Head odor

[Pete]

Peggy, we have a one year old C320. This year, per your advice, we have started using fresh water from our sink/shower nozzle for flushing, and K.O. (only) in the tank. We have experienced absolutely no bad odors in the head after the boat has been sitting during the week, which is great! However, we still experience bad, but short-lived, odor after the toilet is used and flushed. We can smell this in the head and the cockpit for about a minute or two, after which it goes away and all is sweet again. Is this from venting when we flush, and is it normal?

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

It's venting from the tank and...

it's unfortunately "normal" for Catalinas because Catalina insists on running the vent into a rail stanchion that has only a very small slit in it. Read the article "holding tank odor--out out the vent" in the HM forum library for the explanation. (You might want to read "Head Related Odors..." too...it explains why you no longer have any odor INSIDE the boat). Moving the vent to a real thru-hull and switching to Odorlos should solve the problem.

 

[Pat Tyler]

Head Oder

Pete, We have had the same problem on our 2001 320. There is a vent for the head located just below the rail and directly above the holding tank. The problem seem to be that it is a small black plastic screw on cover which as Peggy said has only a small slit. It tends to clog very easily and needs to be cleaned every few weeks. Just unscrew it and use a sharp object to clean it out. I'm looking for a different vent cap for mine like the ones used for the fuel and water tanks. That should help solve this ongoing problem.Pat