Portable Head

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JV

I purchased my 30' sailboat last year with a direct discharge head and was unable to use it because of the regulations here. This season I am going to install a portable unit for budgetary reasons (graduate school tuition). Do any of you have experience with either of the following units or know of a better make? Thetland 875 (6.1 gal) Sealand 5.2 gal model Thanks for your advice...jv
 
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R.W.Landau

Caution

I had a Sears 6 gallon in my 23 Paceship. It was good and alot of capacity for a weekend and more. The only problem I had was when the holding tank was empty and the flush tank was half full(never filled it completely) on a port tack it rolled off the platform. I was singlehanded at the time and from then on strapped it down. There was no mess. but a good lesson. r.w.landau
 
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david lewis

holding tank option

you should consider adding a holding tank to your existing system. The cost should not be any worse than the portable unit (maybe a bit more if you buy a macerator pump) but you will get a lot more capacity. You can get a manual pump or if there is a pump out boat just use that and not add a pump to yours. good luck. I had a portable on my 25 Catalina and hated it even though it worked fine. It always filled up to fast and was a pain to empty, having a holding tank system is like heaven in comparison. dave
 
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Justin - O'day Owners' Web

And I thought I was the only one . . .

trying to maintain a boat on a grad student budget. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
 
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress

Either is fine, just be sure to...

get the pumpable model--the one that can permanently installed and fitted for pumpout. Otherwise, you'll be struggling to carry 50+ lbs off the boat to empty the tank.
 
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress

Not necessarily, David

Because they use so little flush water, a "pumpable" 5-6 gallon portapotty holds about the same number of flushes as a 15 gallon tank. They sell for about $125. You CAN buy a holding tank that size for less, but the cheap holding tanks only have a wall thickness of about .125"--about 1/3 what it needs to be to support the weight of the contents and resist permeation. Plus his head is gonna need maintenance. For what he wants to do, on his budget (I'm amazed that he thinks he can afford a boat at all!) he's got the right idea.
 
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress

Umm...R.W ?

Portpotties for boats (I'm not sure whether Sear sells any marine models, only camping models) come with hold down brackets to prevent just the problem you describe.
 
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Jim Cook

Justin, you are most definately NOT ALONE!!!

I'll bet there are several of us trying to sail through grad school (I'm finishing in Computer System's Software this semester). Good Luck, JimC
 
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R.W.Landau

Peggy

That is why I brought it up. This was one of those live an learn (while trying to save $$)lessons. r.w.landau
 
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