In Searching of a Manual Pumpout

[Bruce Mitchell]

Dear Peggy,As there is no dock pump-out services for boats at my home port, sailers are installing little port-a-potties in place of their marine heads. There is a pump-out station for campers on shore. As my boat will be kept on it's trailer this summer, I thought I'd look for a hand pump and do the job myself. Many sailers have never heard of such a beast; does one exist? Are there any special considerations when doing this task? Should I take out my marine head and install a portable potty like the rest of the pack?Thanks for your imput.

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

Onboard pumpout isn't hard to make

But it may cost a bit more than you want to spend. Here's what you need:Any good manual diaphragm pump--Whale Gusher would be a very good choice...the same pump you'd install if you wanted to dump the tank at sea...except you're not gonna put a y-valve in the pumpout line to send the waste to a thru-hull, you're gonna pump it out the deck fitting. A length of 1.5" or 2" hose...how long depends on how long it needs to be to reach the inlet on the dump station.A threaded male fitting that screws into the deck pumpout. A cam coupler and the fittings to connect the fitting to the hose (those are the expensive parts).The pump and hose are available from any marine supply. All the fittings are available from SeaLand Technology...800-321-9886. Talk to them before you buy the hose...'cuz pumpout hoses are 2"...I'm not sure they'll fit 1.5" sanitation hose.Install the pump in your pumpout line...thread the fitting into the deck fitting...couple it to the hose...stick the other end of the hose into the dump station...and commence to pumping. Once you've emptied the tank, it's important to rinse it--and the hose--out with plenty of clean water. There is one downside: if you trailer the boat to other waters where there are pumpouts, the pump inline between the tank and the deck fitting won't let you use one. So if you want to set it up to be able to use a pumpout or pump it out yourself, it can be done but it's a bit more complex...I'll explain how to do it if you need to know.