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Old 02-09-2010, 08:14   #1
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One More Harbor Dropping Dye Markers in Holding Tanks

The Log.com News

Newport Harbor (like Avalon) will be dropping them into heads and flushing them into holding tanks. I guess it doesn't stop people from discharging at night.

Do it to all boats in a harbor?
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Old 02-09-2010, 08:27   #2
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Another vote for the composting heads.
I kinda understand the point. But I'd like to dump about a five gallon bucket of tabs into our local water treatment system. Just for comparision.
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Old 02-09-2010, 09:07   #3
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I'm not in favor of discharge into a marina or crowded anchorage, somebody may need to be in the water, just not nice, open water is the ok with me. Hey that's just me.
On our "new" boat the system is all updated, new head, new hoses, new tank. The smell is the same old stink. Right now we are flushing with fresh water, suppose to help. Not much. Not really a flush, more like a rinse.

We will go to a composting system as soon as practical or motivated by a catastrophic head failure, ugh.
Once considered a two head boat that advertised all new system, I counted 18 hose clamps, read 18 points of failure, it was the worst stink on a boat we ever looked at.
What I'm trying to say is, the world needs a better containment system, boats for sure.
I agree to disagree. Yeah, right.
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Old 02-09-2010, 09:58   #4
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Another vote for the composting heads.
I kinda understand the point. But I'd like to dump about a five gallon bucket of tabs into our local water treatment system. Just for comparision.
I'm ordering a nature's head in a few weeks. The $850 price tag, and the horrible multi-day job of pulling the old system out are the two things that have been holding me back.
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Old 02-09-2010, 10:09   #5
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composting

My joker flap gave out and I decided to go with the Natures Head. Taking the head out was no big deal. I had to cut out the platform for the head and put in a new section of floor so the new head was a comfortable height - they are quite tall and I had no room for a foot rest. I then waited for a month or so to let the lines dry a bit before removing the tank and hoses. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm extremely glad I did. As a live aboard the old tank was my nightmare. I haven't found the NH to be free of odour however. It takes management and care not to overflow the urine catchment. On the other hand the smell is never in the cabin because I keep the door to the head closed. If urine has gotten into the tank the smell out the vent gets strong or if you don't have the right amount of desicant (to much or to little) the smell can be noticeable. Nine months of living aboard and I pretty much had the management down though occasionally when someone else wa aboard had the urine tank overflow. Lesson there is empty twice a day no matter what!!!
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Old 02-09-2010, 10:42   #6
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Does the city have the legal authority to board someone's boat and pour a dye substance into his/her head???

I understand that this process is common in lakes but there is a big difference in a lake AND the ocean.

This smacks of big government!!!

Good reason to keep a few gallons of bleach on board!!!!

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Old 02-09-2010, 10:47   #7
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Why hasn't anyone figured out how to turn the holding tank into a microbial fuel cell yet?
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Old 02-09-2010, 10:47   #8
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Does the city have the legal authority to board someone's boat and pour a dye substance into his/her head???

I understand that this process is common in lakes but there is a big difference in a lake AND the ocean.

This smacks of big government!!!

FOGGY

With boats it seems anyone with a bit of authority can do anything they want. I was boarded by the Fish and Wildlife while underway in the ICW in FL and they dumped the dye in my head. This was near New Smyrna Beach.
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Old 02-09-2010, 11:02   #9
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Does the city have the legal authority to board someone's boat and pour a dye substance into his/her head???

I understand that this process is common in lakes but there is a big difference in a lake AND the ocean.

This smacks of big government!!!

Good reason to keep a few gallons of bleach on board!!!!

FOGGY
The Coast Guard has the right to board any vessel at any time for any reason they like. Always have, always will. Nothing to do with big government.

And in the harbor, you're entering the city controlled water space that the city is responsible for. If you don't want a dye tablet, don't pull into Avalon (or Newport). You can't hold a city (or port district) accountable for maintaining a clean and navigable waterway and then hamstring them on the ability to do it.

