On-board waste treatment

[Don Foley]

Does anyone have any real-world experience with waste treatment systems like Lectra San? It sounds good in theory (I would be very happy with not having to pump out again) but I''m wondering what the realities for maintenence or ''odors'' might be.

Thoughts?

[JEFryar]

Well Don, THEY don''t care how you treat it , you are not allowed to discharge it in a NDZ. So save your money and either go offshore or have it pumped...
JEF

[Don Foley]

My "cruising ground" is between central Florida and Maryland, and there aren''t any NDZ''s that I''m aware of in this area, so that shouldn''t be a problem. They''re CG approved type I systems that are allowed anywhere but NDZs, and other than a few rivers and the Keys, all areas are OK for type I treated discharge.

don

reference: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/vessel_sewage/vsdnozone.html

[Jeff_H]

I don''t have first hand experience with the lectrasan. I personally have looked into them a little bit my father has used one for years and it seems to be quite reliable. The only real problem that I saw with the Lectrasan is that they require a lot of current.

I think that you may be mistaken about NDZ''s. There are quite a few in Maryland, Virginia and in Florida. As a result you also need to have a holding tank in those areas.

Jeff

[Don Foley]

Jeff,
All I know about the NDZ''s is from the EPA website I listed earlier. None of the areas on the ICW (and obviously offshore) where I sail were on the list. If any of this information is inaccurate, I''d definitly need to know before installing the unit.
Amp requirements are a concern, as my boat is already an energy hog, but it''s more a quality of life thing. I hate being at a great anchorage in the middle of no-where and having to pull up anchor after a couple of days to go find a pumpout station. So my choice is to explore something like the Lectra San or to increase my holding capacity.

[Snap]

Don,

We had a LectraSan unit installed in our last boat, a 1981 Gulfstar 44. It worked reliably for the 12 years or so that we owned her with the exception of one problem that I''ll relate later. We never had any problems with odor and electrical consumption was never a problem. We did have a generator and a couple of 8D house batteries.

The one problem that we, actually I should say I, had was following a rebuild on the head. I was admiring my work and fully rejoicing at how easily the newly rebuilt and lubricated head was pumping when I heard a muffled whump sound come from the locker where the LectraSan was located. I had forgotten to open the outlet SOV from the LectraSan and was pumping water into the small treatment tank with no where for it to go after the tank had filled. The whumping sound was the tank splitting and dumping it''s contents into my bilge. As luck would have it, we were in the yard for a bottom job and so they hauled us right away and with a bruised ego, I set about cleaning up.

I don''t have anything bad to say about the LectraSan we had. I understand they have changed the technology somewhat since the one we had but I''ve heard good reports about the new ones. We too, are wondering which way to go - a treatment unit or a larger holding tank. We installed a 15 gallon tank in lieu of a dirty clothes hamper in our present boat because that was all the room we could find. Now, if we opt for the larger holding tank, we''ll have to give up part of a drawer stack or one of our water tanks. Neither sound very good so we have started looking into the treatment units again.

Snap

[roycanon]

I too am looking at re-doing our waste system. For a great source of information on all aspects of waste systems, check out Peggie Hall''s (The Head Mistress)forum at:

http://www.sailboatowners.com/forums/menu.tpl?fno=451

Enjoy,
Roy

[Constantin]

My primary issue with these units is that more and more states are declaring NDZs. For example, much of Rhode Island is a NDZ, has few to no working pump-out stations, and whenever a big storm hits, the sewers overflow into the bay. Frankly, this sort of hipocrisy makes me ill.

On the other hand, I still vividly remember investigating a bump in the middle of Blue Hill harbor bay (ME). It was the town outfall, with no treatment whatsoever. Toilet paper, feces, and other toilet treats were coming merrily our way.

In an ideal world, we''d just use holding tanks and pump out from time to time during the next harbor visit. That way, the gunk gets treated properly and the nitrates don''t enter the local water system. In some places like Cape Cod, over-nitriding has caused the sandy bottoms to dissappear altogether. For those who venture for extended periods off the beaten path, a Lectra-San offers the reassurance that 99%+ of whatever "lives" inside you won''t pollute the water around your boat. The nitrates may still be an issue, however.

[dcbp33]

Snap -

I''ve recently acquired a LectraSan equipped boat, and would *really* appreciate some helpful hints on setting it up for the season. My experience, and everyone I''ve asked so far, is limited to holding tanks with pumpouts.

if you can help, please reply directly diane.c.bonnell@db.com

thanks-in-advance!

[gnorbury]

During the winter I fitted a Lectrasan to supplement a small (15gal) holding tank used on my Nicholson 35. Its a little too soon to tell how it holds up to daily (ab)use , but we plan to cruise down from the Cheasapeake to Florida and the Caribbean later this fall.

Our normal crusing grounds of the Chesapeake Bay has only one NDZ in Herring Bay. It was newly designated this year after lobbying and support from the "local boating population". This roughly translates that Stuart Chaney (owner of Herrington Harbor, a nearby marina) asked for it as part of his ongoing environmental campaigning.

Graham