Head system for chaparral 266 sunesta

[upi441]

I have a 2012 sunesta which currently has a carry out porta pottie. I have used one before and do not care to carry the waste out and dump. That being said, What 'system' would be best.. I do have room in the engine compartment for holding tank??? Would the kind of head where the tank is under toilet seat be good choice. I prefer a pump out.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Karen

[peghall]

You might want to consider a self-contained system--an "MSD" portapotty that's fitted for pumpout and designed to be permanently installed. A 5-6 gallon model holds 50-60 flushes...you'd need at least a 30 gal tank to hold that many from a manual marine toilet. No plumbing needed except a vent line and pumpout hose--so no new holes in the boat...and -0- maintenance needed except for rinsing out the tank--which you can do with a bucket while it's being pumped out. And all for about $200--about what you'd spend just for a new tank or a new toilet.

The two brands you want to consider are Dometic/SeaLand and Thetford (I'm partial to Thetford). There are only two sizes--2-3 gallons and 5-6 gallons. "MSD" in the model # means it's designed to be permanently installed and pumped out ...no "MSD" means it has to be carried off the boat to empty it. The footprints are pretty much same for all of 'em...it's the height that determines capacity. However, "same footprint" doesn't necessarily mean that what's made today will fit your existing mounting brackets...in fact, the odds are pretty good that nothing will. Not a big deal to move 'em though.

Check out the Thetford 365 MSD... the 465 MSD even offers the "push button convenience" of an electric flush, powered by 6 AA batteries.

The Dometic/SeaLand 711-M28 "Marine Traveler" is a VERY nice "souped up" MSD portapotty...Read all about it here: SeaLand 711-M28 It also costs a lot more than the more basic models, and also needs a lot more space...the tank footprint is about 20 x 20.

Hope this helps. If not, I'll be glad to help you sort out what will make you happy.

[Richard_W]

You can also check with Chap users here: Chaparral Boats Owners Club ... they are a helpful bunch that can tell you how things were done on their boats, post pictures, etc.

[patselkirk]

I am hoping Peg will be able to come out of retirement and give me some advice...we presently have Raritan crown II heads on our 89 model Californian...first of all I hate the seawater odors that seem to be ongoing, I don't like the noise when it is flushing (wakes me up and can't seem to go back to sleep) and they stop up making me afraid to use it unless it is a dire emergency and I could go on but bottom line is we are finally going to replace them and was told by a hot shot salesman we needed vacu-flush. We are still in the thought process and I am wanting the pros and cons of the vacu-flush or other options and was wondering your thoughts.