Store boat with empty or full water tanks?

[john_morris_uk]

I don’t normally worry but it’s the tropics and the research I’ve done offers conflicting advice. Our original plan was to add some water purification stuff and leave them full. A couple of the www checklists for leaving your boat in the tropics suggest empty. I can’t make up my mind. Any suggestions? We’re looking at four months in the tropical heat.

 

[geem]

I don’t normally worry but it’s the tropics and the research I’ve done offers conflicting advice. Our original plan was to add some water purification stuff and leave them full. A couple of the www checklists for leaving your boat in the tropics suggest empty. I can’t make up my mind. Any suggestions? We’re looking at four months in the tropical heat.

Empty them before you leave.
When you return, fill to 1/4 full with a strong chlorine mix. Run it through all the taps/ pipes for a few mins. Fill tank to the brim and leave over night. Empty tank next day. Fill it and use it. Change the carbon filter and off you go.
It's amazing how dirty thr pipes get. Ours run brown when we do this. It's not rust

 

[Stingo]

What Geem says, plus add a decent dose of chlorine a few hours before you empty the tanks before your departure

 

[Beneteau381]

I don’t normally worry but it’s the tropics and the research I’ve done offers conflicting advice. Our original plan was to add some water purification stuff and leave them full. A couple of the www checklists for leaving your boat in the tropics suggest empty. I can’t make up my mind. Any suggestions? We’re looking at four months in the tropical heat.

I delivered a boat from Almerimar to Albufeira a few years back. Ithad been on the hard for over twelve months, tanks had quite a bit of water in them. Switched the pump on and it stunk as it came out of the taps.
I pumped them out, put abiut a quarter of a tank in with lots of standard bleach. Ran it through and emptied them.
Then refilled. The moral of the story, any left in will fester. Do as Geem suggests

 

[TonyMS]

I delivered a boat from Almerimar to Albufeira a few years back. Ithad been on the hard for over twelve months, tanks had quite a bit of water in them. Switched the pump on and it stunk as it came out of the taps.
I pumped them out, put abiut a quarter of a tank in with lots of standard bleach. Ran it through and emptied them.
Then refilled. The moral of the story, any left in will fester. Do as Geem suggests

In Greece we leave the boat with full tanks dosed with Milton. Never had a problem.

 

[Stingo]

Grenada, is very unlikely to get hit by a hurricane, but if it does, and if your boat gets knocked or blown over, empty water tanks have zero inertia, thereby reducing the risk of internal damage.

BTW, hurricane Ivan was their last one and that was in 2004. It was forecast to swing north and miss Grenada. Alas, the forcasters got it wrong.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Thanks

Grenada, is very unlikely to get hit by a hurricane, but if it does, and if your boat gets knocked or blown over, empty water tanks have zero inertia, thereby reducing the resk of internal damage.

BTW, hurricane Ivan was their last one and that was in 2004. It was forecast to swing north and miss Grenada. Alas, the forcasters got it wrong.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Tanks flushed with chlorine and left empty and then flushed again makes perfect sense.

 

[geem]

Grenada, is very unlikely to get hit by a hurricane, but if it does, and if your boat gets knocked or blown over, empty water tanks have zero inertia, thereby reducing the risk of internal damage.

BTW, hurricane Ivan was their last one and that was in 2004. It was forecast to swing north and miss Grenada. Alas, the forcasters got it wrong.

We were their for the aftermath. It's the reason why I will never leave my boat in a yard in Grenada. A lot of terrible things went on

 

[Frank Holden]

Full tanks.
Worked for two years in Ecuador during the covid thing.
Pumped it all out and replaced it on return to the boat.

 

[MontyMariner]

Tanks flushed with chlorine and left empty and then flushed again makes perfect sense.

The only thing I can see as a possible problem with empty tanks is that any crap left inside the tanks could harden in the heat then be more difficult to remove on your return.