Holding Tank

[joker4142]

Good day All
I’m looking at a 1977 37 Gulfstar. The first thing it needs installed is a Holding tank and plumbing. I do not want to reinvent the wheel. Some one out there has all ready done this. My questions are where did you place the tank, how large of a tank did you go with, and how hard or easy was the instillation?
Thanks Joker

[James S]

I'm not familiar with you particular boat.
I installed a prefabricated 80 gal fiberglass tank in my bilge for gravity fed grey water. And I built in-situe another tank for the black water by heavy glassing in around bulkhead and deep stringer like partitions.....installing the prefabbed one was way easier, but I was lucky to have a place for it.
The location may dictate the type of tank you choose.
In looking at locations, remember that you'll need to vent the tank and allow for emptying it.
Many people swear by having two vents coming from the tank to opposite sides of the boat, this is said to help the bio stuff work.
Emptying the tank can be done by pumping over the side or through a deck outlet, or both.

[bstreep]

You might also consider an MSD 1 device like a Lectra San. It can be cheaper, and you then don't have to deal with a holding tank.

[4arch]

Or you might want to consider a composting head like a Nature's Head or an Airhead. No tanks, no hoses (and the thankless, messy task of replacing them every few years), no valves, no pumps, no pump-outs, and, as long as you use it correctly, little to no odor.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

We have aWhitby 42 which I thinbk is similar to the Gulfstar. Our retrofitted tank is under the forward companionway, aft of the forward bilge and in front of th eengine room and battery bank. A 40-gallon tank is wedged in pretty tightly under the centeer cockpit floor. When the macerator's sea cock is opened it pumps overboard, otherwise goes to a deck The macerator pump is in the forward bilge between the galley and the nav station. ng.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by 4arch

Or you might want to consider a composting head like a Nature's Head or an Airhead. No tanks, no hoses (and the thankless, messy task of replacing them every few years), no valves, no pumps, no pump-outs, and, as long as you use it correctly, little to no odor.

+ 1 for that. Just ripped out our wet plumbing system and the boat has never smelled better.

[Tia Bu]

I installed a nine gallon tank on a thirty foot boat last year. It cost about $300 in parts and took 2-3 days' work, as I recall. It's really not so tough a job. The worst part is working with the hose, which is very inflexible. A hair dryer to heat up the hose helps. It also helps to have a plumbing supply house or big-box home supply store nearby for the umpteen trips out for that little plumbing part you didn't think to purchase.

The composting toilet sounds like it might be worth a try, by the way. My holding tank system works fine, but odors are a constant battle. There oughta be a better way!

[gonesail]

i installed a 12 gallon tank on my boat along with all hoses and Y valve. check out OceanLink Inc.. i used the black rubber trident 1.5" hose which is fairly easy to work with. is there an existing MSD? if so does it pump overboard? then all you need is a hose to the tank and a hose to pump out with an optional manual pump out. measure 3 times and cut once. and use liquid soap when you need to fit the hose on a barb.

[gulfstar37]

Made my own tank for our gulfstar 37 out of fiberglass and epoxy and put under the Vee berth. See post on 4/01/2010 for construction.