17 minute response from Interlux, outstanding service...

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:04 AM
To: Interlux Technical Service
Subject: Technical

I plan to use Interlux Brightside to paint a head compartment on a sailboat.  Will it be hard wearing enough?  The fiberglass hull liner is in good condition, should I use a primer?  Thanks Gerry

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Good Morning Gerry,
Brightside is a very hard wearing one pack product and should certainly be suitable for your application. I would recommend applying at least 1 coat of Pre-Kote prior to applying the Brightside.

Thanks,
Jay at Interlux Technical Service

When it comes to painting, about 90 percent of a good paint job is in the preparation...

I hate that statement. Paint preparation sucks. You are jammed in a small space or working overhead covered in dust, working with chemicals that cause death, cancer, impotence and hair loss in California (fortunately not in Florida where the only risks are small arms fire, drivers and getting run over by a boater on Columbus Day), and you are going to cover over all your prep work. I hate paint prep at so many levels.

At the moment I am prepping the forward heads. I plan to use Interlux Brightside on the ceiling and Interlux Perfection on the deck. If anyone have a better recommendation please, please comment.

Almost ready for painting

Old paint removed.

Electric Bilge Pumps.........

From the West Marine Adviser; "Virtually no boat has a bilge pump system which is large enough to keep up with a leak caused by hull damage. Bilge pumps are designed for small quantities of water and are not damage control pumps like the ones Coast Guard helicopters drop." Some figures to keep in mind.

Rule 2000 = 2000 GPH, allow 50% efficiency (very generous, 25% more realistic.) due to hoses etc. = 17GPM = 1000GPH.

2" hole 3' under the waterline (tru hull hose breaks off etc.) = 136GPM = 8160GPH

4" hole 3' under the waterline (ding a container/reef etc.)= 544GPM = 32,640GPH = block the hole or its swimming stations.

Figures from Calder. Worth reading P 219 of his Cruising Handbook (as well as the rest of the book). Sobering stuff.

I will look into the following system, but I'm not sure how I can incorporate it;

Fast Flow Pumps

First layout attempt... forward Heads...

Possible variations -

Place holding tank under floor if I cannot get sufficient volume in the top locker. At the moment it looks like I can get about 10gals which was adequate on our last boat when we only had one head.

Mount macerator on top of holding tank if access is possible. This would permit a smaller diameter hose down to the thru hull.

Check out S/Y Luna for a nice refit using a Lavac Click Here

All comments welcome. You can also e-mail to whitby42 "at" gmail.com

Plan for forward heads....

On my last boat I installed a Lavac with a "drop through" holding tank. This system is common on European sailboats especially in charter.

Eriu's Heads




The system worked extremely well. I would only change two elements.

1. I would surface mount the Blake pump to make it easier to service.
2. I would take the hull pumpout from the top of the tank and use a macerator pump to empty the tank at sea. I would loose the "drop through" element but I did not like having fittings on the bottom of the tank.

The Lavac is a great heads. Check it out here

The “Heads” revisited……

From my previous post on the subject you will be aware of my view of “heads”. In my opinion heads should be simple, idiot-proof and easy to maintain. The old “red bucket and chuckit” system favored by British pocket cruisers in the 70’s seemed to fit the bill. The composting head was an interesting development. Unfortunately, the composting head has been “knocked on the head” by the Admiral. So it’s back to square one.

The original Whitby’s was fitted with two manual toilets connected to a central holding tank located just aft of the galley and over the forward end of the fuel tank. The tank was heavily constructed of fiberglass with an aluminum lid. This system necessitated long hose runs and access to the tank for hose changing and inspection was difficult.

'Snakes on a plane (boat)"

There are three operation modes for any heads.

1. Direct discharge
2. Discharge of treated waste
3. Retention of untreated waste onboard

I have no problem with method 1. at sea.
I prefer method 2. where permitted by law (i.e. outside of no discharge zones).
Method 3 is the most problematic as it involves;
a. Finding a pump out station.
b. Sailing outside coastal waters (3 to 9 miles depending) to dump as per 1.

My Plan, therefore, is to have the two heads operate on different systems. The forward head should be a simple manual system with a small holding tank. The aft head may be electric (yes, I know this breaks all my rules) connected to a “Lectra San” treatment system.

Fun with CAD....

It pays to make detailed plans of your vessel before undertaking any major project. Only by this method will you ensure that any item you buy will be just an inch too big for the allotted space.

A CAD (Computer Aided Design) software package will assist in reducing the amount of fiberglass which has to sacrificed to the ubiquitous sawzall.

I use Homeplanpro;


which is both cheap and simple to use.