Holding tank vent , etc

Fresh/Waste Water Systems, Watermakers, HVAC, Refrigeration...
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Camino
Posts: 358
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Stockton, CA

Holding tank vent , etc

Post by Camino »

5877EECB-952F-4F50-BA09-51290AB08B55.jpeg
5877EECB-952F-4F50-BA09-51290AB08B55.jpeg (77.51 KiB) Viewed 3970 times
I’ve been threatening to install a holding tank vent filter for a while. Last week at the boat I did a dry “fit” based on talking with Paul Dennis. The dry fit was me squeezing into the stbd lazarette with the 2 back panels removed to access the vent hose and holding tank. I could just squeeze in and rotate upwards to use one arm for the work. Really tight :D Didn’t see any leaks and no odor- good. the vent hose looks larger dia than 5/8” ID. Plan is to cut off the hose top and bottom and insert the filter between. Have several sizes hose clamps ready.

In the cockpit we get a strong whiff of stink when flushing the head- hope this does it . Pic is completed job

On a second note- I will remove my external third reef, Eliminate my first reef, and use the two internal lines for reefs 2 and 3 as Mike Cunningham suggested. My last couple of outings in 30kts AW really told me I never use the first reef ( and I have never yet used the third but could). Also with the self tending jib I’ll try a method for heaving to.....we’ll see.
Last edited by Camino on Tue Jul 28, 2020 5:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Tom and Stephanie
Good Way II F 35 (P)
1999. Wing Keel 5’
3GM30F, 3-blade maxi prop
Emery Cove, CA

BillSmith
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 7:56 am
Location: San Mateo, CA

Re: Holding tank vent , etc

Post by BillSmith »

Hi, Tom! I'm sure your better half will appreciate the hard work on the vents. Certainly was fine below when you hosted all of us at Treasure Is.

Interested in both aspects of your additional post. We've gone out with first reef in a couple of times a month ago. But agree that a second and third more applicable to the winds we get in SF Bay more often that not. SweeTART needs to come out of the water for bottom paint sooner not later. Maybe then, as our reef lines are sticky anyway.

I've pondered the heave-to technique with our self-tending roller furled jib. A stopper on the track of tender or a block fashioned into a gybe preventer arrangement are the choices, right?

Might be on back on the bay late this week. Hoping for enough sun to break out the bimini.
Bill & Carole Smith
Freedom 35 Pedrick
SweeTART
Coyote Point
San Mateo, CA

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Camino
Posts: 358
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Stockton, CA

Re: Holding tank vent , etc

Post by Camino »

Pic of vent filter above :D As I had to use both hands I needed to go over the lip and rest on the holding tank- dicy getting back out :twisted:

On the reefing lines I removed the external to boom 3rd reef- and need to run messenger lines for both reefs 1 and 2 ( need to switch the sides they exit the boom). I’m calculating 116’ for the 3rd single line reef - with a block at luff and leech (attached today) at the reefing cringles .. anyone have different figures? Please yell out! No shuttle blocks - just a single reef line... I’ll finish in a few weeks as it’s time to travel :shock:

Weather in the bay has been perfect - with marine layer and breeze. I live in triple digits so this is a relief...
Tom and Stephanie
Good Way II F 35 (P)
1999. Wing Keel 5’
3GM30F, 3-blade maxi prop
Emery Cove, CA

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Castaway
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Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:40 pm
Location: Lerwick, Shetland Isles

Re: Holding tank vent , etc

Post by Castaway »

I hope you have an accurate gauge on the tank, because an accidental overfill will mean a new filter has to be fitted at once. The hideous sludge when the tank content meets the nasty stuff is worse than just a plain overflow, and doesn't easily flush out. Don't ask how I know this!

Local standards suggest a 38mm dia. hose (inch and a half) for the vent, and, after spoiling a filter many miles from civilisation, we did without and had no noticeable problems for the next few weeks. The large diameter hose allows some air circulation, and also facilitates suction emptying, required in most European inshore waters.

New filters are £45 each ($50+), so we have become more careful, but at least we can change it from the heads compartment. We thought of putting the filter in a locker, but only the other owner could squeeze inside it; since she kept her clothes in there too, that idea was rapidly discarded.
Gerald Freshwater,
s/y 'Castaway', (UK F35 cat ketch, centreboard, 1987)
Lerwick Boating Club
Shetland Isles, Scotland

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Camino
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Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Stockton, CA

Re: Holding tank vent , etc

Post by Camino »

Castaway- good info in your post. I do not have any gauge on my holding tank. As it is usually me sailing I gauge approximately the waste amount in the tank and every couple of weeks go to our free pump out to discharge. I rarely have more than 10 gal US. Tank holds 30-35 gal US and my head has a macerater..... Offshore or coastal beyond 3 nm I discharge legally into the sea with the y valve. Inside 3 nm y valve is wired off to prevent accidental discharge. 1 1/2” vent would be great - with a filter- but most of our vents are 5/8- 1” depending on make and year of vessel. Do all or most of the EU recreational vessels use 38mm venting?

But yes things can be messy - every time I’ve changed a joker valve or replaced hoses, it’s always quite painful!
Tom and Stephanie
Good Way II F 35 (P)
1999. Wing Keel 5’
3GM30F, 3-blade maxi prop
Emery Cove, CA

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Castaway
Posts: 286
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:40 pm
Location: Lerwick, Shetland Isles

Re: Holding tank vent , etc

Post by Castaway »

Tom,

Yes, 38mm is standard EU (& UK) fitting, for vent openings and filters. Pump out is easily available in Scandinavia, France, Germany and parts of the Mediterranean coasts, and at a few places in UK. New boats must have the toilet discharging to a holding tank, with no "Y" valve, though the tank can be discharged to sea when offshore. We have this system, retrofitted to our F35 cat-ketch. The tank is above the waterline, so no pump needed to drain at sea, and we just leave the valve open, then. Inshore, we check the level obsessively, and hunt for pump out facilities; in Sweden and Finland, there are barges moored at intervals among the islands for those who don't use marinas, or earth toilets ashore at the more popular anchorages.

I agree there is little less appealing than maintenance and repair work on the sewage system, but 'stuff' happens, as they say!

Regards,

Gerald
Gerald Freshwater,
s/y 'Castaway', (UK F35 cat ketch, centreboard, 1987)
Lerwick Boating Club
Shetland Isles, Scotland

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