MacGregorSailors.com

Hello Greenfin,

I have roller reefing headsails and main. The investment is well worth it. I have little girl who is turning 5 years old this month and I am happy to stay in the cockpit. The main is the CDI on mast system. For trailering it's a bit cumbersome but not impossible. Mike Inmon at http://www.macgregorsailboats.com/ has roller boom system that might be easier as I imagine the whole rig can come off and be stored down below for trailering. Someone else mentioned BWY. Also, the there will be less weight higher up. That said, I still am happy with mine. I recently rented a sailboat without a furling main in Florida and bitched about it the whole time. I am spoiled now. If you buy a new baot and it's installed at the dealer you will be happier. If you add it on to a used boat consider the cost of a new custom sail as well as the roller system.

I already had a 5 gal porta-potty but would probably have gone with the composting head if I had known about it when I bought my boat but so far the 5 gals has been plenty. I also have a pump-out kit so I don't have to deal with hauling that out.

For your height with and M model, you might want to remove the bathroom door and replace it with a curtain. It can be tough maneuvering. The rest of the boat has lots of room except for height in the berths where you will have to stick to horizontal positions if you are having a romantic cruise with the wife....

Rob

There is one other option for the head that hasn't been discussed and we heard about it here first. That is Double Doodie or Wag Bags. I was very skeptical of them, but with Ruth's encouragement we decided to try them out. We are thoroughly sold on them for our needs. We can easily stay out a month with no need for pumpouts or trips to empty a porta-pottie and no cleaning anything.

Seems like I read somewhere that the composting toilets need constant use to work right and I hate anything that is using electricity on board that isn't essential. I believe a week with 4 on board with a porta-pottie just isn't going to make it.

For the two of us we usually get 3 days out of a double doodie bag for a cost per day of about 75 cents. Before and after a use we spray a small amount of neutral air fresher in the air and the container and also put some carpet freshener in the container after each use.

There is more on how we use the head here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ll-09.html

Removing the head, that was about impossible to use anyway on our S, and .....



..... moving it to....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... index.html

.... the cabin made the V-berth larger for my 6'-1" height and....



......... freed up more storge under it and along side and at the head of it.

For this trip we have 9 ....



....5 gallon plastic containers with the screw on lids....

http://www.bayteccontainers.com/

....and love them also. 3 are yellow and reserved for the double doodie bags and the other 6 are blue and have items stored in them and as they are emptied out are used to hold trash. There again we can go a month without having to dump trash.

We store the containers in the aft berth which we only use for storage and they move easily and we put a piece of duct tape on the sides with what is in them.

Good luck with the new boat,

Sum

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

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Hi all,having purchased a "Airhead" composting toilet to do duty for both our 26X and a motorhome I'd have to report total success.The idea and smell of the portapotti (mind you the smell of the chemicals alone made me feel ill) was just too much.I have just last week emptied the solids after 5-6 months intermitent use and have to report it was quite a nice experience compared to the portapotti.So much so when empty I looked & smelled in the container and went "well doesn't need washing just add the next lot of coconut moss and start the process again".Yes it does use electricity to run the fan but it is a very small amount...I know 24/7...I haven't even quantified it.Both our boat & motorhome have reasonable solar panels and both also recieve charge from thier respective motors plus mains charging systems for bulk top ups.......in summary go for a composting....sorry go ON a composting toilet.As a side note I imagine as these toilets are made in North America they'll probably be cheaper than the 1300 dollars Australian we payed!!!!!

I think the toilet choice is a matter of preference - - - but the Genny roller furler and the main roller are a matter of what you can afford.

I think the Genny father is a MUST, with lines to the cockpit. The main furler is a luxury; but a very useful one - - - makes raising and/or reefing the main an easy matter. I just priced a new boat (I'm holding off for awhile) and went whole hog with mine ordering Genny furling, main furling, and a pump out waste system.

Rick

PS I agree that if you don't have a main furler - - - then you should absolutely have sail slugs.

Folks,

I just had my 2011 26M delivered via Mike Inmon's shop with both the RF main and genoa, getting the bottom painted first before I put her out on my mooring buoy.

So I have not taken her out yet, but I think all lines to the cockpit and having the ability to have all sails full up, full down, or somewhere in between in less than 2 minutes single handed is worth the $3500.

