Tankage

Whilst I love my IP465 there are things that frustrate the life out of me. As a general comment the boat is built as a manufacturer would with little thought to usage and future maintenance. An example would be plumbing in general and tankage in particular. Looked at from a customer angle some important questions pop out:

On a blue water boat:

Why is their a single water and fuel tank? All blue water boats should have built in redundancy with at least 2 sources of essentials. In the case of water 3 would be better.
Why is there no inspection hatches on either tank? An easy access remove able plate is essential.
Why is there no simple manual lift pump Or fitting for a brass pump on the fuel tank with a pipe set right at the bottom of the tank, below the feeds for engine and Benny so any sediment or water can be easily cleaned out?
Why is the hot water tank (they have a limited life) fitted in a place where it is impossible to access fittings or lift the tank out Without cutting a new access hatch or removing lots of other equipment (3 fridge compressors and pipe work in our case)
It grieves me to say this but whilst I’d rather sail an Island packet I’d rather maintain a Benetau.

These comments are made with the best interest of the company and Future owners in mind and can be applied to most of the systems on the boat. I’d like to suggest a workshop when the current craziness is over where the factory can listen to feedback and improve the product.

Your comments are certainly valid. Seems like many of the items you suggested could be added fairly easily - inspection hatches, lift pump, and such. Not everyone would agrees with your thoughts on tanks especially with boats smaller than yours. I'm glad to have just one fuel tank and one water tank on Shawnee (IP380). That's enough to take care of. For passages I keep 3 jerry jugs on board for extra fuel, otherwise I just rely on one tank (with lots of spare Racor filters). For water, maybe I've just been lucky with one tank and a water maker. I think Bob Johnson didn't bother with replacement access for items he thought would last the life of the boat (like tanks). Unfortunately waste tanks didn't last that long on most boats. We easily replaced our water heater after 20 years, not because it needed it, but just because it was 20 years old.
Maybe Benetaus need more maintenance