Water holding tank

[Ken M.]

Thank you all who replied on my head replacement question. Since I am a new boat owner and a new sailor you all may get real sick of some of my stupid questions, but here is another one -- in the anchor well there is a flush cap on the floor marked water which I assume is where you fill the tank, there is also a white 1/2"to3/4" hose over on the port side that comes thru the floor and is bent in a upside down u and capped off. Is this a vent tube or what, and if so, should there be some sort of opening on the end, right now it is tapped solid. Also, the hose itself is cracked and is going to have to be replaced. Thanks in advance for any help.Ken M.

 

[Tim Schaaf]

You are correct...

They are indeed the fill and the vent, and the vent should be unblocked. My boat had the vent attached to a little vent going through the port side of the hull. Eventually, I disconnected that and looped the hose up under the bow cleat and back down in the anchor locker. So the tank vents into the anchor locker,

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

Yes...that's a vent

And if you look at the "cap" closely, I think you'll find it has a slit in it, probly on the bottom. That slit--as well as the one on your holding tank vent--CAN get clogged up, so it's very important to inspect it regularly and keep it clear. Or you can do as Tim suggests. (You canNOT do that with a waste holding tank, however...because methane is flammable all holding tanks MUST be vented to the outside of the boat). The nominal size of the vent hose is 5/8" ID. You want to replace it with white schedule 148 white hose rated for sanitation and potable water. And you might want to read the articles in the Head Mistress forum Reference Library--especially "Fresh Water Maintenance"--to know how to maintain your fresh water system. When you've worked your way to the sanitation system, let me know...it definitely has a learning curve!

 

[Ben]

My vent hose

That is a vent hose and mine is led to a thru hole just below the hull deck joint. I've not gotten any salt water in it, seems to work great.