Huh? Re: [Rhodes22-list] Exploding Porta Potties

[Saroj Gilbert]

Ok... I'm jumping into this conversation.. When my porta potti finally broke 
and got too grungy to bother cleaning up... yet again... I decided to 
implement the very simplest of all possibilities aside from hanging one's 
bare ass over the gunnels... Here it is:

First of all, for the liquid part of the process, a hand-held urinal.. with 
a push-on adapter for a good fit for the female anatomy.  There are two 
great features of using this: (1) a woman single-handing can use it 
reasonably discretely in the cockpit itself as long as you aren't in a busy 
location with a bunch of other boats around... esp. not sailing in Norfolk 
near a Navy ship; (2) when done, pour it over the side and rinse it with the 
water surrounding the boat. Done and done.

Now, for the solid waste... a 5-gallon container, a plastic bag liner, a 
toilet seat made especially to fit on the container (easy to find in a 
marine catalogue, a camping supply store or in West Marine).  Do your biz, 
tie up the bag, take it to the nearest trash container.  Nothing heavy to 
carry, sealed to protect anyone handling the bag down the road, the 
container never gets soiled, the toilet seat cleaned with a quick wipe with 
APC; nothing to explode unless some practical joker puts white phosphorous 
into the bag.... and the best part, you need a bucket on the boat anyway for 
cleaning so it serves both purposes.

Saroj

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary Lou Troy" <mltroy at verizon.net>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 2:39 PM
Subject: Huh? Re: [Rhodes22-list] Exploding Porta Potties


