How musch should supply and fit of a holding tank cost?

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Oscarpop

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Can anyone give me suggestions for supply and fitting a holding tank for a 40 ft boat please?

Also if anyone knows someone on the east coast that I can get a quote from the cheers.
 
This is a 'how long is a piece of string' question, I'm afraid.

You need to be clear about exactly what sort of installation you require (pump-out arrangements, venting, filters, size of tank, location of tank, 'off the shelf' or custom made tank etc).

The level of dismantling and refitting of cabin furniture will also be important.

I fitted an off the shelf 90 litre tank myself last year....can't recall exact cost, but it was a few hundred quid.

I found Lee Sanitation were extremely helpful.
 
Depends on the boat and type of installation. If you are able to use a standard tank about 60 litres you are looking at £250 for the tank plus plumbing and pumps if you are using a pumped system. However, most boats can't use standard shaped tanks so you need a custom made one - at least double that price.

You may have a choice between a gravity tank or a pumped system. The former is on balance better if you have room to fit it. To give you an idea, my Bavaria gravity tank of 60 litres (probably minimum usable size) cost around £600 for materials plus fitting. Pumps would add about £200 to that. You are probably looking at near £1000 for a fitted system.

Suggest you contact Lee Sanitation who publish schematics of different types of tank systems and Tek Tanks, who may well have designed and made tanks for your boat or similar. Plastic is the preferred material for holding tanks.
 
In that case you will possibly consider the £4000 + vat as an option in the new boat a little high.

Got me by the cojones here. I need one for french inland waterways and it has to be fitted during the build.

B*gger.
 
Oscarpop said:
In that case you will possibly consider the £4000 + vat as an option in the new boat a little high.

Got me by the cojones here. I need one for french inland waterways and it has to be fitted during the build.

B*gger.
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I would guess that is much bigger than 60 litres and will be a pumped system with a macerator.

Probably is a bit on the expensive side - but that is what goes with buying an expensive boat! Seriously, though unless you design the boat to take a sort of standardised simple system it does cost. I did not have the complex pumped system fitted to my new Bavaria because apart from being what I thought was a poor design, it was about £2k extra (in 2001). Later Bavarias use a very simple gravity system as standard and it is included in the basic price. Fortunately the layout of my boat allows for the installation of a gravity system in a rarely used locker, which is why it was relatively cheap.

BTW not essential to have a holding tank in the canals. There are few pumpout points so you still have a problem disposing of the contents of your full tanks! Same in most of the Med, but you learn to use shoreside facilities where you can and discharge your holding tank at sea.
 
No, it is not compulsory anywhere to fit holding tanks, only restrictions on discharge in some places like Turkey which make holding tanks necessary if you want to use a toilet on board.

The trend is to fit them as standard because of buyer pressure and as I suggested earlier costs have fallen substantially through the use of standardised components and building the boat around them. A rotationally moulded tank such as Bavaria and Hanse use will be about 25% of the cost of a fabricated custom built tank, and the gravity system uses no more valves and little more pipe than a straight flush.

However, doubt your builder would have the volume for tooling for the tanks, nor will have designed the layout to fit them as standard, so you are limited to the higher cost solution.

It is these kinds of issues that explain much of the price difference between a semi custom boat from a low volume builder and a factory mass produced boat.
 
It cost somewhere approaching £600 for the supply of a standard gravity tank, with the holes all drilled in the right places by TekTanks, plus all fittings, seacocks and pipes etc, for 60 l tank that we fitted to our last boat - a Moody 31. We did the fitting ourselves.

I thought that virtually all new boats (possibly excepting UK-made ones) fitted them as standard - certainly that was the case for our new boat (German).

£4000 + VAT sounds a bit excessive!

I've just seen that you are buying a Southerly, which explains why it's an extra - I asked the same question when we considered a Southerly a couple of years ago, and were told they could fit a 30 l tank, but it wasn't really necessary.

Congratulations on the choice of boat, and I hope you resolve the holding tank issue.
 
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AliM said:
I've just seen that you are buying a Southerly, which explains why it's an extra - I asked the same question when we considered a Southerly a couple of years ago, and were told they could fit a 30 l tank, but it wasn't really necessary.

.
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Thanks for that bit of info. I have used a gravity fed setup for a couple of years with no real problems so far.

I am not being tight here, but have been reading the "extras" list and some of it is eye wateringly expensive. I am in some ways struggling to see how some things are not standard on a 40 ft boat; shore power, 12v socket, holding tank.
Oh well , what price luxury???
 
I have got the Arcona price list I picked up at SIBS last year. I was really taken with the boats, but even so 12v socket £132 ex VAT on all models, shore power £824 ex VAT, but included on 430 and 460.
 
Oscarpop said:
Can anyone give me suggestions for supply and fitting a holding tank for a 40 ft boat please?

Also if anyone knows someone on the east coast that I can get a quote from the cheers.
Click to expand...


I have just made and fitted a 70 litre tank on our cat. It took 3 days on and off to fit and believe it or not cost £70 in total, 20 £ of which was for the pump out fitting although the main method of emptying relies on gravity. I do have 2 meters of 1 1/2 outflow pipe left over though. Its been in use for all off our summer hols and has worked really well .

edit I made the tank from polycarb left over from another diy job at home
 
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PCUK said:
Are they building the boat round the tank? I would retro-fit you a system for the earlier quoted price of around £1500 which is about average for a full pump-out system. Sadly I'm in Devon!
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I used to fit Boilers, lots of them,.....................that was 'big' money for old rope.

Im thinking of adding Holding Tank Installations to my skills.......not difficult....even 'bigger' bucks for even older rope.

To be honest, I just find it hard to believe they get away with charging such prices to install a plassy tank, a few fittings, and some lecky string whree necessary.
 
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