Our head is pretty small and is our biggest compromise with this boat. We wanted two heads or one head with a separate shower stall. Instead we got one small head and shower combo. Not much we can do about it now, but we are planning to get a better toilet, replace all the old, smelly piping, maybe add a small ceiling hatch or vent fan, change the counter tops to solid surfacing and change out the sink faucet and shower.
As part of the headliner demolition, we also tore out the Formica walls. The adhesive used on the Formica walls was different than whatever it was on the side walls, and it peeled off much easier. We’re also updating the lighting, but that story is on the Electrical System page.
We briefly thought about abandoning the existing holding tank in place and putting a new holding tank in the bilge forward of the water tank and closer to the toilet. Unfortunately, there’s not enough room for a decent sized tank in that area so we’re stuck with the existing holding tank (which is only about 15 gallons (we found this out the hard way)) at the back of the boat, the toilet at the front, and sanitation hose snaking through the bilge. When we removed all the old sanitation hose, we realized it was barely used and that something was clogging the inlet to the holding tank. Rich tried soaking it with CLR, but it wouldn’t budge so he cut the existing inlet nozzle off and installed a new one.
We also wanted to “clean” out the holding tank before we started to use it so we tried to put some water in it (found it was already over-full) with a Camco enzyme cleaner, let it sit for a couple days, then had Winnie the Pooh suck it out. Then we put a Camco drop-in enzyme additive (it’s a holding tank additive that’s supposed to promote the growth of the good, poop eating bugs) in the toilet and flushed it with a couple quarts of water.
We installed a vent line filter on the holding tank since ours didn’t have one. I love Practical Sailor magazine. They reviewed a bunch of vent line filters and the Big Orange Filter was the best. It’s also one of the least expensive and replacing the filter media is cheap. We probably would have bought a more expensive one from Port Supply if we hadn’t read their reviews because you can’t buy the Big Orange Filter anywhere but on their website.
We also decided to remove the manual holding tank discharge via the manual bilge pump located in the center of the boat. Instead we are going to install a manual discharge pump in the engine room. Now the bilge isn’t so confusing with hoses and valves everywhere.
UPDATE 12/18/2015 – We bought a Raritan Electroscan marine sanitation device. We came to the realization that the holding tank is just too small so with this device pump-outs won’t be an issue. We’ll update this page after the installation.
Equipment we installed
- Lavac Toilet
- Shields Rubber Poly X Sanitation hose (1 1/2″)
- Shields Rubber Series 162 Polyester Reinforced Clear PVC Tubing (3/4″)
- ABA of America Heavy-Duty 316 Stainless Steel Hose Clamps (SAE 28 & SAE 12)
- Big Orange Filter on the holding tank vent line
- Tank monitor
- Delta faucet
- Round stainless steel sink
- New potable water plumbing and sink drain plumbing
- Corian Countertop
- White Formica – walls and ceiling
- Shower and shower curtain (not installed yet)
- New manual discharge pump in engine room (not installed yet)
- Electroscan Type I Marine Sanitation Device and salt water feed tank
Raritan Electroscan Type I Marine Sanitation Device
Since we installed the Electroscan we haven’t used the holding tank once. Even anchoring out, we still use it over the holding tank though it costs us about 25 amps. We installed it under the forward port settee seat. It requires salt to “sanitize” the waste by separating the chlorine from the sodium molecule (NaCl).
Since we’re in freshwater we had to install a salt feed tank into the loop. The salt tank is a 5 gallon bucket with a float valve with a freshwater feed into the tank to dissolve the solar salt. So when we pump the toilet water from the salt tank and water from outside the boat mix together to push the waste to the Electroscan where it’s macerated and treated. It’s legal to use this type of MSD in most places in California (there are a few places that do not allow any discharge), including where we live. We installed a valve to switch between the holding tank and the Electroscan so we have that option as well.
Videos
Removing the wall covering in the head
Rebuilding the Shower
