Lucky escape...

[Sea-Fever]

One of the things on my list for next year is a holding tank. The current arrangement of Jabsco manual pump job straight out to sea is fine but there are obvious restrictions in usage whilst anywhere near land especially marinas.

Whilst as an adult I am well versed in timing my toilet stops throughout the day I note that my kids are not skilled in this area. Bless them, they do try. However in the course of using their own internal holding tank this causes a backlog that sometimes they just can't withstand.

This was the situation yesterday when, not even out of harbour, my eldest decided he had held it in for as long as he could and dashed to the heads.

Now I've told them before that toilet paper is to be strictly rationed as the hole in the bottom of the jabsco is tiny. Unfortunately this has not sunk in...when the inevitable cry for help came a minute or two later I had a heavy heart as I trudged down through the saloon. Not only had he made an admirable contribution of his own but had then layered on half a loo roll of paper.....what's more he claimed that the heads was now blocked and was unable to pump out. Great.

Sure enough as I gave the pump a couple of push/pulls it certainly seemed there was a blockage as I was hardly able to pump at all. The solution, I felt, was to get more water in and pump a little harder to get the content out to sea. A few more pumps.....yet more pumps. It's getting really hard now.....no movement.

Then a terrible thought struck me...being conscientious I had closed the heads outlet seacock after my last trip....dear God the pressure build up must have been immense.

Scared of the powderkeg I was now standing next to I carefully opened the panel under the sink and opened the Blakes outlet.

Booooommm!!!

An explosion underneath the boat as the er.....torpedoes were released.

I flushed it all through and returned to the cockpit with a cold sweat, glad beyond belief that I had used double jubilee clips on all connections in the heads.

I suspect that although my kids are below the age of criminal responsibility as skipper I may have broken the law for which I apologise. If the Navy has sonar detection in Portsmouth harbour they may have detected an anomaly yesterday afternoon.

There is, unfortunately, another heads story involving my younger one that didn't end so well but sufficed to say the theme was the same, lack of holding tank causing an explosion at an inappropriate time.

Time for some research on retro fitting a tank.

 

[RichardS]

One thought occurs to me after reading your seismic story .... presumably, like us, you have a seacock on the heads inlet and the heads outlet? I find then when I return to the boat and open one I automatically open the other, although the two are physically close together so it's easy to remember. I have, occasionally, not opened either but never opened one and not the other.

Richard

 

[capnsensible]

A lot of blocked pipe problems are easily solved by never putting tissue down the head. Try Using a bag and dispose of ashore regularly.

:encouragement:

 

[Sea-Fever]

One thought occurs to me after reading your seismic story .... presumably, like us, you have a seacock on the heads inlet and the heads outlet? I find then when I return to the boat and open one I automatically open the other, although the two are physically close together so it's easy to remember. I have, occasionally, not opened either but never opened one and not the other.

Richard

I normally do both. On this occasion I must have shut the outlet only...silly me.

 

[Sea-Fever]

A lot of blocked pipe problems are easily solved by never putting tissue down the head. Try Using a bag and dispose of ashore regularly.

:encouragement:

Just spent the last few months trying to get my youngest to use paper in the first place....but I do get your point.

 

[capnsensible]

Just spent the last few months trying to get my youngest to use paper in the first place....but I do get your point.

Using a bag does seem rather odd to Brits. Getting adults to do that can be a problem too!

 

[TLouth7]

While not terribly pleasant, it is possible not to flush until you are out of harbour. To slightly improve the experience move the 'torpedo' into the pipe with a pump or two, but don't forget to come back and finish the job.

Some forced air ventilation for the rest of your sail might then be advisable.

 

[NormanS]

A lot of blocked pipe problems are easily solved by never putting tissue down the head. Try Using a bag and dispose of ashore regularly.

:encouragement:

Yeeyuck! :disgust:

 

[Laysula]

Nothing goes down the bog unless it has been eaten first. All paper goes into little perfumed nappy bags and chucked into the bin. It's about time that all boats had holding tanks, there's no excuse, they come in all sizes and are not expensive.

 

[johnalison]

A holding tank can be a useful addition for anyone with a conscience, as well as being necessary for inland waters. I don't like the idea of saving ones residues in bags at all; I like to preserve the illusion that sailing is a civilised pastime and also retain the devotion of my wife and crew.

