Composting Toilet - Catalina 28 MKII 1996

[misfits]

Originally Posted by blu3534

Would you mind to describe a bit in detail what you mean with "takes some getting use to"? If it isn't too indiscreet. Thank you.

Unlike a conventional head where the whole bowl becomes the landing zone, you have to sit straight on the seat to lineup with the opening for a BM. The design is such that the deposits fall into the front half of the solids container. The churn shaft is in the vertical position & centered in the solids container therefore it becomes a smaller target to hit. Toilet paper does not always get mixed into the medium & occasionally wraps around the churn shaft.
It's been on the boat four seasons now. It's not a bad unit but like anything else, there's always a learning curve.

[250224]

Good to know, thank you :-)

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by Lazerbrains

I would never trade a flush toilet for a dessicating one. Peggie is offering good advice - change your hoses and get a bigger tank, or go the MSD PP route. What the "composting" (they don't really compost) folks don't tell you is the amount of insects they attract, how they have to still constantly handle and dispose of urine (what do you do with that??), how they deal with diarrhea and liquidy stool, nor how they dispose of their feces when the "toilet" becomes full - it is NOT composted and is still considered human waste. I have been aboard boats with "composting" toilets and found them to be disgusting. Yet some people seem to love them - do yourself a favor and try one out before you change your whole system. You may not care for it.

I've been using a Nature's Head for about 7 years and have had none of these problems. Do you have any experience with a composting toilet on your boat?

To the OP- are you sure the Nature's Head doesn't fit? Mine replaced a standard marine toilet and had the same footprint (though taller).

[Jack C]

Originally Posted by Phantom Jim

What you want and what will fit may well be two different things. If you are really set on a composter, the C-Head is more likely to fit, both in foot print and height, than a Nature's Head. An even smaller footprint is the 5 gallon bucket sawdust toilet shown in the photo. This is in a Baba 30.

There are several composting toilet threads on the forum, your only option may be a custom designed one if the C-head can not fit.

We have had the C head for a few years. Very happy with it. They now also sell it in parts so you can build it in. They have a range of ready made units that might work. I heard of someone installing in a MacGregor.

In a Catalina 22, it may fit in the V berth under the insert. Detailed drawings are available from C-Head.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

Originally Posted by Copacabana

I've been using a Nature's Head for about 7 years and have had none of these problems. Do you have any experience with a composting toilet on your boat?

To the OP- are you sure the Nature's Head doesn't fit? Mine replaced a standard marine toilet and had the same footprint (though taller).

Just to add to what others have said, I have a Nature's Head for four years and would never go back to a traditional marine head. I've made two trips to the Bahamas since installing the Nature's Head, and with three people on the boat, we did not empty the solids container until the day before return to home port (so about five weeks), and then only because we were outside the 3 mile line and it was convenient. With regard to urine bottles, I bought a second one just for convenience, but I've had no issues with emptying. One thing I learned after about a year was to add "urine digester" solution to the bottle to reduce the smell when emptying.

Some people will just never accept the idea of composting toilets, no matter what those of us with years of good experience may say, but they really work, and they really do not smell. Also, since I removed the holding tank, I created a large additional storage area where it used to be, which as we know as cruisers is like gold.

[CMO Tashina]

They make different brands of toothpaste because we all have different preferences! I bought my 28 foot Morgan Out Island in large part because it has a Nature's Head composting toilet. And boy, was I ever glad I had and did not have to use the nasty marina communal bathroom when Covid hit! My composter collects 6 to 8 weeks of deposits before I empty it. Of course your last 2 to 3 BMs have not decomposed fully yet by that time but human waste going into a landfill will not harm nature. The vast bulk of the matter is decomposed and looks and feels like rich garden loam. There is simply no comparison with porapotties where the liquids and solids are sloshed inside one container and are horrendous to empty!

[jooa]

Hi Amanda, I installed a Natures Head on a CS27 and a Catalina 27 and in both cases it was necessary to build and install a new raised floor in the head which creates the larger floor area required for the Natures Head.

[Mike OReilly]

I've never seen any toilet being described as "cool." But I guess I'm not immersed in that world all day. I don't have to ... I own a composter .

Seriously, there's nothing wrong with a functioning standard marine head. With the proper plumbing and maintenance they can work just fine. I used them on various boats of mine for many years, mostly problem-free. So it's not that these setups are bad, it's just that they're not as good as the newer approach of the composter.

