Is a PortaPotti required for Dutch inland waterways?

[PetiteFleur]

Hi, I'm off to Holland next weekend - are we allowed to use the sea toilet on the inland waterways? If not I have a PortaPotti I can easily find room for. I know that some of the islands have pontoons & toilets and of course we will use the marina facilities when possible.

 

[sailorman]

they are civilized & have bogs ashore on most small islands within the lakes /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Lakesailor]

Just crap over the side. It's the custom. No-one will mind.

 

[sailorman]

i was once rafted to a House boat waiting to enter the Haarlem canal sluise from the North Sea Canal.
a "Plopping" sound /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif emmitted from the house boats skin fitting ( above the water line ) followed by a No 2 /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Lakesailor]

There you are then. That proves it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[LadyJessie]

You would be considered to be seriously asocial if you pump out a sea toilet in the confined shallow waterways of the Netherlands. There are plenty of shoreside facilities. The Dutch are very clean, don't contribute to enhancing the perception of the British as considerably less so.

 

[sailorman]

See 2nd post /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Emjaytoo]

A couple of weekends ago, we picked up a leaflet in Yerseke, which advised that from 2009, it would be illegal to pump out into the water. Implication being that at the moment you can.

In the Veerse Meer, the island jetties and other overnight stopping places all have "thunder boxes". Not the most pleasant things to use!

We only pump out in tidal waters and never in our own non-tidal Veerse Meer.

Most, if not all marinas have pump out facilities, although some are difficult to get along side. Delta Marina being an example.

 

[PetiteFleur]

Many thanks everyone - confirmed my suspicions. We'll use the PortaPotti.

 

[aluijten]

In Holland we currently have a debate on the topic. Officially (as stated before) as of 2009 you are no longer allowed to discharge black water on the inland waters AND the coastal waters. There is a lot of discussion on the sense of this. Although understandable for isolated waters, for coastal waters it's highly debatable.
This does mean that until next year you can still use your toilet. Although in the confines of many marinas it's not allowed for many years already.
Although I'm flattered by the the remark "The Dutch are very clean", that still remains to be seen actually. Let's just say that not all are thinking before acting.
For myself I simply use the marina facilities as much as possible, When I'm using the boat inland I'm rarely forced to use the boat toilet for the 'big' thing /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Marmalade]

Obviously there's the question of scale, but pretty much every living thing other than homo sapiens does it's business in the wild and straight into the water - birds, fish especially. I'd be more concerned with using highly biodegradeable loo roll