Head install

[BPowell]

I have taken on the project of installing a head this winter. I am new to this project and have not seen much on the topic. Where do most exit the waist , waterline or out the bottom? I have thought I will be careful not to go into the ballast. How far is the ballsat from the water line and should we be below or on the water line and with what type of trough hul,l back or side of the boat? I have two fresh water bladders but do not like them as it is very difficult to get the last 1/4 tank out. I hate to give up the bunk but will at last resort.
any insight would be apriciated.

Bruce P

[waternwaves]

Bruce,

Since you are in the in the central provinces, my guess is that no freshwaters allow discharge???,

Most of the waste pump out ports (from your holding tank, are waste tubing to a T-fitting which is also at the same elevation as the bottom of the holding tank. and most put those ports on the flat top of the fiberglass seatbacks..(This allows holding tank pump out from the lowpoint)....rather than under a cushion. If you are interested I'll send a copy of what I have, and what I am changing to on my 96X. some design thougts..

1) If you put in a treatment system, and stay coastal, a really large holding tank is a hassle
2) keeping tanks low helps trim the boat... but makes mascerator pump draining slow.
3) filter the holding tank vent.
4) USe the best hose you can get and replace it when it when odor is detectable
5) try to design an inline system so that the fixtures and hoses do not extend over the aft bunk, and if you can make it a locker or put a sealed enclosure around it with positive ventilation you will be much happier
6) Use the cabinet in the head for valving...

General.. most of the boats I have seen have the discharge line centered about 2 inches above the top of the black trim line on the bottom.

I also recommend a full port 1 1/2" bronze seacock. that is one line that you want maximum diameter, with no reduction at the valve. avavilabe at West marine and all others...

Others have recommended (and I have now) a regular bronze 1 1/2" through hull fitting, and put the valve in the hose, but this restricts the line somewhat. If I can find a a full port valve that has hose fittings I will go with that.

good luck

[BPowell]

I would appreciate any help diagrams or insight. I spend 2 weeks a year on Salt water and have been a Kootanay lake in BC which is the only lake I have herd of that allows discharge. Most of the others have pump outs at dockside.

I purchased most of what I need but they made a few mistakes. The macerator has a 1 1/2 in and 1" out. I have a 9 gallon holding tank and a Y valve for pump out or macerator. 5/8 hose for vent with cap for the outside. What type of filter and where dose it go?

Should we keep all lines as short as possible or would the transom be better for the out put run under the storage area in the back? If the side is used will it make a mess of the side of the boat?

DO YOU GET A SMELL?

So many questions you would think someone would write a book but I have not found one at the library yet.

Bruce

[Sloop John B]

Sounds involved.

A disposable plastic ice cream bucket with a little water in it can solve many emergencies. If you're in port with too many inquiring eyes, there's a lid that comes with this thing that you can clamp onto the top. Then park it away from you. It works pretty swell.

[Dave X2000 Jac]

I'm a little late with my 2 cents worth..... Because we sail for extended voyages in Canada, and because we knew our small SaniPotty is not legal there, I replaced it with the large SaniPotty which has plumb outs on the back. I installed the metal access opening and the small plastic breather on the deck above the head and connected the two sections of flex pipe from head to deck. The only waste holding is in the bottom of the SaniPotty. A macerator has not been needed. We've always gotten plenty of action as we sail and motor. Pumpouts at marinas have been clean and easy. I do feel I'm getting overcharged, since I have to pay the same amount for my 2-4 gallons as the big boats who dump tens of gallons of waste. The "dock boys" have always let me take a hose below to spray the inside of the holding tank a few times to get it very clean. The suction from the metal opening gets the tank almost 100% empty - just a little water left behind. We're very pleased with this choice. One observation we made early on was that "what guys can do standing" fills the holding tank too quickly. We keep some quart-sized, wide-mouth GatorAde bottles in the head sink that we can dump overboard when we are far from shore.
Just my FYI,
Dave "Jac"

[Catigale]

Because we sail for extended voyages in Canada, and because we knew our small SaniPotty is not legal there, I replaced it with the large SaniPotty which has plumb outs on the back.

A bit off thread but can one of Canadian friends bring me up to speed on what regs make the small SaniPotty illegal??

