This is my first post in this forum, sorry to intro myself with such filth. Unfortunately that's largely been my intro to the wonderful world of boat ownership. First I would like to say is I have read every forum post I can find and have tried many of the solutions, to no avail.
The boat is a fifteen year old Beneteau 373. The boat is great, clean, and pretty much everything worked from day one, including the head. The PO left the boat in a hurry evidently as all his property transferred, and the waste tank was nearly full. No big deal, I though, but when I went to pump it out I could not get the deck fitting open. Blow torches, all manner of sprays / lubricants, hammers, etc. failed. Annoying, but still no big deal, "I'll just replace the deck fitting since I'm handy" (or at least trying to be, since I really am not).
I bought a new deck fitting and all excited I ripped the old one off. Anyone with a clue probably knows (and would have known) what happened next, what with a totally full tank. PO's seed-filled excrement emerged from its cavernous dwelling at a surprisingly slow slither. Mortified, and also somewhat fascinated, I tried to grab as much as I could to throw overboard but inevitably much found its way back into the boat and into my bilge. I thought, "this freaking sucks but at least it's over" until I realized that I could not, for the life of me, really get the hose back on the deck fitting's barb. I tried using heat guns, boiling water, dish soap as lube. No matter what, I could not get the thing on. Access is terrible and I can barely get two hands on the hose and even then I am literally scraping my arms raw around the access panel frames.
To add insult to injury, I accidentally flushed the electric toilet a couple times and that sent even more disgusting sulphuric black water literally cascading through the seams of the now partially connected pump out hose. Well I was done, I was not handy, I wasn't even sure I was a boater at all. I considered my options, among them just leaving the boat for a decade and hoping that time had broken down all the noxious materials. I settled on using a wood plug which I hammered into the end of the pumpout hose to at least block the smell and prevent further sewage leaks.
Since then, I have contacted someone to replace all my hoses and fix this properly, now that I'd let go of my delusions of being a self-reliant boat owner. But this may not be done for a couple months and I would really, really like to be able to use the boat properly before then. The toilet does "work" now but it's full, and I have no way of emptying it given I am in a no-discharge zone. I'd motor up to Victoria and just dump it all there, except I don't currently have a passport (JK). I absolutely need a toilet to use the boat with my wife. And preferably a non-smelling boat too.
Does anyone have any ideas about how I can connect the hose to the deck fitting for the short term, knowing the fix only need last a couple months or a couple pump-outs? And how can I best get rid of the residual smells?
I have pressure washed the whole section behind the head several times over. That water drains to a basin in my bilge, which for whatever reason does not connect to the main bilge and its pump, so I've been using a wet vac to suck out all the liquid. I have used bleach and enzyme pet cleaner (Pure Ayre), but there's still quite a stink. When the pros come, they will (hopefully) clean it all out when they remove the waste tank, but I'd love to reduce the odors now AND PUMP OUT THE G'D BOAT.
The boat is a fifteen year old Beneteau 373. The boat is great, clean, and pretty much everything worked from day one, including the head. The PO left the boat in a hurry evidently as all his property transferred, and the waste tank was nearly full. No big deal, I though, but when I went to pump it out I could not get the deck fitting open. Blow torches, all manner of sprays / lubricants, hammers, etc. failed. Annoying, but still no big deal, "I'll just replace the deck fitting since I'm handy" (or at least trying to be, since I really am not).
I bought a new deck fitting and all excited I ripped the old one off. Anyone with a clue probably knows (and would have known) what happened next, what with a totally full tank. PO's seed-filled excrement emerged from its cavernous dwelling at a surprisingly slow slither. Mortified, and also somewhat fascinated, I tried to grab as much as I could to throw overboard but inevitably much found its way back into the boat and into my bilge. I thought, "this freaking sucks but at least it's over" until I realized that I could not, for the life of me, really get the hose back on the deck fitting's barb. I tried using heat guns, boiling water, dish soap as lube. No matter what, I could not get the thing on. Access is terrible and I can barely get two hands on the hose and even then I am literally scraping my arms raw around the access panel frames.
To add insult to injury, I accidentally flushed the electric toilet a couple times and that sent even more disgusting sulphuric black water literally cascading through the seams of the now partially connected pump out hose. Well I was done, I was not handy, I wasn't even sure I was a boater at all. I considered my options, among them just leaving the boat for a decade and hoping that time had broken down all the noxious materials. I settled on using a wood plug which I hammered into the end of the pumpout hose to at least block the smell and prevent further sewage leaks.
Since then, I have contacted someone to replace all my hoses and fix this properly, now that I'd let go of my delusions of being a self-reliant boat owner. But this may not be done for a couple months and I would really, really like to be able to use the boat properly before then. The toilet does "work" now but it's full, and I have no way of emptying it given I am in a no-discharge zone. I'd motor up to Victoria and just dump it all there, except I don't currently have a passport (JK). I absolutely need a toilet to use the boat with my wife. And preferably a non-smelling boat too.
Does anyone have any ideas about how I can connect the hose to the deck fitting for the short term, knowing the fix only need last a couple months or a couple pump-outs? And how can I best get rid of the residual smells?
I have pressure washed the whole section behind the head several times over. That water drains to a basin in my bilge, which for whatever reason does not connect to the main bilge and its pump, so I've been using a wet vac to suck out all the liquid. I have used bleach and enzyme pet cleaner (Pure Ayre), but there's still quite a stink. When the pros come, they will (hopefully) clean it all out when they remove the waste tank, but I'd love to reduce the odors now AND PUMP OUT THE G'D BOAT.
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