LectraSan/Porta-potties Re: [Rhodes22-list] (no subject)

[Mary Lou Troy]

Bob,
No experience with Lectrasan - or any other marine head for that matter. 
There was a discussion of porta-potties last month on this list. You can 
find it in the archives at the Rhodes22.org site 
(http://www.rhodes22.org/mailman/listinfo/rhodes22-list) - click on "Rhodes 
22 list archives" part way down the page. If you then choose "October" and 
"by Subject" look for the subject "In Praise of Porta-potties".

Seeing as how I didn't comment then, I'll add that porta-potties require 
very little maintenance. I'm curious as th why you think a porta-potty 
would severely limit the potential of the boat. Dumping them and keeping 
them clean is not a big deal. With just the two of us aboard and only 
(ahem) modest privacy concerns, we think the cabin is roomier with the 
older style semi-enclosed head. We generally just bring the porta-potty 
home to dump and clean but if we are out cruising, we will dump it in a 
marina restroom if the marina doesn't have dump facilities - most in our 
area don't. I do try to pick times when the restrooms aren't crowded. The 
fancier the marina, the more likely that I'll carry the holding tank up to 
the restroom in a plastic bag late at night. When cruising we tend to visit 
a marina every second or third night for showers and general clean-up. In 
the event that we are out longer we have a second holding tank for our 
porta-potty acquired when a previous one developed a leak in the freshwater 
pump bellows. Models don't change much so we were able to buy a new one 
just like the old one and get a second holding tank in the process. If we 
use it, the full one just gets stored in a plastic bag under the seats 
until we can empty them both.

You might want to think about how and where you will use your boat and why 
you are buying a 22 foot boat instead of, for example, a 16 foot boat or a 
30 ft. boat. We wanted enough room to cruise and yet keep the boat simple 
enough to maintain so that during boating season (7 months of the year 
here) we would not spend much time on maintenance. We live two hours away 
from where we keep the boat in season and we wanted to maximize the fun 
quotient when we are on the boat. The Rhodes 22 has worked splendidly on 
all counts - including our simplified head.

Best wishes

Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Ft. Washington, PA / Swan Creek, MD






At 07:00 AM 11/7/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>Hello, the list!  My wife & I had a great time @ the St.Pete show, 
>including a nice demo sail from Stan on Tampa Bay. First time on a 
>Rhodes.  Even better was a chance to jaw with Stan for awhile.  Just as 
>you folks hold him in esteem, he holds you in high regard and his frequent 
>advice was to "ask the owners".  So I will.
>I'm an old(er) guy, new to sailing, who has intermittently lurked on the 
>list in the past.  But I'm cloudy on a few essentials.  When someone 
>refers to searching the list or archives, how do you do this?  Is this a 
>reference to the listing of FAQ on the GBI site?  Is there still some 
>connection with Sailnet where a body of info resides?
>I hope to become a Rhodie in the near future and because I want to spend 
>my remaining years sailing and maintaining (rather than repairing), I'm 
>aiming for a new boat.  The choices to be made seem daunting and no terror 
>of the seas more menacing than the marine head.  I'm tempted to go with a 
>portapotty although I hesitate to limit the potential of the boat so 
>severely.  Stan suggested asking the list about Lectrasan. Sounds great, 
>but expensive and I fear the attempt to solve a complex problem by 
>introducing such a complex gadget is a triumph of hope over 
>judgment.  Anyone have experience with Lectrasan?
>Many thanks, Bob
>__________________________________________________
>Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list