Keeping the buoys painted and the lights working is "big government" but no one seems to mind that.
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Old 02-09-2010, 11:03   #10
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My joker flap gave out and I decided to go with the Natures Head. Taking the head out was no big deal. I had to cut out the platform for the head and put in a new section of floor so the new head was a comfortable height - they are quite tall and I had no room for a foot rest. I then waited for a month or so to let the lines dry a bit before removing the tank and hoses. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I'm extremely glad I did. As a live aboard the old tank was my nightmare. I haven't found the NH to be free of odour however. It takes management and care not to overflow the urine catchment. On the other hand the smell is never in the cabin because I keep the door to the head closed. If urine has gotten into the tank the smell out the vent gets strong or if you don't have the right amount of desicant (to much or to little) the smell can be noticeable. Nine months of living aboard and I pretty much had the management down though occasionally when someone else wa aboard had the urine tank overflow. Lesson there is empty twice a day no matter what!!!

One of the guys I talked to about it said he empties his every night like clockwork. IN CANADIAN WATERS wink-wink he empties it down the sink drain in the head and chases it down with a water rinse.
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Old 02-09-2010, 11:30   #11
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One of the guys I talked to about it said he empties his every night like clockwork. IN CANADIAN WATERS wink-wink he empties it down the sink drain in the head and chases it down with a water rinse.
I hate to waste fresh water so I just dump it over the side.
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Old 02-09-2010, 11:45   #12
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The one draw back is having to empty the urine tank every day or two. If it goes for three or four days it's still not bad. But it is a quick chore and certainy outweighs a leaking hose. Being a Cat I'm able to vent my head under the bridge deck, a real advantage. So far I haven't had any smell problems at all and I leave the sliding door to my head open all the time. I've stated before on the other thread that my boat smells better since I've installed the compositing head. Like Hummingway said above, give your hoses a chance to dry out a bit. When I removed all the hoses, valves, heads, and holding tank I still had some mess and spillage. But the saving grace was that I knew that it was the very last time I'd ever have to clean up or deal with that type of mess ever again. They are expensive for what they are. But I believe it was Brnt Swain that said "Let the Chinese get a hold of this and they'll be less than a $100".
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Old 02-09-2010, 12:21   #13
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I do like what the article ended with though:

Quote:
While the tests are an effort to catch -- and prevent -- holding tank dumping, Contreras does not expect to find many boaters doing illegal dumping in the harbor. Most pollution comes from other sources, he explained.

“I don’t think this is just the boats: There are landside issues (such as runoff) … and nature in general,” he said, referring to the harbor’s numerous sea lions, birds and other wildlife that create waste problems of their own. “You can’t just blame it on boaters.”
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Old 02-09-2010, 16:01   #14
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Soinds like a good idea. Too bad more communities aren't doimg the same thing. Seeing T-paper residue floating around anachorage makes you wonder wheree the rest of the residue is ar...
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Old 02-09-2010, 16:07   #15
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The Coast Guard has the right to board any vessel at any time for any reason they like. Always have, always will. Nothing to do with big government.

And in the harbor, you're entering the city controlled water space that the city is responsible for. If you don't want a dye tablet, don't pull into Avalon (or Newport). You can't hold a city (or port district) accountable for maintaining a clean and navigable waterway and then hamstring them on the ability to do it.

Keeping the buoys painted and the lights working is "big government" but no one seems to mind that.

It is not the Coast Guard doing the dye test, its the city. Do not mix the Coast Guard's authority with that of some jack booted CITY employee benefiting from the patronage system. And as for "holding the city accountable for maintaining a clean and navigable waterway" goes, no city that I know of has the responsibility of maintaining a navigable water way. Try the Corp of Engineers.

Next, maintaining clean water???? The same citys that have for decades allowed raw sewage into their waterways? This is a good case for American Civil Liberties Union to challenge .......... WOOPS!! I FORGOT, THEY ONLY SUPPORT wild left wing issues.

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