Reason to leave seacock?

Aug 3, 2012
2,542
Performance Cruising Telstar 28 302 Watkins Glen
I removed my marine head and holding tank in favor of a porta-potty. I also removed the over-board waste water outlet which was below the water line. Thus, I have two unused seacocks.
Is there any reason to leave these in place? I would rather remove them, thus eliminating a possible leaking point if they fail or get hit. I could also just leave them plugged.

Thanks!
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
If you ever contemplate selling your boat, leave them in place. The first thing I would want to do is get that sea-head back in working order and lose the porta potty.
 
Dec 2, 1997
9,011
- - LIttle Rock
You'd regret it Gunni. A marine toilet, tank and all the plumbing eats up at least half the storage on a 22' boat. A self-contained system is the only thing that makes sense...although it doesn't have to be portable. An "MSD" portapotty (fitted for vent and pumpout and intended to be permanently installed) offers all the advantages of a marine toilet and tank without having to give up ANY storage space.
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,613
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
I would remove the seacocks, and plug the holes. An MSD portapotty is a great long term solution for your 22 footer. We have cruised for weeks at a time for 18 summers with this solution on our h27.
 
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Aug 3, 2012
2,542
Performance Cruising Telstar 28 302 Watkins Glen
However, I think the principles apply for both 22 and 28 ft: save the room, decrease complexity.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
I agree with Peggy- I have a MSD, plumbed for pump out in my 25 and have been totally satisfied. Only time I had problems was in Bahamas, where we could not find pumpout stations, so had to revert to over board dump offshore.

Oh, and EVERY through hull on my boat has been removed and the holes glassed over, including the sink drain- it gets lifted out and dumped
 
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Dec 2, 1997
9,011
- - LIttle Rock
I missed the 28' in his signature too...went with his username. However, an MSD portapotty can be an excellent choice for any boat under 30', especially if it's one with limited storage space, or you just don't want all the maintenance that marine toilets, tanks and plumbing require. If any of you are unfamiliar with "MSD" portapotties...

The "MSD" designation in the model name/number means it has fittings for a pumpout line and vent line, and is designed to be permanently installed (actually just sturdier brackets than portables, so you could still take it off the boat if you absolutely have to), which means that although it's still called a PORTApotty, you don't have to carry anything off the boat to empty it.

A 5-6 gallon model holds 50-60 flushes...you'd need at least a 30 gal tank to hold that many from a manual marine toilet. No plumbing needed except a vent line and pumpout hose--so no new holes in the boat...and -0- maintenance needed except for rinsing out the tank--which you can do with a bucket while it's being pumped out. Total cost including the pumpout hose and vent line is about $200--a fraction of what you'd spend for toilet, tank and all the related plumbing needed. And the best part is, you have all the advantages of a toilet and holding tank without giving up a single square foot of storage space.

Check out the Thetford 550P MSD and the Dometic/SeaLand 975MSD Sanipottie

Smaller boats that don't have a head compartment can use a 2-3 gallon model, which holds 25-30 flushes. And are a lot easier to carry off the boat if you actually had to, 'cuz while a full 5-6 portapotty tank--portable or MSD--weighs close to 50 lbs, the 2-3 gallon size is more manageable 25 lbs.
 
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Aug 3, 2012
2,542
Performance Cruising Telstar 28 302 Watkins Glen
I totally agree with Peggy. We removed the head primarily to reduce complexity. We are back at the dock every night, and even if we do anchor out, it would never be more than a night or two. Our Thetford model works perfectly. We carry off the tank after we overnight on the boat. We carry off our wastewater too.