Tankless in Seattle!

With very careful planning of each cut, and the use of several sawzall blades, the top of the tank was fianlly cut off. The picture shows it after the most difficult section - the one which included the center baffle - had been removed. We thought long and hard about each cut, and used ropes to hold cables and hoses out of harm's way.   I am happy to report that no hoses were nicked, nor were any cable scratched in the process.

After removing the center top section, we had to find a way to provide space at the front to the tank (to the right in the picture) for the saw blade as it passed thru the tank wall.  It was not possible to move the tank away from the wall because it was nearly jammed up against the generator (at the left in the picture).  So the next step meant cutting away a foot or so of the aft portion of the tank so that it could be slid away from the bulkhead.  Doing this was pretty tricky, in that I didn't want the saw blade to cut into the structure of the boat under the tank. 

I won't bore you with any more details.  The job is done, and the pieces of the tank are piled on the dock.  Now, what remains is to do a thorough cleanup of the space.  There is 30 years worth of accumulated guck there, combined with the saw cuttings and just general dirt.

I will need to make a floor board, and following  the cleaning, paint will be needed.  Someday I hope to be able to show you a picture of that.

But for now, we are enjoying the first really warm weekend we've had in Seattle - a wonderful evening on the dock in the (finally!) warm air.

Tankless in Seattle!