We spent the night on our boat last Thursday with the intentions on being there the whole 4-day weekend. My kids woke up 1st Friday morning and went to the bathroom, then I got up and went to the bathroom. When I put the seat up, the bowl was full of sh...tuff. "Nasty!" I thought as I flushed it down. Problem is, it didn't go down. In the famous words of Cousin Eddie from the Griswald's Christmas, "Sh!tter's full!" Marina was closed due to the holiday. Had to leave the boat until we could get it pumped out on Saturday. Well, Saturday brought 20MPH winds and the marina was closed Sunday.

I'm missing my boat. Wish me luck as I'm leaving work early today to go try to pump it out again tonight before the marina closes. I hate these winter hours the marina works!

-------------------------
16x66 Sailabration on Percy Priest Lake near Nashville.

THAT's reason #1 why we don't intend to ever have a holding tank! (At least not until we've given the composting Nature's Head a good try. For now, the home-made version suffices.) Pumping sewage is a long way down my list of desirable chores. Reason #2 is my very sensitive nose and the prevalence of odors from stinky hoses and ill-kept tanks on other people's otherwise lovely boats, Reason #3 is the intervention of our NC legislative nannies, who have mandated a freakin' pumpout log. NOT going to keep a pumpout log. Just not.

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

Edited: 12/02/2011 at 07:50:17 AM by Amelia

No pump outs available on my lake from November until April - you learn to deal with it.

Amelia - I really do not see the difference in pumping out and having to deal with all of the stuff involved in the composting toilet that you have outlined in previous posts.

Amelia, I solved the pumpout issue for my boat with 100' of (dedicated) garden hose and a small 120v utility pump. Hook up the pump to the pumpout fitting, and run the hose across the yard, into the back door of the house and into the toilet. Then turn the pump on and wait (it takes a while). Since I keep the boat behind my house it's the easiest thing to do.

Actually it works quite well, total cost maybe $120. Really, holding tanks aren't that big of a deal, IF they're big enough. I think a composting head would be at least as much hassle, and a lot more expensive.

-------------------------
Willie
She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw

Edited: 12/02/2011 at 02:46:36 PM by stmbtwle

Don't take my word for the thought that there's a difference, because we haven't tried the 'real' thing yet. Our ad-hoc temporary version uses the same separation of liquid and solid waste principle, and works fine, but it's not quite the sort of just-like-home arrangement guests would rave over. We're still sort of camping. Those boaters who have one of the dedicated composting heads sing its praises. You'd think there'd be a lot of complaints like there are for stinky, space-hogging holding tanks if it were obnoxious, but people with the Nature's Head or AirHead seem to unanimously sing their praises, gloating that there's no nasty slurry of aged waste to deal with that has been sloshing around in a fetid holding tank for several days or more, no pumpout facility to find and pay for, and no head overflowing with sewage, ruining a nice weekend. And, this irascible scofflaw gloats, there's no pumpout log. We're lucky enough to have a spacious yard with azalea bushes that will appreciate the dried compost. Other composters seem to bag it the odorless crumbly product and chuck it in a garbage bin after a few months. Other than those details, I expect there's really not all that much difference....
As for us, our limited experience seems to be positive, so far. But we still have a lot to learn.

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

And Willie, I see your point about expense-- if you already have the plumbing for water, the head, the hoses, the holding tank, the pumpout connection, and don't mind running sewage-filled hose through your back yard, through your house, to the nearest toilet. We don't have any of that infrastructure, so whatever we do is expense we will have anyway. Our total cost so far- for the temporary version, is $20. $4 for the bedside commode from Habitat ReStore, $1 for plastic funnel and clear tubing, and maybe $15 for enough compressed bricks of coconut fiber to last us for years. A couple of 5 gallon kitty litter buckets were free. The total cost once we install the 'prettier' more formal version will be closer to $900. Not cheap, by any means, but when all is said and done, nothing about this project has been cheap-- or conventional!

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

"Break---Out---Another---Thousand---!!!!!!!!"

