"Falky foo" wrote in message om...
Been shopping around for sail boats here in Calif. One guy has one at a
great price, but it was built in 1970 and "doesn't have a holding tank."
Does that mean that your crap flushes straight into the ocean? Is that even
legal? Can a holding tank be fitted easily or would that be super
expensive? I plan on leaving the thing at anchorage and on moorings, not in
a marina. But I don't want to be arrested when big turds bob to the surface
around my boat (I inhale a lot when I eat). Do anchorages require holding
tanks?

I must admit I know next to nothing about marine sanitation.

You cannot discharge untreated sewage. And "treated" has specific
defintions are not met by some of those old, funky, not so sanitary,
sanitation systems.

And don't be led by anyone to believe that "this old boat is
grandfathered". It doesn't matter how old the boat is, you can't
discharge raw sewage within 3 miles.

You would probably need to install a holding tank or treatment system.
Treatment systems like the Lectrasan use a significant amount of
electricity. Each flush thorugh a 12 volt Lectrasan draws about 40
amps for two to four minutes. This may not be practical on a small
sailboat.

Even if you have a treatment system, you may not be able to discharge
treated sewage. You can't discharge any sewage, treated or not, in a
no-discharge zone. The only federal no-discharge zone I know of in
California is Richardson Bay. However - there is an obscure
California state regulation that makes any CA marina with shoreside
restroom facilities a no-discharge zone. Kinda stupid, and I have
never heard of it being enforced, but the reg exists.