Holding tanks assessment
 

Greeting.

I am considering purchasing a Robert Tucker 51 (1987 steel). My most
pressing concern is the holding tanks. They are made out of mild steel
and there are no 'view ports'. There are four of them, each a 1000
litres. Two for water and two for deisel. The current owner does not
know how the tanks were originally treated. Is also seems that the hull
makes up part of the tanks (I have seen them described as wing tanks).
If visual inspection is not possible, is there any other method of
accessing the state of the tanks?

If the tanks turned out to be corroded then what are my repair options?

I have been told that I can have the hull thickness measured. This
seems to involve only spot measurements every meter or so. Would this
be sufficient to assess a weakness in the hull caused by corrosion on
the inside of the tanks? Is there a better method?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards
Warren

Holding tanks assessment
 

Get someone to put a camera down in them. There are video/light set
ups on flexible cable that is used to inspect things that can not be
reached otherwise. I watched some guys use one to inspect a sewer line
that ran under a building.

Warren wrote:
Greeting.

I am considering purchasing a Robert Tucker 51 (1987 steel). My most
pressing concern is the holding tanks. They are made out of mild steel
and there are no 'view ports'. There are four of them, each a 1000
litres. Two for water and two for deisel. The current owner does not
know how the tanks were originally treated. Is also seems that the hull
makes up part of the tanks (I have seen them described as wing tanks).
If visual inspection is not possible, is there any other method of
accessing the state of the tanks?

If the tanks turned out to be corroded then what are my repair options?

I have been told that I can have the hull thickness measured. This
seems to involve only spot measurements every meter or so. Would this
be sufficient to assess a weakness in the hull caused by corrosion on
the inside of the tanks? Is there a better method?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards
Warren

Holding tanks assessment
 

You can have them ultrasonically tested, as you should for the entire
hull during the survey process. If you buy it and want to add some
inspection ports, check these out. I used them in my fuel tanks and am
very happy with them.
http://www.seabuilt.com/