IF I could find my old septic tank I'd simply run an underground line of PVC from the dock to it, then all I'd need to hook up would be the pump (but I have yet to find the old tank). Even then, it takes me less time to run the hose than to cruise to the nearest pumpout!

But, really, are the hassles of "Suthun Engineering" worth it???

-------------------------
Willie
She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw

Rob had given some thought to running a two-inch pipe from the dock to a connection on the black-water line under the house when he had the yard dug up for the water and power lines to the dock, but for some reason decided against it. Maybe because his co-pilot wasn't real thrilled with the possibility of split pvc pipes full of raw sewage added to the problems we were already having with clogged drains in the crawl space at the time. Since then, we've had several major storms tossing debris around busting stuff, and one frozen water line that cost us big-time for the sky-high water bill the following month. So it's ok with me not to have one more thing to go wrong. Keeping it simple. VERY simple, so far.

I didn't add up the costs of all the parts to a traditional head, holding tank, water pump, pipes, fittings, and all the rest of that system, but I suspect the costs might be equivalent. The Hold 'n' Treat we'd first planned on was a good bit more.

I readily admit, it's not a popular notion, and this is quite temporary, but if 'Suthun Engineering' saves us from just one ruined family weekend, it will have been worth it. If we had to curtail a fine voyage to deal with a sewage catastrophe, that would be very unhappy-making. I'm sure I'll find out the fun way, but so far, I haven't seen much 'hassle' with this system-- at least none that would involve searching for an operating pump-out in the dead of winter, worrying about what to do about overflowing holding tank a long way from relief, or the fun prospect of periodic replacement of worn out stinking hoses, flapper valves, unclogging clogs, or running out of holding tank additive some hot summer day miles from a resupply. Seems quite simple, actually, and one brick of the peat stuff might last the two of us for six months or more. It's just me, living in a fool's paradise here. Much learning ahead. I'll be glad to eat crow and admit you skeptics were all right, that a holding tank full of sloshing, stinking nastiness was the best of all possible boating worlds-- if it comes to that. :-D

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

Hmmmm maybe you could sell plans???

-------------------------
Willie
She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw

Willie not sure if you have Menard's where you are, but if so they sell a 300 gallon septic tank for $360.00. I would have to agree that would be a great idea with your set up. When I had motorhomes I always had a sewage dump at my home. I have to chime in here on all the boating head options as I really don't understand some of the worries. Maybe cause I grew up with a well that always went dry and an old septic system, but the boat head seams easy to me. You just have to learn how it ticks (like a septic system). I have 2 raw water heads connecting to a 90 gallon tank and it works great. I pump out every 2 or 3 weeks, needed or not. As far as the hoses, you just need to make sure to run clean water through at the end of each trip or weekend, and they won't end up saturated and smelly. Just my .02 for what it's worth.

-------------------------
Dan
Lake Monroe
Bloomington, IN
1986 Gibson 50'
Twin 454's

That's about how I do my boat... My holding tank is about 100 gal, and with just the two of us and occasional use it lasts for months. Pumping out takes time but is not a problem. I've never had an odor problem.

I COULD install another septic tank, but for the cost of a tank and drainfield it's easier to simply run the hose to the toilet and into the sewer... If it was possible to connect to the household drain system I would, but that would require digging under the slab. Not worth the effort.

At one time I had a macerator pump; but while the pump is legal, using it is not so I removed it. Waste is waste, it's gonna have to be dealt with one way or another.

-------------------------
Willie
She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw

Edited: 12/03/2011 at 07:47:24 AM by stmbtwle

OMG get a gauge. I know two trips in advance before I need to dump.

