Head and vent hoses

[Wayne Cassady]

All—A lot of time has slipped by since we restored our J40 over 20 years ago. Several things I still think of as new are now a couple of decades old. One important item being the head handling and discharge hoses we put in new. We used Shields Super Sanitation hose and Shields Vac Extra Heavy Duty hose which came recommended at the time. Looking for advice on hose brand/type to use for replacement and for vent hose replacement. We are getting odor from the forward head into the cabin. Guessing after enough time, even the right hose material gives up? Also, any issue with the joint materials used for connection? Should they be replaced too? Thanks for any insights on this.

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[David Jade]

When we redid our head we used Shields 105 Poly X. Lifetime guarantee against odor permutation. Not cheap though but have been happy with it.

That said, we still occasionally get a little odor but I suspect it’s from old plastic fittings, etc… that are not as impermeable as the hose is. We replaced most fittings and valves but not all (and we probably should have replaced them all).

David _/)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> On Nov 15, 2025, at 11:59 AM, Wayne Cassady <wayne.c...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> All—A lot of time has slipped by since we restored our J40 over 20 years ago. Several things I still think of as new are now a couple of decades old. One important item being the head handling and discharge hoses we put in new. We used Shields Super Sanitation hose and Shields Vac Extra Heavy Duty hose which came recommended at the time. Looking for advice on hose brand/type to use for replacement and for vent hose replacement. We are getting odor from the forward head into the cabin. Guessing after enough time, even the right hose material gives up? Also, any issue with the joint materials used for connection? Should they be replaced too? Thanks for any insights on this.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
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[david hills]

Sounds like there are other opinions you could consider, but I recently had the aft head hose replaced and used headhunter. My understanding is it will never get rigid and was highly recommended by the yard where I picked up Raven to bring her North. Not cheap!

David Hills
SV Raven J42

David Hills
Caretaker
Emery Farm
135 Piscataqua Rd
Durham, NH 03824
603-674-6412

I am my own strength, there is no other
I am my own weakness, there is no other
We are all one, there is no other

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 15, 2025, at 10:12 AM, David Jade <da...@mutable.net> wrote:
>
> When we redid our head we used Shields 105 Poly X. Lifetime guarantee against odor permutation. Not cheap though but have been happy with it.

> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/j4x-owners-group/901A789F-B444-4F51-A6A0-0B1DAC0140E1%40mutable.net.

[Michael Moradzadeh]

In my re-plumb, I noted with some disapproval that the aft head hose ran DOWN to the hull then UP to the tank entrance, meaning that the hose was full of effluvium at all times.

I re-ran by running UP to the Y-valve and then up to the conduit (I used a good length of solid PVC where I could which had a slight down-slope, and then into the tank, where I replaced the fitting to face out rather than down.

I think this will be less likely to lead to stink.

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[Wayne Cassady]

Thanks guys for the advice on replumbing the head(s). It will make a good winter project. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 15, 2025, at 5:03 PM, Michael Moradzadeh <m...@yachtpc.com> wrote:



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[Michael Moradzadeh]

"Good"...?

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[York.richardw]

Awww, Michael, it can be fun.  In Croatia in 2005, I could not get quality sanitation hoses.  So we took the old ones, filled with calcium, and beat them on the dock until all the crusts came out.  Great way to relieve frustration.  

Of course we did have to re-install them…. 

Dick

On Nov 15, 2025, at 22:19, Michael Moradzadeh <m...@yachtpc.com> wrote:



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[Ed Sitver]

My only addition to the conversation is that having two vent lines from a holding tank, on opposite sides of the boat, if able, is said to reduce odor by allowing better aerobic decomposition. Or something like that. Basically, you want good airflow through the tank to reduce odor in/from the tank. I had a second vent fitting built into my new tank, but haven't added the second line yet, so can’t speak to the effectiveness of that. But it’s what the “experts” say. 

Additionally, you might check your overboard through hull. I suspect there is some odor leaking from the overboard valve on Ventus. I will look at rebuilding that Forespar valve over the winter (I believe there’s an o-ring in there around the stem from the handle that seals a very small gap). I replaced every component of the forward head (toilet, tank, hoses and all fittings) except for the deck fitting for pump out and the overboard through hull, and still occasionally get a bit of odor I can’t track down. I feel like my connections are not the culprit, and the smell seems to emanate from near the through hull. 

