tis the season for new members

[chris mac]

Hello all, you may have guessed I am another new member. My name is Chris and have been cyber stalking this forum for a while now. This spring my wife and I finally bought our own boat, so I finally felt worthy of introducing myself. We found a well maintained 1980 san Juan 7.7. The seller was nice enough to drive the 3+ hours to my lake and help me raise the mast and rig up. One more example of how nice sailors are
The rest of the summer will be dedicated to playing and learning so we can rework and modify over the cold alberta winter. The only projects for this sailing season will be a depth finder, cheap as I can get away with, and replacing the missing head.
So that brings me to my first of many questions. On a boat of this size that will be primarily fresh water, is it worth the money and hassel of reinstalling a marine head or just go with a camping porti pottie.
Thanks for listening and I welcome all input from the wealth of experience here.
Chris

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by chris mac

Hello all, you may have guessed I am another new member. My name is Chris and have been cyber stalking this forum for a while now. This spring my wife and I finally bought our own boat, so I finally felt worthy of introducing myself. We found a well maintained 1980 san Juan 7.7. The seller was nice enough to drive the 3+ hours to my lake and help me raise the mast and rig up. One more example of how nice sailors are
The rest of the summer will be dedicated to playing and learning so we can rework and modify over the cold alberta winter. The only projects for this sailing season will be a depth finder, cheap as I can get away with, and replacing the missing head.
So that brings me to my first of many questions. On a boat of this size that will be primarily fresh water, is it worth the money and hassel of reinstalling a marine head or just go with a camping porti pottie.
Thanks for listening and I welcome all input from the wealth of experience here.
Chris

Howdy and Welcome Aboard the Forum!

Regarding the head question:

On a small boat like that, I think it depends on how frequently you plan to use the boat/head and how long you plan on staying on the boat (just a day or two at a time?). If it is only for short periods (day sailing, weekends) then I would either:

1. Use a Porta Potty (I personally don't like them, because of odor, weight.)

2. Use a 5 gallon paint bucket (with tight fitting lid and add-on toilet seat you can buy for a few bucks, specially made for such buckets) with kitty litter. Dump the contents (in plastic bag). Light weight, easy, no need to carry a big wet smelly heavy plastic thing back and forth to the boat (like a porta potty).

Good luck on your sailing adventures and have fun!

Steady

[laika]

A composting head is also a good option. They're typically a bit deeper than a portapotti so it may not be a glamorous fit on your boat, but they don't smell!

If you look up "c-head" you can find the dimensions for a cardboard mockup that would give you a good idea. Unless you build your own, they're more expensive than a portapotti, but still less than a standard head/holding tank.

Congrats man!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Chris.

[AnglaisInHull]

Hey, a sailor from Alberta! I grew up there, went to U of A, but discovered sailing (on Georgian Bay) after I moved east. No specific advice to offer right now except: do it.

[chris mac]

Thanks for the welcome everyone. The composting head does look like a good option.
Anglaisinhull, I spent a year at UofA. For marine biology. Turns out if you fall asleep during class you don't get to come back.
We went to the boat today for a picnic. First day in months there was no wind! Bad news is we had too pull it out of the water as they didn't have any slips left. Previous members have priority. As I was pulling the trailer out I caught a rough edge of concrete and blew a tire. Completely shredded it moving 30 feet to clear the launch. sailing can be expensive even when you're not sailing!
That said it was still the most fun I've had all week.

Chris