Replace holding tank on our 34

[Clay]

Now that we've replaced our head with a composting (Air Head)unit thus the holding tank is not being used. Before we completely rip out all the hoses and glass over the thru holes. I want to make sure our decision to go to the 'dark side' (composting head) is a wise one.

Looking forward if all goes well our thoughts are to use the holding tank for either an additional fuel tank or add additional battery capacity. The area is perfect for additional weight as it's down low and centered.

Thoughts?

Regards,

Clay
S/V Tango
1989 CR 34 hull #2

[LB Home]

My first thought is resale. If you do all that it would be hard to return it to original set up.
My holding tank was under the headand floor at the forward bulk head. Not that accessible. A lot of work for the small amount of space gain.


Larry
Boarless

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[petesown66]

Hi Clay

I too will be removing my wet head for replacemnt with a composting head. Did you use AirHead?Can you post some pictures of your install?

Pieter

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[Clay]

Hi Pieter-

I believe pictures of our newly installed 'Air Head' is posted over on the CR yahoo site...

[Thierry Danz]

Clay, didn't you mean on the Facebook group?

Thierry

On Jul 23, 2017 11:38, "Clay" <clay...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Pieter-

I believe pictures of our newly installed 'Air Head' is posted over on the CR yahoo site...

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[petesown66]

Thanks Clay

I wasn't aware that there is a Yahoo site. 

Can you send me a link or the name of the site

Thanks

Pieter

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S7 active, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Clay <clay...@gmail.com>

Date: 7/23/17 11:38 AM (GMT-05:00)

To: caborico <cabo...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: RE: [caborico] Replace holding tank on our 34

Hi Pieter-

I believe pictures of our newly installed 'Air Head' is posted over on the CR yahoo site...

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[Clay]

Correction:search Cabo Rico Owners on Facebook. You'll need to join if not already.

[Leslie Owen]

Hello Pete. The pictures were on my phone. Remember Tango is the CR 34. I chose the AirHead as it seemed the best choice for our small vessel. I reviewed Natures Head and C-Head as well.

The AirHead fit on the raised platform with some overhang. It was, however, appropriately secured. An inspection plate was put in the vertical face of that platform to facilitate installation. No plate or wood base needed to be placed on the platform. That was important as it is really tall already.

Hope this is of help

Leslie

s/v Tango, CR, hull #2

[LB Home]

I am thinking your holding tank must be in a different location than out 84 CR. Not sure how I would even to it to remove it without really tearing up the floor.
Larry
Boatless

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>> On Jul 23, 2017, at 5:06 PM, Clay <clay...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Correction:search Cabo Rico Owners on Facebook. You'll need to join if not already.
>>

[Leslie Owen]

Larry our holding tank is under the floor of main cabin. There is a large piece of floor in the main saloon that must have 12 to 16 screws holding it down. Then you would need to open a port into the tank. 😧. The fact that this would be lower than the engine and forward of the fuel pump or if we could consider batteries in that space since we don't know how deep it is brings more questions. We don't know if anyone has opened that space. Certainly our two boats are different in tankage placement. If it was appropriately ventilated and tall enough, it could hold a few batteries.

Best,

Leslie

s/v Tango, CR34, hull #2

Sent from my iPhone

[LDCB...@aol.com]

Ok Interesting. I had the center tank access open several times. I do not remember seeing the holding tank but then again I was not looking for it.

Thx,

Larry

[Linda Mote]

Interesting topic - has anyone removed a LectraSan unit? That's my next project. Doneva has been in fresh water for 20 years - LectraSan is a salt water unit and has been non functional. I dread the job and am looking for any helpful info 

Thanks

Linda CR 38 #36

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[Patrick Dayshaw]

Clay et al,

As an Air Head owner with over ten years experience on two boats, 8
years on my current CR 38, I would strongly recommend you do not remove
or disable the built in holding tank or plumbing. Despite the fact that
composting head users almost always have positive experiences, you will
run into lot's of folks who just can't get past the imagined "uuck"
factor that those with no real experience seem to have. Even after
witnessing how easy and painless dealing with the system is, there are
many who will say "No way". As others have suggested it could be a deal
breaker, or at a minimum be a negative impact on resale if the
traditional system is completely removed.

I would suggest you just cap/seal everything off so that on resale you
could demonstrate how easy if would be to go back to a traditional
system. As others have noted, the work required to actually convert the
existing tank into usable space would be a rather small return on your
effort.

Speaking of the "uuck" factor, I can't imagine trying to cut into the
tank to make use of the rather small space available. Plus on the 38 at
least, the tank sides are structural in that they are part of the box
beam that supports the mast step.

Good luck.

Patrick,

CR38, #43, http://www.svsilhouette.com

[Leslie Owen]

Thanks for your post Patrick. You described exactly the config we have paused at. In fact one can see the "out hose" capped exiting the space under sink in the picture showing the AirHead. The toilet is stored at home for the future owner of our vessel.

Course when you talk about small vessels it makes you think hard about that "unused space". Haha. The uck factor is a great deterrent to ever utilize that area.

It sounds like you have found the AirHead to be a satisfactory solution if you had two vessels with these.

Best,

Leslie

s/v Tango, CR34, hull#2

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[Chuck Batson]

This is such a great topic. I'm planning for this exact project in the next year or so. That space is so precious on a CR 34, and I was looking forward to removing the holding tank and using that location to store chain, spare anchors, tools, spare parts, canned food, beer -- anything heavyish and small enough to fit!

