Everybody Does It — Harris Crew

I am going to describe the use of our bathrooms (otherwise known as heads) and where they are. We have two bathrooms, one in the forward hallway and one in the aft cabin. There is a control panel on the right side of each bathroom. On the panel there is one red “flush” button, a “fill and drain” switch, and a lever to direct the waste either into the tanks or the ocean. The red button flushes the poop though a macerator (poop grinder) and into the tanks or the ocean, depending on the position of the lever. The drain part is used for flushing pee down because it does not need to get ground up in the macerator. The fill part is for pumping salt water into the toilet bowl to fill the bowl and wash away any extra poop.

Every now and then we get a minor clog. If it’s not too bad, Mom and Dad tell me to fix it.

What most people tend not to notice is that our toilets are raw water toilets so that means we use outside water. There are two little water pumps that bring water into the toilet bowl and then two more to flush back out of the boat to clean the bowl. The water that comes in has to go though a strainer and then though the pump itself. When you hit the red flush button both pumps run at the same time. The intake pump sucks water into the bowl while at the same time the macerator pump is sucking it into the tanks. When you press the drain button the macerator pump sucks out the waste and when you hit the fill button the water intake pump runs and fills the bowl. Next to the toilet is the sink and counter. On the counter we have three toothbrushes a bottle of rinse and some floss. Like all the taps in the boat it is easy to open the facets all the way but that uses a lot of water to we try to open it only halfway.

Theres motion in the ocean swell but when you have to go you got to go! When it is rocky it’s sort of like a being inside a washing machine, but in a really small bathroom. You need to prop yourself against walls and shelves. Pulling up your pants is also no small task. Opening the door is also really hard too because the waves will make the door swing and when it come back it can whack your ankles really hard. We also have biodegradable poop bags in the cabinet for the poopy toilet paper because the paper may break the macerator. Now enough on that subject!

When we are in no discharge zone we are not allowed to poop in the water and this is why we have holding tanks. One tank is behind mom and dad’s bedroom mirror and stick out into the engine room. The other tank is behind the mirror in the forward bathroom. Yay, so easy to remember! The tanks are relatively big so we can hold two weeks worth of waste with just the five of us. The pipe to the tanks loop upward to keep water from flowing into the tanks so you have to hold the buttons a little longer.

Plumbing behind our forward head. The white hose carries poop out of the toilet. The lever directing it to the ocean or tank is off to the left. Depending on the lever, the poop goes up to the tank or out to the sea.

We need a muffler for the forward bathroom! The forward head is really loud and can be heard from the back of the boat but for some reason the back head is a lot quieter and deeper and rumbly. I think it’s because there is not much padding between the walls and pumps. You can also hear them really well because there noise is so distinctive. I could maybe pick it out when the water maker and generator. Now to move onto the more shinier stuff.

Sometimes we have to clean the heads because the get really stinky. Grace is the head cleaner for and aft. She cleans the bowl with the scrubber. Then she wipes the counter and wall and shower with disinfected wipes.next she lifts the floor up and cleans the bottom of the shower as well. we clean the bathroom all the time to keep the smell away and feel less grimy. I hope this information has helped you for the next time you come visit!