Update O'Day 26 Head

[Captain Dave24313]

Peggie,I just purchased a 1985 O'Day 26 and as the broker said, the head is not her best feature. It appears functional but if I choose to replace it with an electric head, do you recommend the Raritan SeaEra? We will use the boat in freshwater and an occasional saltwater trip.This boat has a little Yanmar diesel, standard 15 gal fresh water tank, two batteries, and will usually be charged with a solar charging system. Should I use sea water or freshwater and what do you recommend for this size boat?

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

IMO electric on a 26' sailboat is overkill

I doubt there's even room for one in the head compartment. If I were you, I'd go with manual Raritan PH II, or the PHC, which is the same pump but on a compact base to fit in a tighter space.Or better yet, reclaim all the storage space that's been sacrificed to the tank and plumbing by replacing the whole system with a self-contained system. A 5-6 gal portapotty designed to be permanently installed and fitted for pumpout requires no plumbing except a vent and pumpout hose...flush water is in a reservoir...and will hold more flushes than your 15 gal tank connected to any manual toilet. Check out the Thetford 875MSD and 885 MSD models here: http://www.thetford.com/marine_series.cfm The 885 MSD is even available in an electric version powered by 6 AA batteries.

 

[Captain Dave24313]

Overkill are me

Peggie,What me, overkill, naaaaa. As usual, you make great points and caught me wanting to do something I should have done on some of my bigger boats in the past. I will evaluate all my options early this spring and take some measurements and maybe service the existing unit. Thank you very much.