Holding Tank

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Salty Sealine

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My offer for a Sealine F33 (located in Poole) was accepted yesterday and I am in the process of sorting out the surveys.

It does not have a holding tank, so does that mean it will not pass the BSS exam?

Should I get the tank fitted whilst the boat is in Poole or once it is on the non tidal part of the Thames? Just thinking about future repairs and any warranties issues.
 
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It does not have a holding tank, so does that mean it will not pass the BSS exam?

Should I get the tank fitted whilst the boat is in Poole or once it is on the non tidal part of the Thames? Just thinking about future repairs and any warranties issues.

[/ QUOTE ]

The BSS does not require that you have a holding tank. The Environment Agency do, however, require you to ensure that effluent is not discharged overboard into the river so they will want you to seal the loo so that this cannot happen. Some of us get round this problem by having a portaloo or other type of chemical toilet which can be emptied at some of the locks. This is a much cheaper option than having a holding tank fitted.

On an earlier boat, I actually removed the sea toilet and put a portaloo in its place.
 
As Boatone says, you do not need a holding tank but you must not discharge sewage into the river. That is the only requirement under the BSS so you could just cross your legs!

If you plan to keep your boat on the Thames then you will need to make some other arrangements. Many boats use a Porta Potti (Portaloos are too big for most boats!). However, you would probably need to remove your existing sea toilet to make room except for a short visit to non-tidal waters.

Personally, I would recommend a holding tank as I dislike the process of carry a full Porta Potti to a disposal point and emptying there. I find a pump-out more congenial. If you plan to also spend time in tidal waters it is worth having some means of discharging waste to the sea as pump-out facilities are often hard to find on the coast.

Incidentally, I bought Boatone's previous boat and have just got round to reinstalling a sea toilet with a holding tank in place of his Porta Potti.
 
As others have said a holding tank is not an issue with the hated BSS. I have noticed that all craft with holding tanks have a slight whiff inside not matter how good the venting.
You can switch off the sea toilet, easily remove it and bung a Porta-Potti in place of it. It is then maybe 30 minutes work to re-install the sea toilet should you be seaward bound.
 
"tank fitted whilst the boat is in Poole "

Friend had a stainless holding tank fitted on his Fairline when it came into the Thames by local firm,total cost around £1200 pounds,it may well be worth getting a quote down in Poole to compare cost.
 
Congratulations on your purchase. I had the same holding tank dilemma when we changed boats. I opted for a plastic holding tank in the end, cost for tank fittings etc was £578 + vat fitted on the Broads where I purchased the boat. Surprisingly with private boats on the Broads, its not a requirement to have a holding tank, swimming not recommended !
This has worked absolutely fine and having had both portable and fixed sanitation on boats, my vote is also for the holding tank.
 
Thanks for the responses. So the question is do I get the exam done as the boat is and seal up the toilet and then fit the holding tank in my own time or should I fit the tank and then get the exam?
 
He will not fail it for having a sea toilet but you must make sure the seacock is not able to be opened. A cable tie would do the job.
Make sure the flexible fuel and gas hoses are the right BS.

Chill
 
As others have said, the toilet arrangements are not important for the BSS. The only requirement, if you have a sea toilet, is that it is fitted with a valve in the discharge line. This requirement would usually be met by the normal sea cock.

You can download the BSS guide here. Then it is up to you how you approach it. You can read the guide and try to fix everything yourself before involving an inspector. However, you could easily incur a lot of unnecessary effort and expense as many of the rules are open to interpretation.

The other approach is to find a friendly inspector (most of them are) and take his advice. For example, my own boat does not fully comply with the requirements for ventilation but my inspector has been happy to sign it off. This is because the formula in the BSS requires enough ventilation for the maximum number of people to be shut in the cabin with every gas burner full on. In our case this would be six people sitting in the saloon with two gas rings, the grill and the oven full on which is totally unrealistic.
 
If you do fit a holding tank then go for a plastic one, not stainless as uric acid can cause corrosion of the welds. Find out if a tank was an option on the boat when new and get one made by Tek Tanks to the same design. Much easier than figuring out how to fit one in yourself. You will find useful information on the design and installation of holding tanks on the websites of Tek Tanks, Vetus and Lee Sanitation.
 
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