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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Portable toilets

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indyshelley
1st Mate

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USA
45 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/31/2014 : 18:36:52

My new to me Catalina 25 is missing the head and I'd like to buy a new one. Is there a certain brand or type that is better than the other? Where is the best place to buy one? Do most have hold downs? Thank-you in advance for any recommendations. I love this forum!

"Lakehouse" 1981 TR/SK #2443 Dinette Model
Eagle Creek Reservoir, Indianapolis, Indiana

Edited by - indyshelley on 03/31/2014 18:37:17

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3367 Posts

Response Posted - 03/31/2014 : 20:30:44

My porta potti had broke a few years ago. It was a Sealand porta potti with the clips that clamp onto the hold down bars. It had a broken cover and then developeda leak in the plastic pumper. It was many years old. In reviewing what to replace it with, there were several models out there including the Thetford and Dometic. I believe the Thetford Model has received favorable reviews, however, the Dometic was actually the company that took over Sealand over 10 years ago and seems to be selling the same basic unit that I had but under both the Sealand and Dometic names. It just seemed easier to buy the Dometic that West Marine was selling since it also had similar clips as my old Sealand and the hope was that it would clamp into my old hold down mount. It turned out that it did and so for me, the ease of install seem ed the way to go. The Dometic works fine...but I use it infrequently. It's nothing fancy but does the job...or rather allows you to do the job.

I just checked West Marine and Defender and they seem to be selling the same model under the Sealand name. Amazon has both of them, basically the same porta potti under both the Sealand and Dometic names. Thetford is also in the mix. You may want to check out Amazon to at least see what the collective responses/ratings are for each of the brands, then decide if you want to buy locally or via the web.

Edited by - OLarryR on 03/31/2014 20:46:53

hewebb
Admiral

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USA
761 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 02:46:54

My boat came with a marine head and holding tank. Because I sailed on a couple of lakes that did not have a pump out facility I changed to a Porta-Potty. I had to make the sole for it bigger for the base to sit on. I used a piece of plywood and put wood strips on it to hold it in place and a bungee chord in front of it to keep it there when heeled over. Have in mind to use a teak rail to replace the bungee. The Porta-Potty has two tanks, the top one holds fresh water and the waste goes in the bottom one. We have spent 6 days on the boat several times and still had fresh water in the top tank and room in the waste tank, however, if we stopped at a marina for lunch or dinner we used their facilities.

Edited by - on

mrapkins
Navigator

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USA
124 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 05:44:23

Before going to the trouble of plumbing in a head and holding tank, check this out : http://www.cleanwaste.com/ also http://www.amazon.com/Cleanwaste-Mini-Bulk-Poo-Powder/dp/B002AEHYP8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8& qid=1396355882& sr=8-5& keywords=cleanwaste.

I am contemplating using this. Simply place a trash bag in my existing head, add poo powder, use, remove bag with now solid non-smelly contents and store in an appropriate container until the next marina visit.

My worst nightmare is a tough passage (and here on the Chesapeake, the waves are very steep) and my holding tank breaking lose and having gallons of sewage being flung all over the cabin!!!!

I think I would scuttle the boat!!!

Edited by - on

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 09:23:04

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Have in mind to use a teak rail to replace the bungee.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Suggest getting the 5gal size. I didn't use the plastic tie downs, Just looked cheap to me. I screwed three aluminum angles to the floor. The potty sits inside of them and they keep it from sliding around. Then I added a teak gate in front to keep it from tumbling out. The teak gate simply lifts straight out.

Edited by - on

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3312 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 11:29:39

I have 2 used porta-pottis for sale - one 5 litre and the other smaller. Both thoroughly cleaned. Any offers? e-mail me for details.

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Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 13:14:20

Derek, how quickly can you have them here? I really gotta go! Seriously tho, I wish I hadn't let my portapotty go when I sold my C25. You never know when you might need a portapotty.

I did the same thing as Heweb. I think I had the Sealand 5 gallon version. Worked well and was easy to get rid of the nastiness. When my C25 had the pump-out head, it was a bit of a bear to pump it out because of the pump-out location.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 14:17:06

Electric flush is nice and Thetford offers it on a large capacity unit that I enjoyed.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 17:58:27

Jeff: Do you have (and want to use) a convenient pump-out facility for a fixed head? Or do you need or prefer a portable? Have you used either? Some larger portables have fittings for an optional pump-out connection, which eliminates the need to install and maintain a holding tank. All have clamp-downs; typically a metal fixture for the floor with plastic clamp on the potty. It won't move if you roll the boat.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 04/01/2014 18:04:16

indyshelley
1st Mate

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USA
45 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 18:24:23

These are all good tips! Please keep them coming.
Our club has a tank we can dump a portable head into....no pump out available. I've only used an inexpensive(Walmart) port-a-potty many years ago on a San Juan 21.
Do you think the larger portable makes the seat too high on our C25's elevated step? I'm 6' and wife is 5'4".

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 Jeff: Do you have (and want to use) a convenient pump-out facility for a fixed head? Or do you need or prefer a portable? Have you used either? Some larger portables have fittings for an optional pump-out connection, which eliminates the need to install and maintain a holding tank. All have clamp-downs; typically a metal fixture for the floor with plastic clamp on the potty. It won't move if you roll the boat.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3367 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 20:03:09

Considering what Porta Potti to get, sizewise that is, maybe there is a formula for height of a person vs size of .... Only kidding. But you may want to consider that the larger unit you buy, then probably the more flushing water you will utilize to fill it up. Not that it would become a burden to pick it up and transport but a larger porta potti will be that much heavier to move about and so you may want to consider if a larger unit is really a benefit for you or if a smaller unit will be sufficient.

By the way, my marina also has a pump out station but I rarely, if ever, dock at the fuel/service dock. I tend to only use my finger slip. I carry the bottom unit to the bathroom or home to dump it into the toilet. Since I have a 3 gallon portable gas tank, I also, except for one time that I used the service dock, always bring it home and fill it up locally. So, off-loading at my finger slip is the norm. If that becomes the way you will be mostly doing it, then a larger porta potti will be that much heavier to carry. But if you use the potti frequently during the season, then , perhaps the larger unit is indeed the way to "go" !

Edited by - OLarryR on 04/01/2014 20:04:51

Lee Panza
Captain

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USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 20:28:49

Another approach worth looking into (figuratively) is the so-called composting toilets. The two most popular mfgrs. are Nature's Head and Air Head, although I'm looking into a third called C-Head that's simpler and more basic (with mission-critical components I like to Keep It Simple, Sailor).

I referred to them as "so-called composting toilets" because the poo usually doesn't truly compost - it primarily dessicates. The key principle behind them all is keeping the urine separate from the poo. These devices are all designed to send those two waste streams into separate compartments (even for female users). A lot has been posted on numerous forums about them and they are almost universally highly praised. The most widely reported benefit is the greatly reduced smell, but I think the environmental impact is also important: most people add fluid to their porta-potties that keeps the smell down by killing-off the flora that produce the odors, but that same fluid harms the organic process at the wastewater treatment plant.

Take a look at these units, Jeff; I think it's a concept worth pursuing, and I'm expecting to be replacing my perfectly good porta-potty with one this year.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2014 : 21:03:23

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by indyshelley
 Do you think the larger portable makes the seat too high on our C25's elevated step? I'm 6' and wife is 5'4".<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">We replaced a 1.3 gallon (?) unit with a 5 gallon, and liked the 5 better. (I'm 5'9" and my wife was 5'4".) As I recall, the 1.3 became a bit of a problem after two days and one night on our first trip.

Edited by - on

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