Lampshade and holding tank questions.

[flopster12000]

Hello everyone,

My first post. We bought a 1989 Morgan 41 from Green Cove Springs in Florida in Fall of 2008, and sailed it home to Newfoundland Canada. Everyone thought we were nuts as we left to sail northbound in mid september. We made it home on Oct 16, and other than a little bit of bad weather off Halifax, had a wonderful trip.

Couple of questions, One of the two Nautical Chart style lampshades in main salon, got water damaged, and needs to be replaced. Does anyone know where to get the shade, or maybe whole lamp.

Holding Tank Smell.

One of first complaints my wife had when We arrived home with boat was sewage smell. I had both tanks cleaned out in Conn. And from there on, we went offshore, and never used them. I have used Bleach, Orange Cleaner, Bilge Cleaner, Tank Cleaner and everything else to try and get rid of smell. I thought that when I put the boat to bed in December for winter, I had the smell conquered, but alas, When we went out to remove winter cover, and went forward, the smell was still there and very strong. Any suggestions on how to fix this permanently. All hoses have been replaced, and the only left to smell is the actual tank. I won't be using it this summer, as in our province, there is no overboard discharge policy for holding tanks. Is there any chemical or procedure I should follow, in order to clear up this problem.

Appreciate your advise,

Jerry and Sylvia Belbin

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Unless the tank is leaking, it's not your culprit

Holding tanks are rarely, if ever, the source of odor INSIDE a boat...'cuz unless a tank is leaking, odor from inside the tank has only one place to go: out the tank vent. So trying to get rid of odor inside a boat by deodorizing the inside of a tank is just chasing your tail.

My guess is, your odor is residual odor from the old hoses that has attached itself to to the surfaces in the areas the hoses passed through and in the locker where the tank is.

There are also other likely sources. I get calls all the time from people who've torn out their entire sanitation system trying to get rid of what they thought was "head" or holding tank odor, when all they really needed to do was clean their bilges and sumps--really CLEAN 'em and flush ALL the dirty water out, instead of only dumping more bleach and bilge cleaner into 'em....'cuz the water in wet dirty bilges and sumps is a real "primordial soup" that can easily make a boat smell like a swamp or even sewer. The chain locker is prob'ly the most overlooked source of odor on a boat...'cuz the same sea water "critters" that die and decay in the head intake line, resulting in odor that'll knock you off your feet with the first flush after the boat has sat are also dying, decaying and stinking in the chain locker.

So you need to THOROUGHLY clean, rinse and then dry out your bilges, sumps and chain locker...and the locker where the tank is located. After you've done that, spray every surface, nook and cranny in the areas where your sanitation hoses passed through with a microbial (NOT a chemical!!!) pet accident odor eliminator. If you were here in the US, I'd recommend that you buy a gallon of PureAyre http://www.pureayre.com and put it in a pump garden spray jug for this job...but unless you can find it in Canada, the shipping cost would be prohibitive.

And I suggest you also check out the link in my signature.

Btw...what's the make/model/age of the toilet? And when was the last time--if ever--that it's had new seals, o-rings, joker valve etc...iow, a "rebuild kit" installed?

 

[CalebD]

I second everything Peggie has said and will only add that her book is the be all end all answer to head questions and protocols.
I use the raritan 'KO' tank treatment she recommends and I swear by it.
I hate that smell too.

 

[flopster]

Thanks for advise

Thanks for the quick responses to both CalebD, and PeggyHall

I have some of that microbial pet cleaner, and will try this on Friday when we go back to the boat. Our nearest storage yard is over an hour away. I will check the models of heads when, and let you know which model is installed after Friday.

Thanks again. Jerry and Sylvia Belbin

 

[Travler]

Hi Jerry & Sylvia,
We have an 1987 Morgan 41, which I suspect is much like yours. After Hurricane Ivan we had no place to pump out for almost a year around here. With Peggy's help and advice, we replaced the aft holding tank with an Electro-Scan sanitation device and have never looked back. It has greatly simplified our trips and it fit neatly into a smaller area and freed up some more room for storage. If you decide to go that route, though, be sure that you run adequate sized wires, and keep the wire runs as short as possible.
Good Luck!
Steve & Karen Young