Tangent: I replaced my VacuFlush set up with the Raritan Elegance electric macerating toilet, and am so far very happy with the change, although it doesn’t fit quite as well in the head. The VacuFlush worked great, but it requires more maintenance and, more important, I more than halved the amount of hose in my system by removing that and the direct overboard flush, not to mention being able to delete a pump and big vacuum container. The Raritan allows finer control over the water flush/fill cycles that I like. 

~Ed

[Larry Romano]

when I redid my J40 I used 1.25” PVC which has an OD of 1.5”, same as the tank fittings and through hull. I also bought some Stainless steel hangers with rubber to protect the PVC. It took awhile to dry fit everything before gluing the PVC together. No odor. I’m only a coastal cruiser not sailing around the world.

On Nov 17, 2025, at 10:14 AM, Ed Sitver <esi...@gmail.com> wrote:

My only addition to the conversation is that having two vent lines from a holding tank, on opposite sides of the boat, if able, is said to reduce odor by allowing better aerobic decomposition. Or something like that. Basically, you want good airflow through the tank to reduce odor in/from the tank. I had a second vent fitting built into my new tank, but haven't added the second line yet, so can’t speak to the effectiveness of that. But it’s what the “experts” say. 

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[Wayne Cassady]

I really appreciate these insights. I will add that sometimes the bellows on the holding tank manual pump outs will “inflate” indicating pressure in the line. Maybe a vent issue? I clean the vents of spiders etc… but maybe something further into the line? Thanks.

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 17, 2025, at 12:21 PM, Larry Romano <j40r...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[John Plominski]

Replumbing isn't a great winter project if you're in the Northeast and store outside  I replumbed our forward head a few years ago thinking the same thing.  The hoses become very stiff and less malleable in the cold weather which makes routing and bending difficult, and disconnecting/reconnecting the hoses to their barbed connectors worse than difficult.  A heat gun will help, but its much worse in cold weather to handle the hose overall so I recommend having a plan to keep the hose warm.  If I could do it again I would have waited for the random 60 deg winter day and probably found a way to measure and cut the hose while keeping it in a warm area, but you may be less of a masochist than I am and run an interior heater when doing winter projects...We had a baby on the way at that point so just needed to get the project done when there was time to get away and do the work.

I like the other suggestions for a double holding tank vent though!  We get a bit of an odor in the cabin spaces when the vent gets a little clogged.  No clogs =no pressure to force smelly air out of any other locations.

Drew

J40 #79

Boston MA

[Wayne Cassady]

I crawled around this past weekend and got a lot of photos to help me dread this project. The vent hose looks real accessible so I think I will start there. The pressure on the system makes sense and I think is what causes the manual pump bellow to inflate.Thanks.

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 25, 2025, at 9:42 AM, John Plominski <drew.pl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Replumbing isn't a great winter project if you're in the Northeast and store outside  I replumbed our forward head a few years ago thinking the same thing.  The hoses become very stiff and less malleable in the cold weather which makes routing and bending difficult, and disconnecting/reconnecting the hoses to their barbed connectors worse than difficult.  A heat gun will help, but its much worse in cold weather to handle the hose overall so I recommend having a plan to keep the hose warm.  If I could do it again I would have waited for the random 60 deg winter day and probably found a way to measure and cut the hose while keeping it in a warm area, but you may be less of a masochist than I am and run an interior heater when doing winter projects...We had a baby on the way at that point so just needed to get the project done when there was time to get away and do the work.

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[William C. Wohlforth]

Indeed, I redid fwd head plumbing in summer (albeit in Maine) and still appreciated the flexibility/ease of use (but not the price) of Raritan Saniflex. Even then the original Trident Series 148 could only be removed from fittings by sawing it off.  I had planned to use the Trident for portions of the system less prone to standing waste, but I found it unusable in those tight areas—had to do the whole thing with the Saniflex.  Doing that job in cold weather must’ve been a bear.

