels.

   To clean them I closed the valve and transferred the diesel from one to the other and to an external bottle with an external pump, and then I reversed the operation to clean the other. Then I filled both tanks (they were midway) but for the volume of the bottles (I used 20 liters) and wrong with the manufacturer's information I always thought that each tank had a volume of 60 liters. It does not seem to me that it has 240 liters of gasoil on board .Certainly, with the consumption of the Volvo MD-2040, with 240 liters I can go around the world :-)

   On my opinion, for a long trip it is also important to have drinking water for domestic service, unless you decide to take the deck full of bottles

This is why I was somewhat confused. I am going to change the flexible tank for another 120 liter tank and place the existing 55 liter tank under a hatch that I have opened to take advantage of the wasted bottom that remains under the bottom of the existing floor behind the door under the sink.
I think that at the trim level, it seems more sensible to have the same amount of diesel on both sides as, for example, a full tank of diesel on the footboards and an empty water tank on the port side...

Thanks a lot Sula