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Message board > Care & maintenance > Heads this way, tails that way?

Message 3 of 3
Posted by member Clive ffitch on Tuesday 23 April 2013

Hi Simon, Thanks for the great advice! Toilet installation all went to plan, and looks good with wooden block grey Danboline'd and matching carpet around to cover the new bilge access hatch. The seacocks are lined up ready to install next. Definitely going for just through the hull between the stiffeners - good point re the potential crushing and leak penetration if installed through the stiffeners. I'm also fitting a vented loop to the outlet, which also makes the loop/bend in the hefty 1.5inch pipe a lot more compact! Just a loop for safety in the inlet, as it is set well above the inlet seacock, and above the waterline, so no syphoning would be possible under normal modus operandi anyway. Best, Clive

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Message 2 of 3
Posted by member Simon Kidd on Monday 8 April 2013

Hi Clive, Good work - and nice to see Adele in the Mag! Ref the through hulls, these are usally fitted through the FRP only (i.e. not through a stiffener), the Hardy hull is quite thick and stiff thus no pads should be needed. Hauley has two through hulls fitted, these are through the FRP only, no pads fitted and they're sound and firm. My worry with fitting through stiffeners would relate to the possiblity of crushing the stifferner when tighening the through hull and the also the risk of a leak penetrating the wooden stiffener and causing rot to set in. I see timber pads fitted now and again, but 80% of power boats don't seem to have them. A number of the pads I've seen fitted had sofened and needed removal or replacement anyway.. Ref the Loop - If you can fit a loop in the circiut then so much the better! Again, powerboats often don't bother (though they should really!!), without a loop fitted, the through hulls should be turned off unless the loo is in use. (Again, this I suspect rarely happens, but should be good practice). I see vented loops fitted on later boats - with a vent filter - to prevent any nastiness... but again, 80% + of boats i see don't have these. With teh sea cocks being easily accessible, then switch the system off when not in use and keeping the system system simple would be my preffered approach - especially were space is limited. Best Regards Simon.

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Message 1 of 3
Posted by member Clive ffitch on Thursday 4 April 2013

... and Never Mind the Seacocks! Or perhaps I should say, which way to fit the heads, so your tails fit comfortably! We have reached that moment with our Family Pilot 20 Adele, as to how we now fit the sea toilet that we opted for - a Jabsco "Regular" - and where to put the seacocks - the (perhaps obligatory!) Blakes - for best, shall we say, performance. The hardware we had settled on without issue, and had decided against the porta-potti-take-away-nasties-to-empty scenario (done that, got the T-shirt!). The geography of the thing we had not. We have seen various scenarios of fore and aft siting (or sitting), against athwartships with legs out the door modus operandi, and realised that conducting sitting trials was the only way forward (or sideways...). So... turns out that the best way, including retaining the First Mate's modesty, is to face forward, with the toilet sited for and aft. This also enables the pipes and heady mechanics to fit neatly under the helm controls and steering back panel, whilst not getting stuck leaning forward too much, and maintaining acceptable knee-room and manouevrability (without getting too delicate about it!). However, great big benefit, we are fitting a large 3" thick piece of wood under the toilet itself, thus raising the performance to a more acceptable height. This gives, overall, we think, the best set up that we could arrive at. You can even sit down, swing your legs in, and close the door, depending on your divesting technique! That sorted, the installation has also been considered. Access to the closed bilge compartment under the heads compartment will be solved by adding a neat screw-down access hatch that will hide away under the carpet that we will fit around it all. This will then enable bolt bown of the wood with access to the nuts. The toilet itself will likely be secured by hefty bolt-headed screws to the wood as it is chunky enough. Now... the seacocks. That is where I am still pondering. They will be sited in the starboard locker immediately forward of the heads compartment. Inlet forward of the outlet, and outlet higher ideally. But where in the hull? Should I fit the seacocks through the hull where the stiffeners are built in, or between the hull stiifeners to retain their full integrity? Does the hull thickness warrant using additional wooden pads if not through the stiffeners, or can I do without? What has anyone else done with their seacocks? Also, I'm assuming an antisyphon loop on the outlet, but height of the toilet in the compartment indicates the height of the toilet rim will be about 8" above waterline as taken from the slight turn in the hull/boot-top line, so a loop in the inlet not necessarily needed. I've also seen other Hardy boats with no loop in the inlet similarly sited. Thoughts anyone? Lastly, vented loops are recommended, though many people do not have them fitted, and my first boat had none fitted on the antisyphon loops, and was never an issue (didn't even realise they were needed, if they were, at the time!). Are vented loops really needed, or will just a simple loop suffice? Silly question... do they whiff? Oh the joys of the sea-going throne! Hopefully I've helped others' thoughts on the subject with the way we are dealing with the subject matter (I'm sure there's plenty more puns there somewhere!), and others' thoughts on said matter are most welcome! Thanks! Clive

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