Peggy,
Just for fun I looked up a "conversation" we had back in 2009.
I wrote:
"When we got our Hunter 37C 9 years ago one of the first problems we faced was that the holding tank was shot. We needed to deal with it but were short of time and money. Walking through a marine store we spotted a Sealand Traveler that had been returned and was in their bargain section. At the time it seemed like a good temporary solution. 9 years later it seems like a great permanent solution.
The advantages are:
1 It needs no power to operate – even if there was no pressurized house water you could still flush with a jug
2 Anything that will drop down through the hole can be harpooned and retrieved through the hole – with the flush valve open you can see the whole inside of the tank. The system is bomb proof.
3 Every now and again we do a gourmet clean out where we hit the walls and bottom of the tank with water jetted from a hose and keep pumping out until it is pristine.
4 With judicious use you have complete control over how much water is needed for a flush. I added a valve in the fresh water supply so it can be cut off with the flush valve open. When used by “experts” it is amazing how the tank capacity can be eked out.
5 With an integral tank you save on all kinds of piping, valves and space elsewhere in the boat.
6 The tanks is translucent so you can see the level.
The downside is that the tank does not have a very large capacity, either 6.5 or 9.5 gallons, but as mentioned above, it can be put to good use. "
You replied:
"I've always liked that system
It's the SeaLand 711 M28 Traveler...and everything John says about it is true. It's really just a glorified MSD portapotty, but I like to think of it as a "poor man's VacuFlush" 'cuz it uses the same bowl assembly.
It has only one possible drawback: the tank footprint--approx. 20 x 22--is too big to fit in the head on most sailboats. Defender has it for the best price:
SeaLand Traveler at Defender "
You also corrected me saying it is available in a 6.5 gallon version, which is not true.