Installing a head and holding tank

[Crazer]

My Rhodes Swiftsure currently lacks a head and holding tank. Unfortunately the original (likely bronze) head was removed in the distant past and the old through hulls capped off. I have a Wilcox Crittenden Imperial head off another Swiftsure but sadly Thetford seems to have to discontinued the rebuild kit for this type so for now I'm going to put in a cheapo Jabsco head, which I pulled off a Hanse that I put a Vacuflush in last year. When I have a little extra cash I'll probably spring for a Raritan PHII since they seem to be reliable and rate consistently high in "head to head" (ha) tests of manual marine toilets.

Since there's nothing in the boat, I'll be running all new hoses and installing all new fittings. I chose Dometic's MaxFlex hose for this project, as it's cheaper and more flexible than the Odorsafe hose I've used professionally. It may need to be replaced sooner but I'll be less hesitant when the time comes since it's half the price of the Odorsafe stuff! The tank is a 14 gallon Ronco (Part no. B160) which will fit nearly perfectly in the cavity under the v-berth. I am a little conflicted about taking up that much storage space since my eventual goals include serious cruising with occasional offshore trips but I feel that the benefits outweigh the concerns. If I change my mind I can always put in a smaller tank before I take the boat on serious trips.

I'm going to try and document this project on here with some photos and a write up. I just got the tank today, I hope to start next week but I start a new job Tuesday doing canvas (no more toilets) so we'll see how that goes.

[Godot]

I don't think you will find 14 gallons to be too much if you are doing any serious cruising. The darn things seem to fill up fast. I've gone the composting (Nature's Head) route which seems simpler (and let me remove a twenty gallon holding tank). I like it. But it ain't small. Or cheap. And some folks just don't like 'em.

[Crazer]

I am one of those people who just doesn't like composting heads. I will have a y-valve for overboard discharge outside of the legal limit, and maybe an overboard discharge pump eventually. My last boat had a six gallon tank  :o That was not a great situation.

[CharlieJ]

well, I have  a Dometic head (like  a porta potti) with  five and a half gallon tank. It's plumbed for pumpout. Cruising with two we'd go 5-7 days between  pumpouts, after  I began singlehanding I could go 14-15 days.  Been in use now since 2009, with no problems

I do not use it for urine, other than incidentally

On the gulf and east coasts, pump out stations are easy to find, and many have no charges.

I have thought about a composting head but the space is too short for any I've found.

[Godot]

Actually, on my seafarer I had a porta potti style had plumbed for pump out and it lasted awhile. The much larger holding tank on the Bayfield didn't last much longer. I think it was because of all the pumping necessary to get the lines clear. Lots of water.

The pumpable portapot, especially if it can still be removed for manual dumping, definitely had some cruising advantages. Dump it over the side when three miles off shore, and pump when possible in shore. The simplicity and low cost are extra benefits.

[CharlieJ]

Dump it over the side when three miles off shore, and pump when possible in shore.

West coast of Florida it's 6 miles

[Crazer]

That's a lot further out. Around here it's one mile offshore. Of course in the bay you're rarely more than a mile from shore so in practice it's useless unless you're on the ocean side. But the DNR has a good program that subsidizes pump out station installation which means they're very common. I suspect other states have similar programs. A good number of boats still have treat and discharge systems which are likely to be obsolete in the near future as states move to increase no discharge zones.

I dry fit the tank in the v-berth. There's about two hundred pounds of lead ingots up forward that need to be removed for the tank to fit. I'll move most of it aft a little bit for now, but I'd like to remove it eventually since I'm not keen on having lead lying around the bilges especially with little animals and, eventually, children aboard. The platform that the head sits on has some rot so I'll cut it out and replace it with a new piece. I also need to repaint the head as a whole.

[Crazer]

Not much to report but the head project is slowly moving forward. We're going to my parent's for the holidays and I'm planning on using my dad's shop to build a new platform for the head and a new countertop. To that end, I removed both from the boat to replicate. I'm planning on doing Formica for the countertop. I would have liked to have done Corian but I think that's a bit beyond my capabilities right now.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, I was in a hurry and the sun was shining right in the portlight.

[markwesti]

We started out with a Rairitan PHII 20+ yrs. ago it was about $300 . now it's about $800. It's probably worth it as after all this time it was still working but needed a rebuild . Also the flush/dry dial was getting pretty stiff . Last July I needed to snake out the lines , they get calciumed up about once every 10 yrs. (we use fresh water to flush) and the marina water is hard . Anyhow I got the Jabsco , I think out the door it was $ 120 . We are very pleased with it .