I have a project that I need to finish before putting Passage in the water in May. My wife bought a Natures Head composting toilet. We knew that it was a full size toilet, but didn't realize that the 365 Ketch had a portion of the bathroom where the toilet sits up on a step. I am not familiar with fiberglass work and am woried about removing the step to fit the Natures Head. Has anyone else done a project like this? I know that the new toilet will be a bit bigger and stick out a bit, but I am worred about cutting into the boat. Is anything under that riser? How do I seal the floor after cutting away what is currently there? It is too narrow for the new head to fit on completly.
S/V Passage
How did you deal with the fiberglass riser in the head?
fwiw, I went with a C-Head instead of the other brands and it fits with minimal work, just extended the fiberglass platform a couple inches using wood overlay over the whole thing...
I think the C-Head is a good choice for the 365. I measured and tried to fit a Nature's Head/Airhead into Phantom but could find no way apart from a serious alteration of the head compartment. It was too big to fit. I also constructed a mock up of the toilet and weighted it to 25 pounds and tried to carry it out of the head to the cockpit.
The emptying may be only once a month or so but carrying that toilet through the head door was a real trick, let alone up the companionway steps. Appears to be a good composting toilet, but too big for my 365.
I have a nature's head. I love it! I empty it once or twice a season. It does sit a bit high on the riser. I've thought of putting a grate in to raise the rest of the floor, but four years later I just haven't found the time.
Good to hear a positive report
Might I ask for some photos? Also, do you have to remove the toilet from the head compartment to empty the solid waste? My impression has been that the Nature's Head was too big and tall to fit comfortably. You indicate that I may have been misinformed.
If you have a comfortable installation this is good .
It's a bit high to sit on, but it works and I've kept myself busy with other things. I recommend having a custom pickup pipe made for the pee bottle, so urine can be pumped overboard without carrying it through the cabin.
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0J532ODWy0q63
Thanks for the photos.
Quote from: Leo II on August 03, 2019, 12:18:07 PM
It's a bit high to sit on, but it works and I've kept myself busy with other things. I recommend having a custom pickup pipe made for the pee bottle, so urine can be pumped overboard without carrying it through the cabin.
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0J532ODWy0q63
Hey, that's almost my exact setup! Although I don't have the pickup, and realized I can't see the urine level. Which resulted in a huge mess this morning as I realized it was overfull. I like that idea!
I wanted to plumb the liquids similar to the way that @Leo II set up. I wanted it to be a hand pump, so I wound up buying this (https://amzn.to/3fIh1uD) amazon pump (it seems pretty solid). But the much better half wasn't sure we should mess with that sink drain in the head. As a temporary solution as we figure out exactly what we want, we decided to try just pumping it down the sink with running water by putting the hose down the lid. Well, the pump worked absolutely beautifully!! Not overpowered, but still extremely effective. But guess what that hose does? It floats...which makes things a bit difficult. So we're debating on using a pvc pickup that the pump can connect to. Also, it stinks when pumping it, so I am thinking down the drain is not the way to go. I'll put a t in that drain close to the opening. Since we're in a marina currently, we only use the liquids container unless there is some kind of explosive...emergency. For now, until I decide whether I want to put in a pvc pickup that hooks up to that hose, I'll probably go back to just emptying it in the bathroom.
Glad you got it up and working! We recently installed an electric toilet (Raritan Marine Elegance) in our head and I was surprised at how thick that riser in the head was built up. I ended up installing another layer on the top to cover up the holes cut for the old toilet but took a photo of the layers of the riser under the toilet. Guess I'll never worry about breaking through while using it in heavy seas ;D