Clay, I'll be curious to hear whether you end up taking the red pill or the blue pill.  ;-)

Best wishes,

Chuck

[petesown66]

Thanks Leslie.

I will follow this topic with interest, as I an also going down this path.

My 1987 CR38 setup does look significantly different than your boat though.

Does anyone have pictures of a setup in a CR38?

Good yours is "appropriately secured"

If not "Oh Sh1t" might be more than just an exclamation when the boat lurches....😁

Pieter

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S7 active, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

-------- Original message --------

From: Leslie Owen <kb3...@gmail.com>

Date: 7/23/17 7:19 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: cabo...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [caborico] Replace holding tank on our 34

Hello Pete. The pictures were on my phone. Remember Tango is the CR 34. I chose the AirHead as it seemed the best choice for our small vessel. I reviewed Natures Head and C-Head as well.

The AirHead fit on the raised platform with some overhang. It was, however, appropriately secured. An inspection plate was put in the vertical face of that platform to facilitate installation.  No plate or wood base needed to be placed on the platform. That was important as it is really tall already.

Hope this is of help

Leslie

s/v Tango, CR, hull #2

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Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 23, 2017, at 5:06 PM, Clay <clay...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Correction:search Cabo Rico Owners on Facebook. You'll need to join if not already.
>

[JMacK]

In response to the setup for a 38, we installed a Nature's Head one year ago and have been happy with the switch.

Attached are some pictures including the inside of the holding tank.  The tank on the 38 is separated by a baffle and would be quite difficult to clean.  The picture shows things growing despite several thorough washes...

I felt the setup to remove liquids was more convenient on the Nature's Head vs Airhead.  The Nature's Head liquid jug is set into a well attached to the rest of the unit. The well overhangs and can be supported by a wooden block as shown in the picture. The liquid holding jug for the Airhead is separate from the main base and would need additional support in a way that maintains the water-tight seal with the rest of the unit.

John

[Pete Smith]

John, thanks for the photos.

Did you do make any changes to the base it is mounted on. I haven’t had the time to llok into more detail, but it looks like the base might offer opportunity to cut out some section to allow the head to sit lower and more towards the hull?

Any concern space wise with your install as is?

 

Pieter

[JMacK]

Hi Pieter,

Thanks for asking.  A helpful exercise for me was to download the dimensions of each unit and measure/plan several times.

I left the base intact as it is quite solid 0.5-0.75 inch thick fiberglass.  I did not want to potentially interfere with the boat structure and a new owner might want to revert back to the old pump/flush head.  The base is solid enough to secure the Nature's Head. Two holes need to be drilled with a chamfer.

Other space considerations:

-- The head sits high.  Our solution is a folding stool to rest feet on when sitting and easier access for children (Rubbermaid RM-PL1W Folding 1-Step Plastic Stool).  The higher height is also advantageous for men when standing ;)

-- The head is longer than the old pump/flush head, so it projects further towards midline (towards the sink). This is somewhat minimized by the the Nature's Head;  an angle at the back of the bottom of the Nature's Head allows the base sit more to the starboard side and out of the rest of the standing area for the sink and head area. I recall this as another advantage in the setup on the 38 over the Airhead.  

Overall the composting head will feel bigger and take up more space than the old pump/flush head. Howver, after a while, it becomes the new normal.

John

[Patrick Dayshaw]

Speaking of air heads...

I received an off-list inquiry regarding my "...ten years of experience
with the Air Head Composting Toilet". I was a bit confused at first
since for the last ten years I have owned a Natures Head unit but then I
went back and re-read the post I had made.

I've no idea how I managed that but it is what it is. Air head indeed.

I agree completely with John's comments on his unit. I found the Natures
Head to be simpler in its construction especially with regards to the
liquid bottle.

One change I did make was to add an additional brace to the back of the
unit, basically a short section of aluminum angle and a wooden spacer
that used the through bolts on the hinges and tied the unit to the
bulkhead/structure behind it to stiffen the units mounting. I didn't
think that the two bolts and rather thin SS angle brackets that secure
the unit at the base was adequate for open ocean use. Over the course of
our 22,000 mile Pacific trip I was glad I did, especially when going up
wind, as the height of the unit stresses the base mounting a bit while
in use in rough conditions.

My apologies for any confusion my errant post may have caused.

Patrick

__________________________

Clay et al,

As an Air Head owner with over ten years experience on two boats, 8
years on my current CR 38, I would strongly recommend you do not remove
or disable the built in holding tank or plumbing. Despite the fact that
composting head users almost always have positive experiences, you will
run into lot's of folks who just can't get past the imagined "uuck"
factor that those with no real experience seem to have. Even after
witnessing how easy and painless dealing with the system is, there are
many who will say "No way". As others have suggested it could be a deal
breaker, or at a minimum be a negative impact on resale if the
traditional system is completely removed.

I would suggest you just cap/seal everything off so that on resale you
could demonstrate how easy if would be to go back to a traditional
system. As others have noted, the work required to actually convert the
existing tank into usable space would be a rather small return on your
effort.

Speaking of the "uuck" factor, I can't imagine trying to cut into the
tank to make use of the rather small space available. Plus on the 38 at
least, the tank sides are structural in that they are part of the box
beam that supports the mast step.

Good luck.

Patrick,

CR38, #43, http://www.svsilhouette.com

On 7/23/2017 4:40 AM, Clay wrote: