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I have an early model west coast Triton (hull number 106) which I understand has a deep bilge under the fiberglass sole which serves as a built-in water tank. A fellow west coast Triton (hull number 256) owner (Ray Alsup) has pictures of the bilge on his website which I have copied here (sorry Ray I did not ask for your permission to post here first - let me know if you disapprove it).
As Ray eloquently puts it "...folks at TAP Plastics who gave me the same recommendation given to those traveling to Mexico: 'enjoy yourself but don't drink the water.' " I also do not feel that water is safe for drinking regardless the condition of the built-in tank. And since I would like to keep the bilge area for drinking water storage I am planning to install a plastic or stainless steel tank. However, I have already installed the teak and holy sole on top of the original fiberglass sole and would like to preserve the it if at all possible. Therefore, the only way I can think of to install the water tank is by cutting out as a large opening in the precisely the right location as possible. Having installed the teak and holy sole means that I do no have the luxury of cutting out a test hole first and patch it up (I guess I could if I don't care about the cosmetics of such a surgical scar). Therefore, I am desperately in need of the measure of the location and dimension of the built in bige water tank. Anyone could help me with that information will be much apprecaited.
I received the following information from Ray Alsup (Pegasus) that I thought I will share with everyone interested - Thank you Ray!
Hi Ray...sorry for the delay but I try to avoid the delta when it has triple digit temperatures. However I took advantage of the cool spell this week and went down for a couple of days and also took some measurements and photos.
>...i.e. how far forward does the deep part go from the bulkhead that separates the actual bilge from the tank...
Tank measurements taken at the bilge/water tank bulkhead: 6" wide at bottom, 12" at top, 23" high. Length from the bulkhead to the step: 18".
>...how wide can I safely cut the sole with a jigsaw without the fear of cutting into the hull
My opening is 10" wide (side to side) at the center of the sole and 3" forward of the bulkhead. My cuts running fore and aft with the sole are 21"
I used a standard jig saw and blade (about 4" long.) Uusing the same size blade, I could have probably gone to a 12" x 24" opening safely.
Width of tank at the step was 7.5" at bottom and 9" at top of step.
You could go further forward but distance from top to bottom of the step would be less than 23" because from the top of the step to water inlet is an incline. At the forward end of my cutaway the height is 11" from the bottom of the sole to the incline. There are also 2 tubes glassed into the side of the tank between the bulkhead and the step that I assume are for structural purposes. Some of the sole support structure was cut away so I added 2 supports (one on each of the hole) to add support to the sole. My overall cut is 10" x 21" but the opening with hatch supports installed is 8" x 19.5". I always had a carpet over the area but after removing it to take the measurements, I was not happy with what I saw. I think I had better get busy and put in the bambo flooring I have been looking at ;-)
Hope this helps. If you have any more questions please let me know and I'll be happy to try and answer them. I included a couple of photos that my help you get a better idea what the tank looks like.
