Bavaria 44 waste holding tanks

[Jezza]

Hi

I have recently bought a 2002 Bavaria 44 (3 cabin), and want to install waste holding tanks.

I haven't owned a yacht before, and none of the yachts I've sailed on previously had tanks.

Firstly I wanted to know if there is a standard place where these go in this boat, so I can visualise how much space will be lost.

Secondly, I want to know whether macerators are practical on a sailing boat because of power use?

Lastly, I wondered if there are any recommendations for someone to do the job?
My boat is near Portsmouth, England.
I've searched on the internet, and mainly come up with suppliers for the equipment only, and guides to system layouts.
Are there specialists, or is it some thing a normal yacht repair/fitting place will do?

Many thanks

Jeremy

[Nigel]

Secondly, I want to know whether macerators are practical on a sailing boat because of power use?

Hi Jeremy, and welcome.

I've got a Jabsco power conversion on my boat, these are effectively macerators. Although very noisy, they are ideal for use with a holding tank, as they break-up the waste. If you have 24V on board, these models use about half the current, but they are only in use for 30 seconds at a time, so no real worries about the power use.

[Brian]

The holding tank fits into the cuboard behind the toilet, most 44's have them fitted to the rear heads only, although there is space to fit one forward as well.  In my experience the standard size is small for the size of boat and needs to be emptied at least every other day to avoid overflowing.

[Sweet As]

If you fit a holding tank a macerator is essential in my view. Life with holding tank and no macerator in my experience is full of time spent unblocking holding tank drain (if gravity drained).

[Moodymike]

No problems with my gravity tank providing no toilet paper is drawn down.

[vikinglish]

No problems with my gravity tank providing no toilet paper is drawn down.

So true. Its doggy bags in the heads or fit a macerator, but youve got to choose one or the other. I went for the low maintenance, low power consumption and noise free doggy bag version, but not before one too many unblocking routines

[skipper]

We have a 4 cabin 44, and there is a holding tank in the forward heads, in the former 'hanging locker' behind the toilet. The system was a retro fit by the previous owner. The tank is by TEK TANKS, and there is a diaphragm pump to discharge overboard. The system allows direct toilet discharge to sea, through the original sea cock,  or discharge to the holding tank, by use of 3 way diverter valves. There is also a deck pump out.
The system works perfectly, BUT in my opinion this is due mainly to 'toilet habits'. We are well travelled and thus used to the requirements in many countries of not putting anything except human waste through the toilet system. You know the rest.
One of my (many) Winter projects is to install a second holding tank in the aft heads, in the hanging locker aft of the toilet. I will probably have the same system again, although the tank will be larger, as the locker has a bigger 'footprint'. I will use different sanitary hose, specifically the more flexible (and more expensive!) butyl rubber type, mentioned in a PBO article.(Dec 2010 - page 66).
Both Tek Tanks and Leesan have a lot of information on their websites, and Tek Tanks in particular have about 12 different layouts to choose from.
If anyone on here has a 44 with aft holding tank, perhaps they could describe the layout and their experiences?

Skipper.