Spending a penny (well £2 now !!)

[pcatterall]

This boat down sizing is ok but some bits are still costly.
Was considering the toilet issue in my 'new' 20 footer. There is no loo just a very large compartment between the forward V berths.
Some owners have tried using a portaloo in there but the levers on the front mean that the unit is only useable for persons around 7 feet tall!!
I decided that the Gelert portable loo would fit ok; they use special bags with a powder that makes any liquid into a gell, seal the bag up and put it into your pocket to dispose of when ashore!!
All very well but each bag costs £2 so a fairly expensive solution!!
Mostly I am bucket and chuck it person (liquid only!!) and have an ingenious method of seperating solids from liquid ( I wont spoil your suppers by detailing this one!)
However I do appreciate that the ladies are not so conveniently equipped so the expensive solution will have to do.
Or can someone identify the chemical that is used in the bags so that I can buy in bulk?
Will it be in order for me to charge ladies for the use of the facilities with perhaps a discount if they take away the evidence?
Hopefully as the boat is just a weekender I will not need to take out another rmortgage.

 

[sailorman]

This boat down sizing is ok but some bits are still costly.
Was considering the toilet issue in my 'new' 20 footer. There is no loo just a very large compartment between the forward V berths.
Some owners have tried using a portaloo in there but the levers on the front mean that the unit is only useable for persons around 7 feet tall!!
I decided that the Gelert portable loo would fit ok; they use special bags with a powder that makes any liquid into a gell, seal the bag up and put it into your pocket to dispose of when ashore!!
All very well but each bag costs £2 so a fairly expensive solution!!
Mostly I am bucket and chuck it person (liquid only!!) and have an ingenious method of seperating solids from liquid ( I wont spoil your suppers by detailing this one!)
However I do appreciate that the ladies are not so conveniently equipped so the expensive solution will have to do.
Or can someone identify the chemical that is used in the bags so that I can buy in bulk?
Will it be in order for me to charge ladies for the use of the facilities with perhaps a discount if they take away the evidence?
Hopefully as the boat is just a weekender I will not need to take out another rmortgage.

get a Lavac

 

[sarabande]

perhaps consider a Thetford (caravan) loo. Easily fixed to adjacent furniture; proven and cheap chemical to contain and neutralise all waste types, and easy to empty when you dash ashore.

They can be left for at least a couple of weeks between emptying.

http://www.caravanparts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=37_232

 

[Abestea]

You could get the ladies their own She Wee. That may be a cheaper alternative.

 

[VicS]

perhaps consider a Thetford (caravan) loo

I imagine that what the OP meant by "portaloo" was in fact a Thetford Porta Potti or similar.

I have the same problem. If a Porta Potti is positioned in the compartment so that you can get your bum onto it you cannot operate the valve to connect upper and lower sections.

The Fiamma Bipot has clips to secure it to the floor, but still the same problem with operating the valve.

Elsan offer a similar toilet as well as the traditional bucket but still the same problem AFAIK

If only it were possible to fit a Lavac.

 

[William_H]

loo

I got from a camping store a long time back a loo which is effect a seat that attaches to a folding steel frame. You were supposed to use a plastic bag underneath or park it over a hole in the ground.
I found that this can be fitted onto 2 cross bars of Al tubing between the forebunks and at suitable height.
I simply provide a few buckets with sealing lids so that if anyone needs to use the seat they can have their own bucket. In practice the seat and bars fit under the bunks and people tend to hold off until they can go ashore. But the option is still there. If anyone is sleeping in the fore peak they don't even have to know it is also a loo. I suppose in the end it all depends on how much use it gets. olewill

 

[yoda]

Portapotti operation

Not sure why this is an issue, I use one all the time and as a 5ft 5 stumpy type find no difficulty with operating it while seated. You may need to move legs slightly appart but certainly nothing athletic. Covered with a nice wooden box that doubles as an extra seat round at the table and connected to a macerator pump for emptying when at sea it makes a great holding tank/sea toilet.

Yoda

 

[VicS]

Not sure why this is an issue, I use one all the time and as a 5ft 5 stumpy type find no difficulty with operating it while seated.

My trouble would be, and I assume its the same in the OP's boat that when the loo is positioned in the compartment in a position in which one can get ones bum onto the seat the front wall of the compartment prevents the valve from being opened. For someone 7ft tall it could be positioned further back and so allow the valve to be opened.

It's a question of the design of the compartment rather than the ability of the user to reach the valve.

 

[haydude]

Someone once told me that solo sailors falling overboard are often found with their zipfly open ...

However I find using the open sea by women onboard fairly entertaining

 

[Baddox]

A bag with a nappy in may be cheaper;they’re full of absorbent gel.

 

[Ehbendisdonc]

You could get the ladies their own She Wee. That may be a cheaper alternative.

Hate the way those girls insist on leaving the toilet seat up! ;-)