Installed, but not composting. Yet.

On Friday night after work we drove down to the boat, with the dual objectives of (1) installing the composting head, and (2) 'winterizing' the boat.

The forecast temp for Friday night in Oriental was 25F, the coldest yet this year. After all the cold weather we have been having, we were concerned that the water temps might be cool enough to allow stuff in the boat to freeze. Our winterizing involves setting up the dehumidifier in the head (keeps air a few degrees warmer than ambient) and a temperature-controlled outlet that will turn on a 25W light bulb in the engine compartment and a small electric heater on the floor.

The other job for the weekend was to install the composting head, with the vent and the electricity for the fan. Bob had purchased a whole pile of parts that we might use to connect the compost chamber up to the solar vent in the hatch.

It was cold when we arrived, but the stars (Orion and the Milky Way) were beautiful. We first removed the inflatable kayak we have been stowing in the cabin. Given the water temps, we later decided it was time to put the kayak up for the winter. We might still get it out if the weather is nice, but chances are slim that we will use it often. We set up the two electric heaters, put the extra blankets on the beds, and settled in for the night.

Bob, as usual, was up early getting the parts out of the car for the installation. The base he had made out of starboard was perfect, and after a quick test to make sure we could get the top off (necessary to empty both the liquid and solids tanks), he installed the toilet. Then we started working on the routing of the vent hose from the toilet to the solar fan, which is mounted in the lexan of the cast bomar overhead hatch.

Our head is very small, and to get the door to open fully we had to raise the toilet 1.5inches and turn it slightly sideways. We had a similar issue with the vent. Bob attached some kind of plumbing piece to the vent, then a pvc elbow, but he had to sand the bottom of the elbow a bit so the door would close! Eventually, with a combination of flexible hose and rigid pvc it was all connected. Of course, we have only an intake fan blade for the solar vent, so it's still not quite usable. Bob also connected the small fan in the toilet base to our 12v system so we can use that fan if the other doesn't work all the time.

We cleaned up, set up the heater, and when we come back with the right fan blade we'll be all set.

Buying some, selling some

Bob has ordered the starboard (about $70 worth),and the step stool ($22 from West Marine) for the new head. We just sold the old toilet, the old CruiseAir, and the old CPT autopilot for $50, so it's a net loss of 42$ on the day. Now there's enough room in the sailing closet for the spare alternator, starter, storm jib, paratech drogue, third anchor/chain/line, extra life jackets (we have 11 on board), spare stay/shroud, and who knows what else.

Going green

Is it still unclear to me whether 'going green' in this circumstance means we are becoming more sustainable in our boating, or if it means we will be suffering from nausea because of dealing with a composting toilet. But we have decided to give it a try.

Yesterday, we took the boat out for a sail(recall that we had removed the holding tank last weekend, and so had only a bucket to use as a toilet) and spent the early part of the day sailing on the Neuse River. It was wonderful, except the holding tank smell had not abated, even without the tank. Unfortunately, we still had the hoses, and the toilet, and the pump-overboard pump in the head and under the vberth. It was not pleasant.

So, when we returned to the Boonedocks, we called Tom at Below the Decks in Oriental, and he brought out the composting toilet to see if it would fit in our tiny head. This required that we remove the hoses (more yuck) and the toilet (double yuck).

The Nature's Head is 20" tall, 18" front to back, and about 18" wide. Our head is just aft of the vberth, and the base for our current toilet ranges from 8" to 13" deep (the wide part is aft, with an angle up from the base following the contour hull, is 22" wide and is a raised platform (internal fiberglass pan) of about 3". The only way we could make it fit was to raise it 1.5" and angle it slightly. We bought the toilet, and Bob is making a base out of starboard.

With the 20" height, the 3" platform, and the new 1.5" base, the seat is now 24.5 inches off the floor. Compare this to your typical household toilet, which is 13" or so off the floor. We are going to get or make a step so that at least some of us can rest our feet on the step while using the toilet, or perhaps use the step to get up on the toilet. Weird things to write about...

Next trip out to the boat, I expect we will install the base, install the fan, pour in the slightly moistened peat moss, and...use it! Which is great, because the bucket idea was not popular with our 10 year old.

Keeping the wenches and winches happy

Bob really tries to keep me happy with the boat. I think I'm perfectly reasonable, have only safety in mind, and never ask for more than we can afford. Bob...well, he sees things a little differently.

This last weekend we spent another work day at the boat, servicing the main halyard winch, taking the two mast winches off (not trivial), calibrating the tachometer (ick). Once these jobs were finished, we discussed which job would be next. Previously, we had decided that we needed a larger holding tank, and the easy thing (Bob's idea of easy, not mine) would be to build our own holding tank. In addition,there was something smelly on board...

The holding tank it was.

We cleaned out the vberth (aka the garage), opened up the storage area that keeps the holding tank out of way, and yes, discovered the source of the smell. At some time recently, the holding tank had...exploded. Probably because it was overfull, the seal on the clean out had...uh, was...uh, it was disgusting.

We took out the holding tank. Cleaned up the mess in the vberth. Dropped the holding tank in the trash at the Boonedocks. And drove home.

Then I got started thinking about pump-outs, lectra-sans, and composting toilets. Technology has failed me: there aren't any good solutions yet. But I checked into the composters, again.

There are composting toilets specifically designed for boats. Typically, they require some electricity to power a vent (though a solar vent can be used). In the words of one user, composters also require the sailor to get 'up close and personal' with their excrement. The plusses are (1) no pump outs, (2) no through hulls, (3) nothing to leak or clog, (4) no smelly creek water in the system (a big part of our smelly head problem is due to the creek water we use for flushing). The minuses are (1) no pump outs, (2) seeing and living with the poop, (3) dumping the compost when the time comes, (4) dumping the urine bottle frequently (every 2-3 days).

So, envision this. A week long trip through the Pamlico Sound. Composter fills up and we...I don't know. I guess we empty it BEFORE we go. Or this. A three week trip to Bermuda. Composter fills up and we dump it outside the 3 or 6 or 12 mile limit. We dump the urine overboard every other day (be sure you dump it on the leeward side of the boat, please). Once at anchor in St. Georges, we have to sneak our urine bottle into a cloth grocery bag (never again to be used for groceries?) every other day and take it to the public toilets at the visitor's center to pour it into the toilets there. If we are only in Bermuda a week, the composter will be fine (actually, it might be fine for the whole three weeks depending on how many of us there are!)

On the Bermuda trip, the alternative with a holding tank is this: dump outside the three mile limit from the US and pump overboard (this is an invisible operation!) every day or two while at sea. While at anchor in St. Georges, we can either hire a pump-out boat (I have yet to find one in St. Georges), go to a dock with a pump-out (I have yet to find one in St. Georges), or go for a day sail every other day out beyond the 12 mile limit to dump the holding tank. Hmmm, not a pretty scenario. Alternatively, we could dump before entering Bermuda waters, dock at the Dinghy Dock and take the 1/4 mile hike to the bathroom (saving the holding tank space for nighttime use only). One week at the dock is about $500. Sigh. No easy answers.