Heads Up: Toilet advice please

[Romeo]

Won't get very far in most the English canals with that sort of boat as it is too wide. You are restricted to 6'10" to fit the 7' wide locks.

Not planning to visit any English canals. Scottish canals are a bit more accommodating of seagoing vessels. I do want to be able to spend time in the Caledonian and transit the Crinan. Being able to cross the country on the Forth and Clyde would be a bonus. It would also be a bonus to be able to use the heads whilst on the canals.

 

[Romeo]

With the 3 of of us, and a larger cassette toilet, 3 days was very good going. With a porta-potti it would be a daily job (no pun intended) so that might well be a limiting factor. ..

So again please forgive my ignorance, is a cassette toilet just a more commodious version of a portapottie, where similar chemicals are used and the tank bit is separated for disposal, or is there something more to it?

 

[vyv_cox]

I have a Colvic Northerner 26 ft. It is enormously spacious and although the heads on ours is small I could easily fit a 50 litre holding tank under the wheelhouse floor or under a forward berth if I needed to. No need to buy a custom one as a standard Vetus would fit.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Thanks both. Without wishing to be indelicate about the matter, how often does one need to empty a portapottie (er, can one go for a week with four on board?), what facilities are required for emptying it?

Portapottis flush with fresh water, which can be a significant limitation. There are, or perhaps were, others which like the blue portable toilets in fieldd flush using the waste water, which has powerful disinfectant it in and a filter so that only, erm, liquid makes it to the flush. These can go a lot longer between emptying, as more room can be given to the storage of waste.

I have a Portapotti-type one which I bought from Lidl for not very much. I have never used it, but plan to when trips in the Longboat start happening.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Sea water or canal water is fine to flush with although it is said to make the rubber seals go hard. These are cheap to replace.
Top tip for emptying is to put on marigolds before you start.

 

[Tammany]

Thetford 365 or if you are really posh a thetford excellence. Both are available with a hold down kit for boat use.

 

[Tammany]

Plus you can get bio friendly chemicals nowadays which are good to go overboard in the sea.

 

[Tranona]

Not planning to visit any English canals. Scottish canals are a bit more accommodating of seagoing vessels. I do want to be able to spend time in the Caledonian and transit the Crinan. Being able to cross the country on the Forth and Clyde would be a bonus. It would also be a bonus to be able to use the heads whilst on the canals.

OK, so conventional sea toilet plus holding tank is still the best compromise. As Vyv says on that sort of boat you will find room to fit a decent size holding tank, although you might need to go to a pumped system if the actual toilet compartment does not have bulkhead space. A little more complicated, but a very common arrangement for retrofit installations.

 

[Happy Dayz]

When i first got my boat and equipped it with PP (PortaPotti) I was in fear and trembling of the dreaded emptying task.
The reality is as previously said that while its not the favorite task, properly used chemicals and the design of the PP make it not too bad.
When i read of the dramas that people have with sea toilets and holding tanks and sea cocks, I appreciate the simplicity of the PP.
There is really nothing to go wrong with a PP.
The other factor is where you are going to be cruising. In the inshore bays and estuaries i sail, discharge of sewage is prohibited.
This either means toilet and holding tank with all the complexities and things to go wrong, or a PP.
On the flip side, there are often well maintained public toilets ashore and all crew are encouraged to avail themselves of these facilities which lightens the burden on the PP. Probably similar in your canals?
Gentlemen may also discretely pee in a bucket (daytime) or over the side at night which again reduces the load on the PP. ( the extraordinary phosphorescence can sometimes make this an attention getting exercise though!)
My advice with the PP is to buy and use good chemicals, and empty often rather than wait too long!
Good luck

Had to ask, being into reasonable recycling myself, you say the fluorescent properties are to be believed.

if (as a bloke) i pee on an old rag - could it replace the 'at anchor' white light ? ?

??? sorry!

Alan

 

[JumbleDuck]

OK, so conventional sea toilet plus holding tank is still the best compromise.

Nowhere to empty a holding tank on the Crinan Canal. Dunno about the others.

 

[Tranona]

Nowhere to empty a holding tank on the Crinan Canal. Dunno about the others.

Not surprising. Presumably not a problem for the hundreds of boats that I assume transit the canal every year. Seem to remember Mr Crapper's invention spread north of the border and there are plenty of shoreside facilities.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Not surprising. Presumably not a problem for the hundreds of boats that I assume transit the canal every year. Seem to remember Mr Crapper's invention spread north of the border and there are plenty of shoreside facilities.

There are a few, but not many. As you suggest, the facilities are really aimed at transit boats ... if the OP wants to dawdle then a chemical toilet s probably the best bet.