Bill

Hotspur J/42 No 74

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[WSC]

You're giving me not so pleasant flashbacks-lol.   I posted this info a few years ago when I tackled this dreaded, but necessary and worthwhile project.  Hopefully it saves you some grief and cussin.  https://groups.google.com/g/j4x-owners-group/c/BIIYb-qrXRw/m/mVa5LBf1AgAJ

Sean C - J42 #1 VIDA

[david hills]

GREAT info Sean! 

David Hills

Caretaker 

Emery Farm

135 Piscataqua Rd

Durham, NH 03824

603-674-6412

I am my own strength, there is no other
I am my own weakness, there is no other
We are all one, there is no other

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 26, 2025, at 6:23 AM, 'WSC' via J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

You're giving me not so pleasant flashbacks-lol.   I posted this info a few years ago when I tackled this dreaded, but necessary and worthwhile project.  Hopefully it saves you some grief and cussin.  https://groups.google.com/g/j4x-owners-group/c/BIIYb-qrXRw/m/mVa5LBf1AgAJ

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/j4x-owners-group/e3cc9d60-fd87-4558-88be-dc32393f48c5n%40googlegroups.com.

[Wayne Cassady]

Thanks for that additional info. Hoping this goes well. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 26, 2025, at 9:37 AM, david hills <davideh...@gmail.com> wrote:

GREAT info Sean! 

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[David Shapiro]

Wayne,

A few years back, on the hard at Canoe Cove on Vancouver Island, during an upper (Jefa) and lower (Matt Schuster jewel) rudder bearing replacement (chronicled earlier),

I fondly remember - shudder - having a yard mechanic, pulling on my feet, while I was trying to pull a sanitation hose loose out of one of the y-valve fittings on the forward head, and taking a brown shower. I was wearing a tyvek hazmat suit, but it ripped when the hose came loose and we both recoiled backward. He banged his head against the Starboard locker.

I did all the hoses that time and will sell the boat before I try that again.

DAS 

S/V "Sandpiper" J42, Hull 32

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--

Bridger Aviation Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 1029

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406-579-3166

[Todd Stevens]

I just extracted the old VacuFlush system yesterday, and despite best efforts to empty and dry out the system, there were still plenty of foul substances spilled in every compartment along the way.  Today, every time I hike over to the wash room, I’m bringing back a bucket of bleachy water to try to swab and flush all the nasty out of the boat. Right now it’s about 50:50 bleach to sewage odor.  An awesome combination.  

Possibly it may have been better to plug all the limber holes before starting, so that the mess would be contained. But some of those holes were occupied by the hoses I had to remove…

Todd

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[Ed S]

I just went through removing the whole vacu flush system last spring, but managed not to create too big of a sewage pond. I did drag a hose into the boat and alternated soapy flushes with freshwater rinse after an initial bleach wash. Great fun. 

More importantly, I removed the direct overboard wye valve, and just use the macerator to pump overboard. It eliminated connections and an extra run of hose. Short of doing long offshore passages, I think there’s a little downside, and it tidies up the sewage plumbing. The aft head is gravity dump, so that covers pump or electrical failure. 

Regards,

Ed

------------------------------------

Ed Sitver

esi...@gmail.com

WhatsApp:  +1 303-570-5071
Mobile: +1 303-570-5071

On Nov 27, 2025, at 12:16, 'Todd Stevens' via J/4X Owner's Group <j4x-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I just extracted the old VacuFlush system yesterday, and despite best efforts to empty and dry out the system, there were still plenty of foul substances spilled in every compartment along the way.  Today, every time I hike over to the wash room, I’m bringing back a bucket of bleachy water to try to swab and flush all the nasty out of the boat. Right now it’s about 50:50 bleach to sewage odor.  An awesome combination.  

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[Wayne Cassady]

Ha. The brown water thought made me laugh and shudder. I will plan on trying to limit the reach of that stuff into the hidden spaces nearby. I did have some luck using a strap style oil filter remover to torque the cockpit drain hoses loose for replacement but I am not sure each connection of the head hose system has room for that.

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 27, 2025, at 4:12 PM, Ed S <esi...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Dick York]

"I did all the hoses that time and will sell the boat before I try that again."   ROFL!!!!

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[Dennis Boyd]

Oh boy,   all the projects I've yet to tackle.    I got my hands full as is.        Fingers crossed I can defer most of this till next year.