> Bill,
> All I can say is you have way too complicated a porta-john.
>
> Ours is a Thetford 135 with a bellows pump and sliding closure a the 
> bottom of the bowl. I've never experienced the pressure build-up you 
> describe but if I suspected it, it would be easy to crack the closure & 
> then flush. Simple, few moving parts and only a 2.6 gallon waste tank - 
> which is why when we empty it every other day I can carry it up the dock.
>
> On the other hand, if we lived on a mooring like you do, we'd have a 
> marine head or plumb the porta-john to a deck pumpout fitting.
>
> Best,
> Mary Lou
> 1991 R22 Fretless
> Ft. Washington, PA / Swan Creek MD
>
> At 11:12 AM 11/21/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>>Maybe it's a "get the new-guy" thing, but the Porta-Potty advocates never 
>>seem to mention that Porta-Potties can blow out in your face--repeatedly.
>>
>>I developed plumbing problems with my marine head (which is terrific and 
>>completely odor-free when working properly) owing to barnacle build up on 
>>the inlet side.  On the advice of this list, I decided to switch over to a 
>>Porta Potty this year, which I planned to eventually plumb into the rest 
>>of my marine head system.  Luckily the project was more complex, and 
>>launch time too short, so my boat went to sea with just a standard 
>>Porta-Potty.
>>
>>I have mentioned this before--as far as I'm concerned, the best feature of 
>>a Rhodes-22 is that a man can make a pee while standing up with no risk of 
>>falling overboard.
>>
>>My first disappointment with the Porta Potty was that the lower portion is 
>>far more bulky than the small marine heads Stan installs, forcing me to 
>>lean into the hatch opening at an off-balance angle.  It wasn't quite as 
>>satisfying as the no hands required to hold you upright position I had 
>>grown so accustomed to, but I felt I could live with it.
>>
>>Then came the big surprise!
>>
>>It was a hot summer day.  Time for a great pee.  I did my business while 
>>surveying a lovely ocean vista.  Now, I know the women in this crowd will 
>>have no sympathy for what happened next...It is impossible to flush a 
>>Porta Potty while standing up, facing forward, with your upper body 
>>protruding through an open hatch.  You must back out of the head, and, 
>>while in this bent-over position, your head mere inches away from the 
>>potty seat, grab the potty handle and pull it toward you as you exit the 
>>enclosure.
>>
>>Did I mention that it was a HOT summer day?
>>
>>Most of you have the picture in your minds by now.  The lower portion of a 
>>Porta Potty is air tight.  That's why you can't smell what's inside.
>>On a hot summer day, that air expands.  But on a new Porta Potty, it has 
>>no place to go--until you pull that handle!
>>
>>Then it blows your business right into your face which is mere inches from 
>>the seat.
>>
>>Again, I know the women in this crowd are going to say "Just put down the 
>>seat!" but if that advice, which has always been in my best interest, 
>>hasn't always been followed for lo these many years of marriage, it's not 
>>likely to always be followed now, either.
>>
>>I tried to remember to let out the air before pulling the handle when 
>>there was anything in the upper chamber.  But on hot days, the pressure 
>>could build up again, over and over.  I just didn't remember every time. 
>>(It's the same with the toilet seat--I know I remember most of the time, 
>>but my wife only remembers the splashes in the middle of the night 
>>followed by husband-awakening invective.)
>>
>>After 3 or 4 more explosions I pulled out the Porta Potty, and replaced it 
>>with my old marine head.  Life has been much better ever since.
>>
>>Let me mention, also, another factor I found daunting in my Porta Potty 
>>experience.  A gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds.  A large porta potty 
>>holds 6 gallons of water.  That's 50 pounds of sloshing 
>>s..............stuff you're walking around with, hoping not to pull the 
>>wrong handle by mistake.
>>
>>My boat is moored 1/2 mile from shore.  The nearest clean out facility is 
>>1/4 mile from the dock.  My wife didn't take well to the notion of 
>>bringing the tank back home in the back of the car.  Sure, I could have 
>>done it more often, but the clean out procedure is just as foul as you 
>>would imagine it to be, and walking around with 25 pounds of effluent is 
>>no picnic, either--especially if you have to do it twice as often.
>>
>>When I have my boat recycled I'm going to talk to Stan about what we're 
>>going to do next.  Using fresh water on the inlet side of the head is the 
>>best way to go.  It totally eliminates all odors which are mainly caused 
>>by little creatures pulled in with the sea water that die in the tank. 
>>The tank and pump out systems have always worked perfectly.  If all I have 
>>to do is replace the valves on the marine head every couple of years, I'll 
>>gladly do that maintenance in exchange for a far preferable marine head 
>>system as far as I'm concerned.
>>
>>Bill Effros
>>
>>
>>William E. Wickman wrote:
>>
>>>Ron, et. al.,
>>>Everyone has an opinion about marine heads vs. porta-pottie, so here is
>>>mine.  When I was first looking at a Rhodes, having a marine head was an
>>>important criteria.  At one point, I had considered going the full monty; 
>>>a
>>>marine head with holding tank, macerator, and even an electra-san.
>>>However, after reading the archives and upon further reflection, I 
>>>realized
>>>that the main reason that I wanted one was not for practical reasons, but
>>>because it would make me feel more yachty.  The Rhodes is not a large 
>>>boat.
>>>That is what makes it so appealing, because it doesn't have all the big
>>>boat problems.  As I read somewhere else on the list, it seems like those
>>>big boat sailors that have marine heads are always having to fix 
>>>something
>>>on them.  Moreover, unless you keep the holding tank empty and clean, 
>>>there
>>>always seems to be an odor.  Simple is good.  I realized that I am not
>>>going to be living on this boat, and the longest that I will probably 
>>>ever
>>>stay out is a week (maybe two if I'm lucky).  90+% of the time I am out 
>>>on
>>>the boat for a day sail or overnighter.  I believe that most Rhodies will
>>>confess a similar percentage.  I ended up with a boat that has just the
>>>porta-pottie, and have been very happy with it.  There is zero 
>>>maintenance
>>>with it, and it is very easy to dump anywhere there is a toilet.  Granted
>>>it is a bit more hands-on than a pumpout, but a porta-pottie is much 
>>>easier
>>>to keep sanitized than a non-removeable holding tank.
>>>
>>>I'll finish with a true story.  I was on vacation during the summer of 
>>>2004
>>>chartering a 45 foot sailboat in the San Juan Islands.  It was a 
>>>wonderful
>>>trip.  We had just docked for the evening in a marina on San Juan Island
>>>and were walking off the docks to town when I saw the skipper of a rather
>>>nice yacht in the process of emptying his holding tank into a "honey 
>>>pot".
>>>At this particular marina, they had tanks mounted on wheels with electric
>>>pumps that they called honey pots.  It was a self-serve system that 
>>>enabled
>>>you to empty your sewage at your slip without having to go to a pump-out
>>>station.  Well, right as we were passing by, something went amiss.  The
>>>hose popped out of the holding tank fitting and drenched the skipper who
>>>was bending over the hose fitting.  After everyone around finished their
>>>collective Eeeeew, there was a bit of laughter by the small crowd that
>>>always seems to gather around when some such activity as emptying a 
>>>holding
>>>tank is taking place.  It looked just like something out of a comedy. 
>>>The
>>>skipper didn't think it was very funny though, and proceeded to spew a
>>>string of profanities that required me to clap my hands over my 8 year
>>>old's hears and quickly usher her away.  Moral of the story:  A
>>>porta-pottie will not blow-out in your face.
>>>
>>>Bill W.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>             eroncol at aol.com
>>>             Sent by:
>>>             rhodes22-list-bou To             nces at rhodes22.org 
>>> rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>>> cc
>>>             11/18/2005 02:48 
>>> Subject             PM [Rhodes22-list] thanks for replies
>>>
>>>
>>>             Please respond to
>>>               The Rhodes 22
>>>                 mail list
>>>             <rhodes22-list at rh
>>>                odes22.org>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Hi
>>>Ed K., I do exist.  Been busy and not always near a computer.   Sorry 
>>>about
>>>the delay.  Thanks to you, Mary Lou, Steve Hemphill and Russell Miller 
>>>for
>>>your responses.
>>>I live in Wynnewood, PA, Mary Lou.  I must get hold of your chapter in
>>>"Sailing Small."   Thanks for the references Ed.  I will look at them.  I
>>>already see abut the differing opinions, answers and facts,  though each 
>>>of
>>>you say newer is better.  Actually that is true of your comments re boat
>>>and motor.
>>>I've used marine head but never have used a porta-potti. Seems there are
>>>differences of opinion both about enclosed head and about porta-potti
>>>versus marine head.  Why prefer the porta-potti?  I assume as Ed says, 
>>>that
>>>this may be in the archives.   I will look.
>>>Looks like I've got some thinking to do.  And some talking to Stan.
>>>                               Ron Coleman
>>>__________________________________________________
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>>>
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