Last summer I purchased an excellent condition Freedom 30. I sailed all summer and used the holding tank. Being a beginner I did know how full the tank was until I saw the contents spitting out the hull vent on the port side after one of my children was pumping it. I immediately took it to a pump out station and got to work. However, every time I get on the boat there is a strong oder and I do not know where to begin to eliminate it. Could I have damaged the hoses by the continuous pumping of a full tank? I see no apparent sign of seepage anywhere. I cannot go through another sailing season with this smell. It is embarrassing! any suggestions? By the way this this an outstanding boat and so easy to sail. Thanks. Frederick
Was there a filter in the vent pipe? Often an activated carbon filter is used to control odours vented through the pipe, and it will tend to disintegrate if wetted. You might then be left with a slurry of carbon and poo collected in the filter holder, which will continue to smell until it is washed out and the filter replaced. There speaks the voice of bitter experience! If there is no filter, then perhaps fitting one will solve you problem. Check also that nothing has leaked inboard from the (usually dry) vent pipe junctions.
Good luck!
Over here they say that you have to replace all the hoses - even if it’s sanitation hose - every so many (10?) years. My 1981 US built boat has exhaust hose on the black water tank, so I have some smell too.
I would agree with Michel, but if there was a correlation between the smell appearing and the tank overflowing, I would suspect that you either had a leak and/or still have a leak somewhere.
– Geoff
I remember something else…if you have the yellowish rotation molded plastic tanks (polyetylene or polyethene) like I have… of my forward holding tank, the vent connection fitting (molded onto the tank) broke off. Did you check all external connections? And the hose clamps?
BTW my holding tanks are designed in a very wrong way with the exit hose connection near the bottom of the tank. A small leak there will result in a slowly developing unpleasantry. Under the European CE regulations, all holding tank connections have to be on the top of the tank, so a leaking connection will only result in odor, not a black water leak into the bilge. Usually they use one large round flange on the top of the tank with all the necessary hose connections in it. The pump out connection has a pipe extending almost to the bottom of the tank.
Sounds like a motivation to switch to a composting toilet. Herm
You may want to read this post: http://www.freedomyachts.org/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=10251 I was smelling something malodorous in my aft cabin and it ended up being pin holes in the aluminum vent loop.
– Geoff
So when you start your refiting of the head system make sure you purchase connectors that fit easily into the new hoses. The grey pvc ones always seem just a bit to large. This will cause unbeleivable aggravation while your crammed into the space where the tank is. The white semi clear really made job easier. Another good piece of advice is to install 2 vents in the holding tank this really seems to help with that bacteria growing in tank. There is much more I learned about replacing all hoses and vents but I really dont want to be reminded of that job. Good luck! Numbknots
Anybody try an “airhead”?
What’s an airhead? I feel like I have one after a bottle of whisky (or Scotch, if you prefer to call it that).
Yeah me too 
It’s a more advanced composting toilet, I’ll see if I can find a link and post it.
Found one.
Not very good at this posting stuff…anyway www.airheadtoilet.com
The f33 that I’m looking at has a 12 gallon holding tank. I think this may be a good solution as opposed to installing a larger tank and all the associated plumbing and pump out shit, pun intended
There is also this- along the same lines as an airhead
Never used either, but have read reports of happy customers.
-Rob
Last fall I replaced all the waste hoses in my F32H. While disconnected, I also removed the holding tank for inspection and a thorough cleaning. I have now cured the odor in the cabin of the boat but the locker where the holding tank is installed still has an odor. I believe the tank itself is causing this as I have no leaks.
Since the cleaning, I have also shut off the raw water supply and use only fresh water from a jug to flush the head. The boat is now clear of odors eminating from the head.
I just hauled out our F30 89 holding tank for a clean as well as replacing all the pipes. The tank smells on the outside - I think it’s time for a replacement. Does anyone have a lead on a manufacturer that has a suitable mold?
The metal tanks for Freedoms were built by Aluminum Fabricated Products in Perry, FL.
Thanks for that lickity-split response! The holding tank I have is some kind of plastic but now that I smell what happens after 20 years of being on the bum end of things I think aluminum would be preferable. I’ll check out those folks in FL.
Peter
Aluminum tanks were made by several other manufacturers including Florida Marine Tanks in Henderson, NC was one, Luther Welding in Bristol, RI are two I know well. Luther is a custom builder and made many one-off tanks and tanks for some of the low volume boats. FMT is a production builder and provides good quantity pricing.