JMHO,

BADDOG

bartmac wrote:Hi all,having purchased a "Airhead" composting toilet to do duty for both our 26X and a motorhome I'd have to report total success.....

Thanks for the update. Ruth and I will look into it again more. Looks like the current draw is .08 amps per hour. That isn't bad. I read how it works, but was confused about one thing and that is the paper bags. Does it use a new one each use? Do they fall down into the larger part automatically? We'd like more info on that.

We have been looking at a second larger sailboat and the Airhead might be a good solution for it. With the Mac for now we are happy with what we have.

Thanks,

Sum

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

I think the paperbag system is to make sure you don't dirty the bowl (and as there's no flush)....its a matter of aim....we don't use the paperbags

Norca,
The AirHead is a little tall, but similar to many of the newer home units targeted for the elderly (let's face it I aint no spring chicken any more). It's actually pretty comfy sitting here watching TV (yes I'm single). Cutting the floor down does not look very practical. The bottle must be supported from below so I will be adding an easily removed wooden grate to level things up.
Dan

The only other thing I've read about the roller main is that the cover is sewn onto the mainsail and it tends to age quicker than the sail and you'll end up having to purchase new sails sooner cause of the cover(plus the cost of the rolling cover?)...however that could be a year six months two years sooner I don't know? Would be good to look into though. But the simplicity of reefing/raising/lowering does seem like a great idea

bartmac wrote:I think the paperbag system is to make sure you don't dirty the bowl (and as there's no flush)....its a matter of aim....we don't use the paperbags

I looked at one a long while back when at a chemical plant for use in a couple remote locations where plumbing for toilets was not available - but it wasn't a composting type, it was a heat-drying incineration type (left only ashes) and they used the paper bag thing also (the one I was looking at was like a large cone-shaped paper coffee filter but thinner)...it was really to keep "stuff" from sticking to the sides of the pot, apparently.

My biggest concern is...."aim"... (WHAT???? You're kidding right?)
Oooh, a little left...
wait, back a couple degrees
Oh man, this is getting...wait don't lift that side...
Too late...
I can't look!!
Okay honey, your turn!

I just have a tough time believing that the entire variety of possibilities (I'm trying to be clean here...) can successfully be contained and not make a mess at some point...but I really like the idea of not having to mess with "it" (admiral says it's my job!)...

YES.. the head is tight.. However at 5'11" and 207 .. I even have room for a Vertical drawer system, I bought at ... Containers are Us (?) it allows for 4 Vert. Drawers of storage and I ......still fit.. BTW we use ours as little as possible..

Cutting down the shelf won't help much IMHO as the area under the shelf is already starting to curve in toward the keel IIRC. You would end up moving the PP forward several inches.

Russell

Thanks everyone for all the ideas here! I've been wondering about what to put on the wishlist in this department for my family of five...like the composting head idea a lot...wasn't looking forward to the porta-potty experience!

What I would do is try the porta potti first. It's cheap and if it doesn't work out, keep it as a backup in the event of some plumbing disaster at home.

At first I thought I'd hate it. We tested various chemicals until we found the right type. It holds enough until we need to go back to shore for resupplies and dumping. If it turns out to be a PITA, then shop for the composting deal. What I may do is upgrade ours to 5 gals just so I don't have to worry. But it's not as bad as I originally thought it would be.

My old boat had a holding tank and it worked fine but the stink was always there. Every time we pumped, the vent would spew this nasty odor. Pumpouts meant docking at the fuel dock and paying $5 bucks and it never got it ALL out. Plus, the holding tank took up storage space. It worked fine, but I kind of like the simplicity of the porta pottie. I don't like dumping it, but every time I do I think $5 bucks more for beer.

RussMT wrote:I don't like dumping it, but every time I do I think $5 bucks more for beer.

Maybe it would be better to start with the beer!!

Admiral says she won't let me in the house with ours, so I am (at the moment) planning to dump it via the septic tank cleanout port in the backyard (which is a 4" fitting). Drag the hose around to the back, open the cleanout, dump, rinse...then we can deal with the rest of it and at least I'm outside the whole time. We're planning to upgrade to the 5-gallon-ish one too...