Why living on a boat sucks

[Capt Phil]

Thanks for posting, Linda... my experience after living aboard for about 15 years is that I spent as much time servicing the head and showersump as I did on all other regular maintenance aboard. We had vacuflush fresh water heads finally that solved a lot of the maintenance issues when properly managed, i.e., nothing down the head that you haven't eaten first!
When your toilet plugs at home, you call a plumber... when living aboard, you are the plumber!
Cheers, Phil

[SV DestinyAscen]

You know winter is approaching when people are literally arguing over perfectly valid ways of disposing urine and fecal matter.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by lindabarzini

I'll readily admit I don't know anything about composting toilets IRL, but I have been on dozens of boats and all of them have some sort of stink, even if its a whiff just when flushed. The old boats with permeable tubing are especially vile.

What some of you think is "equivalent to a home" toilet; its not, especially to a really sensitive nose.

I promise you I have a pretty good nose and hate boat stinks of all kinds. Coming back to my boat after it's been closed up for a couple of weeks the only, tiny odor at all I detect is from the cleaner used before I left. Yes the first flush will give a very noticeable sulfur smell from the dead critters in the intake line but on my list is to add a T and a line to the head sink drain to flush out the lines before I leave the boat which will solve that.

If you want expert advice and confirmation on how to make a head completely odor free contact Peg Hall on this forum. She literally wrote the book on the subject. Better yet, buy the book because it tells you how to get rid of all varieties of boat smells, the head being only one of many.

[tuffr2]

In my RV I can 'flush' the blank tank to help keep the sonsors working but more important we use a deodorizer small pouch that we drop in. That helps but agree fresh water helps also.

Now my RV never sits long with the blank tank partially full as it is easy to drain and prime with fresh water and deodorizer

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[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by lindabarzini

I'll readily admit I don't know anything about composting toilets IRL, but I have been on dozens of boats and all of them have some sort of stink, even if its a whiff just when flushed. The old boats with permeable tubing are especially vile.

What some of you think is "equivalent to a home" toilet; its not, especially to a really sensitive nose.

How does your "sensitive nose" like the smell of diesel, before and after it's been through an engine? Another boat smell you'll need to get used to.

[Hearts Content]

No, winter is here! The white raven has flown.

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

You know winter is approaching when people are literally arguing over perfectly valid ways of disposing urine and fecal matter.

[lindabarzini]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

How does your "sensitive nose" like the smell of diesel, before and after it's been through an engine? Another boat smell you'll need to get used to.

Yep, I'm not a big fan of the diesel smell either.


Also, the "only flush what you eat is nuts to me" also, NOT a fan of used tp in a plastic bag. Oh, hell no!!

This is also a problem in Caribbean homes. Many of the septic tanks don't take paper.

I am praying the composting toilets only smell like potting soil as all the videos say. <fingers crossed>.

[tuffr2]

Truck drivers call the smell of diesel, perfume and the noise a diesel engine makes, music.

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[Jolly Roger]

I totally cured all smells from my two heads by converting them to freshwater flush. When we have a shore water supply I use that, and when at sea I draw from the tanks if we are only doing a short passage, or I can quickly change back to seawater flush. An article is on my website, click on freshwater heads.

[ozskipper]

I just laughed my coffee out my nostrils.

[sailorchic34]

I just rebuilt my head today. OK the boats head. Totally disgusting. But at least now it's all clean and shiny again. and more importantly works well. A delightful job that one must do every not and then.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

I just rebuilt my head today. OK the boats head. Totally disgusting. But at least now it's all clean and shiny again. and more importantly works well. A delightful job that one must do every not and then.

"A delightful job that one must do every not and then???" A small slip revealing how you really feel about the job?

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by skipmac

"A delightful job that one must do every not and then???" A small slip revealing how you really feel about the job?

Yes indeed. It is at the bottom of my list of things to do. Alas it sometimes rises to the top. About once every 4-5 years.

I'm a bit pooped from wrestling with it too. But it had to be done.

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

Linda--

A properly maintained marine toilet used properly (i.e. nothing goes in it other than human waste and TP) will function as well as a toilet ashore. The key is "properly maintained" which really isn't very difficult but seems a job that gets avoided all too often. Just include to heads on one's routine maintenance schedule and you'll be fine. To ensure plumbing doesn't load up with precipitates, we use a mix of Saltaway and water in a squeeze bottle and add a few squirts of that to the bowl and pump it into the system once the bowl's been pumped clear of waste and we've yet to have a problem on our boats, two since 1976...

FWIW...

Agree. Apart from regular use of white vinegar with fesh water last flush and grease to the shaft of our 2nd toilet we've had no maintenance requirements in 4 years.
If you only visit boats for sale then you get the wrong picture.

[Dulcesuenos]

When people say their head doesn't smell (be it fresh or seawater) Its usually because they are used to it.

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