Cleaning water tanks

[svsurprise]

Has anyone with a 44 w/o cleaned out their water tanks and if so, how did you do it?  The inspection ports are fairly easy to remove but I'm not sure if a pressure washer wand will get in there or whether a brush is a better method.  At this point I don't know what the condition of the tanks is but having a bad experience with fouled tanks on another boat many years ago has me thinking about cleaning them out before heading south next week.

Many thanks in advance for any input.
Don

[svsurprise]

In a haste to get the boat ready for the trip south I answered my own question.  After removing the inspection port I poured in a large quantity of bleach (1/8 cup to 10 gals), filled both tanks with water, and let them soak for two+ hours.  I also opened all the faucets and ran them until I could detect the smell of chlorine.  I then scrubbed the small amount of algae and bio slime off with a deck brush.  The brush gave me access equivalent to what the pressure washer would have provided, maybe a bit more.  The system was drained and all the sediment in the bottom of the tanks was vacuumed out. The system was then flushed with copious amounts of fresh water, all the filters were replaced, and the inspection ports replaced. 

Heading to the Bahamas this weekend.  I hope to see some of you there.

Don
SV Surprise

[Ken Stanley]

Hey Don, I recently purchased a CSY 37B and am trying to empty and clean out the water tanks on both starboard and port sides.  I'm having difficulty getting the square access panel off as it is calked around the sides.  I've taken the screws out.  I have tried taking the screws out of the large plywood so I can try to get a wedge underneath the access panel however the plywood appears to be attached to the outside edge along the hull.  I've tried lifting the plywood after I took all the screws out and where the fiberglass meets the plywood, and it is bending the fiberglass.  Can you offer some advice?

Thanks,

Ken Stanley

[svsurprise]

Ken,
By your description it sounds like the tanks on the 37 and the 44 are different.  I did not have a problem with any adjoining plywood.  The square panels on my boat were caulked with silicon so they were easy to pull up after using a chisel to get it started.

Good luck,
Don