Marine head on a 1972 Macgregor Venture 24

[Kenflyet]

I am looking at purchasing a 1972 MacGregor Venture 24. It has a marine head.
A couple of questions:

1. Did Macgregor install marine heads on the 1972 model sailboat or was the marine head and aftermarket installation/purchase?
2. Did this model have a holding tank that needs to be pumped out?
3. Is there a macerator pump installed in this model sailboat?

Thanks

 

[sail sfbay]

Assuming you will have a marine survey:

2. Surveyor to confirm holding tank and pumpout fitting.
3. Surveyor to confirm if there is a macerator pump.

 

[topcat0399]

I am looking at purchasing a 1972 MacGregor Venture 24. It has a marine head.
A couple of questions:

1. Did Macgregor install marine heads on the 1972 model sailboat or was the marine head and aftermarket installation/purchase?
2. Did this model have a holding tank that needs to be pumped out?
3. Is there a macerator pump installed in this model sailboat?

Thanks

Unless this boat has been owner modified, it likely came from the factory with a plastic port-a-potty type head that has a removable tank you can carry away to dump. Nasty.

I converted mine to a bucket/wag bag system. Still looks like a port-a-potty though...

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

1. Did Macgregor install marine heads on the 1972 model sailboat or was the marine head and aftermarket installation/purchase?
2. Did this model have a holding tank that needs to be pumped out?
3. Is there a macerator pump installed in this model sailboat?

It's entirely possible that a manual toilet was installed by the builder, but there's no way the toilet on the boat now could possibly be that toilet. In fact, it's unlikely that any working "machinery" on a 50 yr old boat is still original. But depending on the make/model/age of the toilet that's on the boat now, you may want to replace it with a self-contained system. We can talk about that after you've bought the boat. If you're serious about it, I agree with the suggestion you hire a marine surveyor (the marine equivalent of a pre-purchase home inspection) and make any offer contingent on survey and sea trial.

Holding tanks were not required until the early 80s, so any holding tank on the boat now had to been added by a previous owner. Any macerator pump would also have to have been owner installed after it became necessary to add a holding tank because there'd be no need for one without a tank. It would be illegal to use one on any inland waters or coastal waters within 3 miles of the nearest point on the whole US coastline.

--Peggie

 

[dlochner]

Several folks have suggested hiring a surveyor and in general that is good idea if you are unfamiliar with how boats are built and what could go wrong. On a 40 year old boat of pretty low value a surveyor could easily cost almost as much as the boat itself. A quick search found the asking price of similar boats to be well under $5K. Find a knowledgeable friend to look at the boat with you, lunch and a case of beer will a lot less expensive and he may share the beer.