It's kinda like our discussions about anchors. It's not that the old designs aren't good or don't work. It's just that the newer ones are better -- in pretty much every way. It's call progress, and it happens in anchors AND in marine heads.

[B25Matt]

Peggy gives good advice and it should be heeded. She does seem to be an anti-composter though and its very likely brought on the zealotry of composters who refuse to admit there may be some down sides that aren't for everyone. As Peggy pointed out in northern climates (like Vancouver) these are desiccating toilets and not composting and the waste needs to be handled accordingly.

That said I have a composting toilet and I'm never going back to a conventional system but there are trade offs. In the end, the biggest issue that I find for people is that it all boils down to what bothers you more; smell or sight. For me I can't deal with the smell, not even the faintest hint of a whiff. You can argue that a brand new holding tank, hose, and toilet installation doesn't smell but sooner or later it will. I can take the full top half of my toilet off, inside the cabin and there's not a single whiff of anything offensive, even when I've just used it. Looking at poop is not an issue for me, smelling it is.

Things I gain are no more offensive smells, I'm off of the four days pump out leash. I'm in Georgian Bay and regularly go three weeks without having to dealing with the solid waste.

Down side is that its way taller than a conventional seat. I put a 6" platform around the base of it and its still not enough. It should be closer to 12". I prefer coconut coir to peat moss (again due to smell) but the coconut coir has been impossible to find this summer in Canada for some reason (Covid??). An other downside is cost. A composting toilet will cost you $1000 CAD and a holding tank solution will cost you around $600.

Be aware that technically according to Transport Canada composting toilets do not meet the requirements for a marine head and should you ever be checked, you could be fined. I've not heard of anyone ever being fined, I disagree with T.C.'s logic on this one but it is the law. Its a risk I take and my feeble argument would be, why would I spend twice the money to illegally dump when I could do it far more conveniently with a half priced conventional system?

Good luck with your search and ultimate purchase.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by B25Matt

... I prefer coconut coir to peat moss (again due to smell) but the coconut coir has been impossible to find this summer in Canada for some reason (Covid??). An other downside is cost. A composting toilet will cost you $1000 CAD and a holding tank solution will cost you around $600.

I didn't realize there'd been a run on coir. All the new gardeners? I've always bought in bulk, which usually lasts me many years. The last time I bought I sourced from https://www.vgrove.com/index.php, but as you say, they are not taking orders right now. Gotta love the apocalypse.

Cost is an interesting one. It's true Natures & Air will run you about $1200. C-head is cheaper. But a quality marine toilet runs in the $600 range, and if you add all the marine hoses, fitting and holding tank, and the cost of installation, it would easily be more than a composting head. So apples-to-apples they're not a lot different in cost.

[RJ 1946]

I have a C head on my 1975 C-30 mk 1 and love it. No oder and aesy to care for. Fit in the old heads foot print.

[amandak]

Originally Posted by misfits

I installed a C-Head on our Sabre 28. Size wise it fit in the same footprint. Takes some getting use to. My only advice, empty the urine container before sailing & be sure to ventilate it.

I just read a very short article in The Passagemaker about the C-Head. It sounds like it might be a good option!

[roverhi]

Went with a C-Head on my Sabre 28. It's physically smaller than the other desiccators and fit nicely in place of the old head. Immediate benefit was no more stink after pulling out the holding tank, head and hose. Admit I haven't used it much but getting back the hanging locker that the PO had installed was a major benefit.

As far as disposing of the solids when full, seems like a great excuse to go sailing.

[Phantom Jim]

Nature's Head in Pearson 365

[amandak]

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

Just to add to what others have said, I have a Nature's Head for four years and would never go back to a traditional marine head. I've made two trips to the Bahamas since installing the Nature's Head, and with three people on the boat, we did not empty the solids container until the day before return to home port (so about five weeks), and then only because we were outside the 3 mile line and it was convenient. With regard to urine bottles, I bought a second one just for convenience, but I've had no issues with emptying. One thing I learned after about a year was to add "urine digester" solution to the bottle to reduce the smell when emptying.

Some people will just never accept the idea of composting toilets, no matter what those of us with years of good experience may say, but they really work, and they really do not smell. Also, since I removed the holding tank, I created a large additional storage area where it used to be, which as we know as cruisers is like gold.

I am sold on a composting toilet - for all the reasons you have mentioned and more! I would like a Nature's Head, but unfortunately the head just doesn't have the space.