Marine Head vs. portapottie

[Helena Machado]

We have a 1985 Catalina 25 equipped with a Portapottie. We came across information about a Sea Land Vacuflush Head that appear to be small enough to retrofit into our boat. We hate the emptying of the pottie, and are very curious about what may be known about the SeaLand product and its ability to retrofit into our boat. Is there anyone who has done this kind of retrofit? Is it a good idea? Are there other models/manufacurers that are more suitable for this boat? Thanks.

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

Off the shelf

Stop in at any boat store like West Marine to get a sense of their head systems. They pump water from the river/lake into the commode, and from there into a holding tank. Check any comparable 85 Catalina for the setup. I'm surprised it wasn't already built in. To make your life easier, you can avoid the raw-water intake entirely if you keep a gallon of fresh water on hand to use for flushing instead.

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

Not suitable for your boat

For one thing, the VacuFlush costs about $1,000 plus installation (only a dealer can install it) which averages at least another $1,000. For another, by the time you find room for the vacuum tank, vacuum pump (or combination "vacuum generator) AND a holding tank--all of which are components separate from the bowl assembly, you won't have enough storage space left for an extra roll of toilet paper, much less anything else. You can see all this for yourself on the SeaLand website (link below).If you replace your portapotty with anything other than another self-contained system, you'll still have to install a holding tank...and unless the boat already has one, a thru-hull and seacock for the toilet flush water intake. You'd also be trading carrying the portapotty off the boat for a whole lot of additional maintenance. However, there IS a solution:Replace your small 2-3 gal portable portapotty with a larger 5-6 gallon model permanently installed and fitted for pumpout. No new plumbing except a pumpout hose and vent line ...twice the capacity, and it pumps out like any other holding tank.