MED CRUISING WITH DODGY PLUMBING

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markspark7

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As I rapidly advance to semi retirement next year, my plan is to spend more time actually sailing and less time moored .
My current boat doesn't have any grey / black water storage (more like bucket n chuck it).

If, and it is a big if , I decide to replumb to collect all the black/ grey water, what do I need to collect to be able to sail the Med??
I know toilets are a definite but what about showers, sinks kitchen etc??

Chances are I'll probable buy another boat rather than replumb but I'd still like to know to ensure compliance on next boat.

Thanks in advance.

MS7
 
Irish Rover said:
At east insofar as Turkey is concerned the information is well out of date. A Blue Card is a legal necessity on all boats and the discharge of all foul water is prohibited. In practice few older boats have grey water tanks.
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Should have added the proviso - check RYA information with the authorities of any country you intend to visit before arrival. (y) ... the RYA stuff is often not 100% right but gives a reasonable overall picture.
 
Irish Rover said:
At east insofar as Turkey is concerned the information is well out of date. A Blue Card is a legal necessity on all boats and the discharge of all foul water is prohibited. In practice few older boats have grey water tanks.
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and assuming you do have a grey water tank, how big does it have to be to accomodate some dishwashing, teethwashing and a few showers? 200-300lt? that's inpractical (me thinks!) I do have a 16lt gray water tank with an el.float switch which empties it when it sees fit ;-)

V.
 
markspark7 said:
If, and it is a big if , I decide to replumb to collect all the black/ grey water, what do I need to collect to be able to sail the Med??
I know toilets are a definite but what about showers, sinks kitchen etc??
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I can tell you how our Med based boat is plumbed.

Black water is collected in a holding tank with amber near full and red full tank warning lights at the lower helm and every heads. There is an automatic pump out facility but I always leave it set to manual so that it does not automatically discharge in a marina or anchorage. In fact what happens in manual mode when the holding tank is full is that the toilets are stopped from flushing. We empty our black water holding tank nearly every time we leave the marina as far offshore as possible and usually at speed to disperse the waste. We have never been challenged in any country in the Med for illegally discharging our black water tank. I do regularly put a specialist holding tank disinfectant tablet in it which is also supposed to break up any solid matter and make it easier to pump out and once a season I flush it through completely with fresh water

Grey water is collected in a similar sized holding tank. That tank collects water from all showers and heads sinks except for the galley sink, which discharges directly overboard. Not sure why that is; I can only assume its to stop food and other particles going into the grey water tank and jamming the discharge pump. Discharge from the grey water tank is always set to automatic although there is a manual override. I dont worry too much if the grey water tank discharges in the marina because in the end it is only soapy water

Bilge water is discharged directly overboard but any oily waste discharged into a marina or anchorage can get you into trouble with the authorities. I have seen a boat boarded by harbour authorities in Majorca for inadvertent discharge of oily bilge water and I understand they ended up with a big fine. So it pays to keep an eye on bilge water levels in the engine room or anywhere else where oil could be present and clean out those bilges regularly
 
fwiw,

mine is setup the same way only black has no autoempty.
For the record, blackwater is 110lt and with two of us and careful use can last over a week.
bearing in mind there's no pump out facility anywhere in my cruising grounds, I don't see any other option, nor being fined for this...

V.
 
As above .
Was anchoring in a “ national park “ a person in a rib came round , friendly enough to remind us to turn the bogs to tank and i remember a goody bag of leaflets / bin bags , maps of bins on shore .
Very low key .
As far as oil , yes we have spilled some accidentally, a mate of mine slipped with a bucket full of old oil in the ER @ the marina .
I turned the pumps off , two of them one @ either end of the ER , then with a couple of bottles of supermarket washing up liquids + shampoo, + water hose made an emulsion.Urgh !

As Deleted User said .....disappeared far off shore , turned them back on .
Took a few attempts at “ shampooing “ to get rid of it all ....but mindful never in the marina .

We have a 180 L black tank for the two of us so it lasts long enough nearly a week so we do not worry .
The previous boats was tiny ....2/3 days tops .


How ever having said all this I have witnessed some Fr yachts directly discharging number 2 s in the marina
Tend to be older boats .
 
Portofino said:
How ever having said all this I have witnessed some Fr yachts directly discharging number 2 s in the marina
Tend to be older boats .
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I always wonder what happens with all those crewed yachts in the Med which lie for weeks on end in their marinas without leaving their berths, especially out of season. I know some of the bigger ones have black water treatment plants onboard but judging by the stink that sometimes pervades our berth in Antibes and the colour of the surrounding water, many surreptitiously discharge their black water into the marina
 
Deleted User said:
I always wonder what happens with all those crewed yachts in the Med which lie for weeks on end in their marinas without leaving their berths, especially out of season. I know some of the bigger ones have black water treatment plants onboard but judging by the stink that sometimes pervades our berth in Antibes and the colour of the surrounding water, many surreptitiously discharge their black water into the marina
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Surely all marinas have portable pump out facilities. The one they use in our marina is tractor operated and looks like a standard agricultural slurry tank.
 
Irish Rover said:
Surely all marinas have portable pump out facilities. The one they use in our marina is tractor operated and looks like a standard agricultural slurry tank.
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This is not to say they don't exist but in 17 yrs of Med boating I've never seen one.
 
I too have the same set-up as Deleted User, but again with no auto pump out for the black tank.

We have a free pump out facility in our marina, which I tend to use a couple of times each year. Out of 1600 boats in our marina, I am apparently the only one to use it!
 
I do remember being parked next to a yacht with a large group of people on board. They pumped out directly next to our hull, it was disgusting ! You certainly couldn’t eat on board or even spend time on deck, actually you couldn’t eat in a restaurant if you were thinking about your boat.
 
Bouba said:
I do remember being parked next to a yacht with a large group of people on board. They pumped out directly next to our hull, it was disgusting ! You certainly couldn’t eat on board or even spend time on deck, actually you couldn’t eat in a restaurant if you were thinking about your boat.
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I've twice had the experience in marinas in Greece of being berthed next to boats with full tanks pumping shit and piss out through the vent hose.
 
that's OK then, they were following the law and not pumping out :)
hope you didn't have any portholes open and level to their vents :eek:

V.
 
vas said:
that's OK then, they were following the law and not pumping out :)
hope you didn't have any portholes open and level to their vents :eek:

V.
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First time was in Kos and it was on the opposite side to my boat so let it go rather than have a row. Second time in Paros on my side and 25kn wind blowing so I quickly let them know what for. They probably pumped out during the night.
 
All of my water outlets go straight to sea at the moment , grey , black etc . I'm annoyed with myself as all of my other boats (8) all had tanks and I never bothered to check, I just assumed it was there. Never came up on the survey either.
Wasn't until boat was in the water that I started counting deck fitting for fuel water in and water out that I realised it wasn't there. :unsure:
Saving grace is I have lots of room for a waste tank in the lazerette so shouldn't be too much of a job to refit.
Was planning on changing Jabsco's to electric anyway.
As we're currently marina'd at the moment we don't use the w/c's on board anyway.
Been told Alot of the older boats in the marina just pump straight into the marina (Liverpool) however the council pumped raw sewage straight into the Mersey for decades.
 
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