Our inlet seacock is almost unreachable, and only through the aft cabin, German Frers' only real cock-up in his design. Thus, it almost never gets turned off. The exit is clearly visible alongside the bowl and I think the OP's near disaster is unlikely, and luckily our children and grandchildren have just about reached the age of reason.

 

[capnsensible]

Yeeyuck! :disgust:

See what I mean!

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

There is a woman out there who's only been on a sailing boat once. Nobody explained outlet seacocks to the unsuspecting and reasonably strong lass.

 

[capnsensible]

Another top tip based on nearly twenty years of liveaboard.

The discharge hose is subject to clogging up with calcium. In Spain there is a product called Aguafuerte or strong water. This is something like a 26% solution of hydrochloride acid. Believe you can get similar in UK as 'brick cleaner'.

This is excellent at keeping the full diameter of the hose open with routine dosing.

Lavac heads are completely unaffected by this. Got that on my liveaboard boat.

Can possibly, after a while, affect Jabsco. The o ring in the pump may get a bit sticky if you don't flush the cleaner through. Temporary fix olive oil down head to stop squeaky. Long term replace o ring. But the benefits on our school yachts were great compared to having to unblock outlet hoses. Now that's a real yuk.

Even worse, unblocking holding tanks.........

 

[Graham376]

Yeeyuck! :disgust:

You've obviously not been to many rural areas in Europe where this is the norm as older household drains and cesspits don't like paper.

 

[Sea-Fever]

A holding tank can be a useful addition for anyone with a conscience, as well as being necessary for inland waters. I don't like the idea of saving ones residues in bags at all; I like to preserve the illusion that sailing is a civilised pastime and also retain the devotion of my wife and crew.

Our inlet seacock is almost unreachable, and only through the aft cabin, German Frers' only real cock-up in his design. Thus, it almost never gets turned off. The exit is clearly visible alongside the bowl and I think the OP's near disaster is unlikely, and luckily our children and grandchildren have just about reached the age of reason.

My artistic licence apart....it did seem as though there was significant pressure built up before I opened the outlet. Whether in reality this was near a pressure that would cause the pipes to let go I'm unsure....but I would hazard a guess that if it was single clipped it may have popped off....with the resultant mess. One benefit of no tank is that there is little unpleasant odour to deal with...but the pros out weight cons for me and I'll be looking to fit a tank at the earliest opportunity.

 

[DJE]

In a similar situation a few years ago vigorous pumping against a closed seacock turned the joker valve inside out and disabled the pump.

 

[Iain C]

Another top tip based on nearly twenty years of liveaboard.

The discharge hose is subject to clogging up with calcium. In Spain there is a product called Aguafuerte or strong water. This is something like a 26% solution of hydrochloride acid. Believe you can get similar in UK as 'brick cleaner'.

This is excellent at keeping the full diameter of the hose open with routine dosing.

So do I just drink it neat or just pour it over my cornflakes in the morning?

 

[steve yates]

A lot of blocked pipe problems are easily solved by never putting tissue down the head. Try Using a bag and dispose of ashore regularly.

:encouragement:

That seems an odd idea, rather than natural human waste and paper, all of which is biodegradable being pumped out into the sea, to collect it in plastic bags destined for landfill?

I suppose one could use food waste bags, but not sure how much confidence folk would have in their strength and in storing them!

 

[capnsensible]

That seems an odd idea, rather than natural human waste and paper, all of which is biodegradable being pumped out into the sea, to collect it in plastic bags destined for landfill?

I suppose one could use food waste bags, but not sure how much confidence folk would have in their strength and in storing them!

Must say that far from odd, it's entirely normal away from UK not only by seafarers but entire countries like Spain, Greece and many others.

The subject does occur on this forum occasionally and is usually the odd Brit that gets all squirmy about the topic.

 

[TLouth7]

Try hiking in some parks in the US, it's not only the paper you have to bag up and carry around with you...

I don't object to the environmental considerations with bagging it (I have a dog), it just seems unnecessary as blockages from putting paper through the head are a very rare occurrence for us.

It's about time that all boats had holding tanks, there's no excuse, they come in all sizes and are not expensive.

I disagree, for many they are an unnecessary expense and complication. Also add weight and take up space. If you sail directly from your mooring/marina onto the sea, or only day sail and have decent discipline then what exactly do they add?