I have a 5 gallon capacity one which works ok for a week out with Barbara and two kids..we make an effort to use external facilities whenever we can...maybe I need to drink more....

[Moe]

Some provinces, such as Ontario, require that any toilet on board have a holding tank AND a deck pumpout fitting (I guess so Porta-Potti owners won't be tempted to dump them overboard). I've always wondered what would happen if we got caught across the border in Lake Erie, in our little open Whaler with the Porta-Potti in the stern area. What deck? LOL!

--
Moe

[Catigale]

Thanks Moe - sounds like a bit of legislation gone mad. I have the deck pumpout which imho makes it HARDER to dump the Porta Potti over the side.......YMMV.....our Marina and most on the Hudson, offer free pumpouts so it's pretty easy to deal with waste where I am...

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I though about plumbing up my large sanipotty this summer, but decided against it specifically for Canada. Perhaps the regs you have to deal with in the lakes are different than in salt water.

Along the BC coast the cruising guides specifically recommended having a system that could pump overboard. In the 2 weeks we were in Canada I don't recall seeing a pump out at any marina we stopped at. There are 5 off limits bays, but other than that you can discharge overboard anywhere else along the Canadian Pacific Coast. We used the restroom facilities to empty at most of our Canadian stops, but did have to dump over the side one time. Not fun. Make sure you have a bucket to rinse off the side of the boat afterwards.

Down here in Washington you can't discharge anywhere, and every marina and almost every park dock has pump outs and porta potty dumps. They are all free to use.

[Mark Prouty]

Thanks Moe - sounds like a bit of legislation gone mad. I have the deck pumpout which imho makes it HARDER to dump the Porta Potti over the side.......YMMV.....our Marina and most on the Hudson, offer free pumpouts so it's pretty easy to deal with waste where I am...

That is one of the stupidest laws I've ever heard of. I'm going to the Noth Channel on Lake Huron this summer and am tempted to ignore it. Hope I don't become a wanted man!!


Man with Porta Potti. Approach with caution. Could be dumping poop overboard. He has never been guilty of this but approach with caution anyway. Likely suspspect could possibly be seen taking a pi$$ off the boat!!

[Catigale]

Duane - correct..the inland regs are completely different from salt water, and on top of that the Great Lakes have a whole new set of regs that span 8 states and 4 provinces if Im not mistaken!!

If I am reading the thread correctly (on the Great Lakes) Canada requires you to have a deck pumpout on your portable MSD (Marine San. Device aka Head) as opposed to a overboard discharge.

WHen I took Coast Guard Safety I was told that not only can you not discharge into the Great Lakes, but you could be fined for having a overboard discharge that was not capped off permanently.

I can't confirm this on the web, but I have observed a lot of boats on the western end of Ontario are capped off from overboard discharge.

Again, the rationale for this isn't too clear imho, but I do know from my cruising buddies in Wilson NY (35 miles from Toronto) that spot checks of gear are common....and fines are steep.....

YMMV

Edited - by 'Canada' above I was referring to the region of the Great Lakes only.

[Jack O'Brien]

Duane wrote:

"Along the BC coast the cruising guides specifically recommended having a system that could pump overboard."

Doesn't the current up there wash everything down to the States?

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

The Canadian approach is to let the current clean everything out. They still have large city sewer discharges that pump the poop out onto their side of the Strait of Juan de fu@.

Unless you are staying for a long time you shouldn't have any problem as an American flagged boat in Canadian waters. They require boat operator certification as well. They also require a VHF radio license. They require paper charts on board no mater how good your electronic ones are.

I'm told none of these rules are enforced on US boats in their waters less than 45 days. I would think the same is true about the deck pump out. They would cite you if the caught you in the act of dumping where it is prohibited.

Don't get the deck pumpout, which can only be used with a vacum pumping machine, with a below the water line overboard pumpout. It's having a method of dumping overboard that is recommended in the guide as there are not many vacum machines to do a deck level pumpout. In our case this is the manual dumping process.

I don't know of any inland US waters that are not 'No Discharge' zones these days. You have to off shore past the 3 mile limit to discharge overboard in US waters.