Wives and the 22 without an enclosed head

Hey Dr. Bob. It is great that there are options out there. I am not a fan of the typical Jabsco-type marine toilet... probably from having to deal with them on various commercial boats. My admittedly limited exposure to the Airhead was less than positive, but I am glad you and Pat are having good luck with it. Everyone poops, and it is good to have a system on the boat to deal with it that owners like.

I will refrain from any more crappy comments. :wink:
 
My wife and I did a month long trip this summer using the 5 gal portapotty on the 22. Most often it is in the cockpit using a "Pontoon Boat Privacy Curtain" from Taylor Made. It hangs from the bimini support rails. Lightweight and attaches with velcro. Has a full zipper for ease of use.

Occasionally it is by the backdoor in the cabin or under the V Berth when underway.

It works fine but takes some maintenance. Seems like I am moving it around a bit to make space as needed. For us the 22 is a camping boat...like the VW Campervan...so it is all ok if you are good with that concept. 5 gallons is not a lot of tankage so one needs to be looking ahead for places to empty it appropriately. We know of some with 22s that take two heads to give some flexibility and more tankage. That works with one under the V berth and one in the cockpit.

An enclosed head is a wonderful convenience but it too is a trade off as noted in the comments above.

All that said, the 25 is a lot more than a 22 with an enclosed head. Longer, wider, heavier, roomier, works differently in rough water (better some would say), uses some more fuel. Requires a bigger tow vehicle. All trade offs and compromises that you work through in your selection process.

If you think you are leaning toward the 25 it may be cheaper to go that way initially rather than set up a 22 to your liking and then change to a 25 a few years later.
 
Jim, I have never heard you make a crappy comment in my life, you are way too much the gentleman for that,
" I will refrain from any more crappy comments "
Now then, the subject matter may be a little crappy here, but as noted, everybody poops and we all know we all have to deal with it some way.

I never liked the porta-pottie system, but after considerable search, effort, practice and participation I found that for much of my remote boating, a modification of the basic bag and bucket system worked well, with pretty minimal odor, is easily portable and disposes like disposable diapers. Odor control via a blue liquid, (can't remember the name) but 3 small containers lasted me for nearly 3 months.

OK, TMI so I'm done for now.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Our best advice is to NEVER, EVER, step on a TC255, or else you will both want one and demand that Little Johnnie should have to work harder to win a military scholarship to GA Tech so you can divert her college funding to a Tom Cat 255.
Just our 2 cents worth....
John
 
The "bucket and chuck it" method has been used by an acquaintance of ours who was not married. Worked for him, but you might check with your better half. It seemed to me that it was the bottom of the list: head compartment, porta-potti under the v-berth (or in the aft cockpit,) bucket.

'm not getting into the marine head or composting debate, but I want to have some privacy at night.

Boris
 
JamesTXSD":2x97y58e said:
A question for you regarding the Airhead on your boat: I know you removed your water heater, but is it possible to use the enclosed head for a shower with the Airhead in there? Any water leakage into it? We used to put a plastic cover over the toilet when showering, to keep the bowl from getting shower water in it (like a big shower cap).

Any plans to replace the toilet in your 5th wheel with an Airhead?
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Patty showers on the cockpit, and I shower on the bow with the Helio. When we had a hot water tank and did shower, we put a large black garbage bag over the Airhead, but we didn't use the shower much because of the wasted water getting the hot water from the heater on the port side to the shower on the starboard side.

The Airhead will not work properly if for any reason the contents of the solids tank gets waterlogged. That happened to the gents who brought Daydream back from Alaska in 2006 after Patty and I had flown home - the vent cap came off (it was a solar vent, we have since changed that out).

We have no plans to put a composting toilet in our fifth wheel, since the black tank works fine with the tank additive we use, forget what it is called. Plus, the fifth wheel now only goes from the U-Haul covered storage to Palm Creek and back once a year. We do our traveling in the Alaskan Camper, which has a cassette toilet.
 
This summer we began using “Happy Camper” additive and are happy with how well it worked vs the standard blue liquid stuff. It’s an organic powder that breaks down solids & t paper and eliminates odors. We tried it on the recommendation of a fellow brat here.

http://www.1-happycamper.com
 
Happy Camper is what we use too. It's organic and it really works without the disinfectant smell of the blue stuff.
 
Our porta-potti aboard Meri Aura has found multiple use. A sunbrella slipcover with a foam cushion on top gives extra seating when dockside or at anchor as well as leg support while underway for anyone sitting on the aft seat at the table. It still fits in the traditional spot with slipcover in place.


Hank and Pat Clow
 
Well, we too had a cushioned sunbrella cover for our porta-potti.
It was placed in a bracket behind the driver's seat. The blue bimini was enclosed in canvas with two drop down curtains, one at the rear of the solid cabin and one at the rear of the canvas bimini. We had, in essence, a head compartment on a 16 footer. It worked well.!
Fisherman_s_Terminal_12.jpg
 
Adding this thread to my “First World Problems” file. “The bathroom on my boat is too small” LOL.
 
gary f":3fw28w48 said:
Happy Camper is what we use too. It's organic and it really works without the disinfectant smell of the blue stuff.
Click to expand...

If you use Happy Camper in a porta potti, how much do you use and how do you start it?
 
Fairbro":tb9qpj6x said:
Adding this thread to my “First World Problems” file. “The bathroom on my boat is too small” LOL.
Click to expand...
:thup
 
ssobol":22jn2ke1 said:
If you use Happy Camper in a porta potti, how much do you use and how do you start it?
Click to expand...

It comes with a measuring cup that is for 40 gallons of treatment. I just measured out 1/4 of the cup and marked it since our tank is ~9 gallons. I mix it with ~1/2 gallon of water and pour it in.
 
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