"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...

If you are going to carry the tank to be emptied I would recommend
the 6 gallon tank.

50 lbs is a LOT to carry, Rod!

The fact that the tank can hold 6 gallons doesn't mean that you have to wait
untill it is full before you empty it!

And I routinely grab a pair of 6 gallon gas cans and carry them down the
dock. Gas weighs less than water/sewage but it is still manageable. If
nothing else, you go get the dock cart to wheel it down the dock.



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

On a 23' cuddy??? Ye gods, Rod...he'd have to put the toilet in the
cockpit and turn the entire cuddy into a holding tank!

The size of the tank has nothing to do with where the toilet needs to be
located. Put the toilet in the cuddy and pump the sewage to a tank in the
engine compartment.

I agree, however, that it is unlikely a 23 foot boat will find room for such
a tank. That doesn't change my recommendation, however. What I suspect it
will do is favor the removable tank for his application.


Even if it were practical, 40 gallons is overkill...most boats on the
Bay have 20-25 gallon tanks. Pumpouts are plentiful in MD...and most
were paid for with federal grant money, which limits the amount they can
charge for a pumpout to $5.

The San Francisco Bay also has pumpouts that were paid for with the
Federal Grant money. None of the pumouts that I am aware of on the Bay
charge anything, I suspect because it would cost them more to manage the
collection of the fee than it would be worth. These are also the pumpouts
that are typically in poor or non working condition. The exceptions are the
units that are in awkward or hard to get to spots, deep in a marina.



IMO, a permanently installed 5-6 gal portapotty is the only viable
option for him on a boat that size.

I agree that a 5-6 gallon portapotty is the best option. The choice of
permanently installed or carry the tank to dump it is in question. Perhaps
a deciding factor is if this boat ever gets put on a trailer and taken home
or to some other location. If your only option is to pump the tank out, you
MUST empty the tank before you load the boat on the trailer to go home.
That can be a real hassle on a Sunday evening when you want to hurry up and
leave. It can be impossible if you have visited a local lake that has no
pumpout.

Rod

a deciding factor is if this boat ever gets put on a trailer and taken
home
or to some other location. If your only option is to pump the tank out,
you
MUST empty the tank before you load the boat on the trailer to go home.
That can be a real hassle on a Sunday evening when you want to hurry up
and
leave. It can be impossible if you have visited a local lake that has no
pumpout.

Rod

You don't have to pump out every time you boat (although that's the best
practice). I bought a macerator pump and some fittings and created my own
pumpout which I can use at home. I plan to tie into the septic system but
for now I pump into a plastic tank and empty it into a toilet. Cost - about
$120.00. My holding tank (in a 25' cruiser) holds 15 gallons.
Ron