"David Ditch" wrote in message
...

I have the option of a pump out or no pump out head.
What is invoved in pumping out? Where?

There are a variety of different head arrangements, some of which may be
illegal in your boating area.

A direct discharge system uses a pump to directly empty the toilet bowl
overboard through a thru-hull fitting in the bottom of the boat. Such a
system is legal if you are a few miles out in the ocean but is NOT legal in
any bay or inland waterway.

A variation of that system is to treat the waste and then dump it overboard.
A "Lectra-san" is a brand name of such a system. Dumping the treated waste
is acceptable in some bays and inland tribrutaries, but is still illegal in
many areas.

The most common head arrangment for use in inland waters is the holding
tank. The same toilet as the direct discharge is usually used, but the
waste is pumped into a holding tank instead of overboard. Many boats that
are used in both inland and off shore will often have a "Y Valve" so they
can choose between pumping overboard or into the tank. Beware, though, as
many inland areas consider the Y-valve to be illegal.

A variation of the holding tank approach is a "porta-pottie". This uses a
very simple toilet that simply dumps the waste into a self contained holding
tank directly under the seat. You can usually separate the tank portion
from the seat portion and carry it to any restroom to empty.

A variation of the porta-pottie is to include a pump-out fitting so that the
tank can be emptied while it is still in place. Obviously, if you have the
pump-out fitting then this fitting would have to be removed before you could
manually carry the tank off to be emptied.

On any boat that has a holding tank with pump out fitting the proceedure to
empty it is essentially the same. The pump out fitting is a deck plate that
looks just like the filler plates for your water or gas. DON'T mix them up!
To empty the tank, you drive the boat over to the pumpout station, hold the
hose into the open fitting, start the pump.

If the pump out station is well maintained this is an easy operation.
Sometimes finding a pump out station that works at all is difficult, and
when you do find one it isn't in the best of condition. In some areas the
pump out stations are free and open to the public (these are generally the
poorly maintained or non working ones!). In other areas you have to pay to
use the dump station. $15 is a fairly common fee to use a private dump
station, although many marinas offer it free to their tenants.


If not pumped out, what is involved in dumping the wast in the little
tank?

My first cruiser was a 25 foot Stephens. I used a porta-pottie for my
family of four (two adults, two small children). A porta-pottie with a 3
gallon tank was enough for one day. For two days, maybe three a 6 gallon
tank was necessary. If my kids had been bigger I suspect that the 6 gallons
would not have been enough.

On the plus side, the tank was so easy to deal with. I kept the boat in a
slip at a marina, so when I returned I just unhooked the tank, walked down
the dock to the restroom and dumped it. The time and hassle was NOTHING
compared to cruising over to the dump station. It also always worked! Some
marinas don't like people dumping porta-potties into their restroom, so you
could run into issues there. If the marina also has a RV park, then they
might have a RV dump station that you can carry it down to and dump it
there.

If you are going to carry the tank to be emptied I would recommend the 6
gallon tank. If you are going to rely on just the pump out , then I would
recommend a tank of at least 40 gallons.

Rod