-------------------------

• 1978 57' Carlcraft w/twin 454 350hp Crusaders V-drives
  
  
• 1984 26' Sleekcraft, 502 BBC, 525hp
  
  
• Realtime Weather Aboard The Bama Breeze

I can certainly see what you all are saying. I am NOT suggesting that people with production houseboats rip out their standard system and go with another. We probably wouldn't either-- at least until disaster struck for the second or third time. It's good that most people love the heads their boats came with, don't find pumping out a revolting nuisance, always plan ahead, and aren't inconvenienced when the pump-out they counted on is out of order or is closed for the winter. I'm sure if you know what you're doing, it's no big deal. I read Peggie's Book, all several hundred well-written pages of it. I slogged through many internet discussions, talked to experts of all persuasions, made up my mind. And then our idiot NC politicians scotched my expensive, but well-designed plans, and we revisited the idea of composting. It began to look like a viable idea for many reasons. I do admire those who are fine with dealing with whatever went in the finicky macerator that gummed up the works THIS time, and are so mechanically adept they can disassemble the whole works and have it all back together before suppertime, and who have mastered the biochemistry of no-stink, no-worries marine sanitation. I'm in awe of those who can snatch off worn-out hoses before they leak, who can replace a failed pump with the spare they have tucked away for just such an eventuality. I wish I felt so competent, but I don't. And as noted, we don't have an expensive and complex system we've already bought.

Simplicity is most appealing to us homebuilders for now, but we will keep our options open--- we have lots of accessible room for a standard head, a huge holding tank and all the associated plumbing if we change our minds. I'm willing to bet it would be easy to sell the hippie head on eBay.

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

Amelia some of my best friends I met while pumping out.

-------------------------

• 1978 57' Carlcraft w/twin 454 350hp Crusaders V-drives
  
  
• 1984 26' Sleekcraft, 502 BBC, 525hp
  
  
• Realtime Weather Aboard The Bama Breeze

Misery loves company?

If we ever find ourselves at the same docki, I'm hoping y'all will just drop by our place for a beer when you're done with all that.

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

Amelia

Your are truly unique. I suspect that given a choice you would give anything "that is out of the mainstream" a chance to fail. Taking the "safe path" is probably boring to you. I WOULD REALLY ENJOY having a beer with you and your builder.

Cheers!
.

-------------------------
OLD HOUSEBOATER

We have family down that way, OHB, in Mobile, Spanish Fort, and environs, and go see them every few months....You're still in Orange Beach? One of these days we'll have to arrange to do that. Maybe we'll take the other craft into JKA, and arrange to meet you for lunch at Lulu's.

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

We live less than a mile from LuLu's in Gulf Shores. Your on.

-------------------------
OLD HOUSEBOATER

Sounds good. It might be Mardi Gras before we get down that way again, but we'll give you a holler when we head SW again.

BTW, I don't think of us as contrarian just to be contrary, and latching onto bad ideas for no reason other than that they're out-of-the-mainstream bad ideas. But by the same token, I've been to the houseboat shows. Found them a little depressing-- so little real thought put into those big, terribly-expensive cookie-cutter rigs- ones that hardly ever leave the dock, if observation serves. Rob wanted to build his own boat. Not to own a boat, not to take epic voyages, but simply to build a big thing. A grand project, the realization of a childhood fantasy. And since he was starting from scratch, there was the chance to rethink some assumptions, customize the floor plan, work with what we had available, and see what problems other people had, perhaps even to avoid a few of them. Even if it's never finished, and even though we've already discovered a number of things that in an ideal world we would have done differently, it's already served that purpose admirably. It's won us some fascinating friends-- sort of like the pump-out place--, and spurred some good research and opportunities for spreading our water-wings. No, it's not going to start any home-made houseboat fads, and no, we probably won't even do the Loop in it, though that silly dream still lurks in the back of MY mind. But you can bet it won't sit in a crowded marina, cheek-by-jowl with others just like it, the owners glued to a big-screen TV set, watching 'the' game. This wasn't my choice of boats-- if I'd won the lottery as a young woman, I might have bought a great big plastic sailing catamaran and set out for the other side of the world and back. MY passion was blue-water sailing and exotic traveling, obsessions most assuredly not shared in this household. C'est la vie. There's good, if sedate old-people fun to be had in our own corner of the swamp, as we're only now at the point of discovering.

-------------------------
Amelia
Edenton, NC

I used to be a plumber (family business), so none of that type of "stuff" really bothers me. Once you have cleaned out a rancid grease trap (really a baby septic tank) at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in 95 degree weather or unclogged the main drain on the killing floor of the local sausage factory, everything else pretty ho-hum.