Life on the hook...

rasbury

I have had a discussion going about power usage on the hook and have had a lot of good input and I thank all that chimed in with tips. I've "been around" boats off and on over my 55 years but had never been on a boat like the 270, first time was on the sea trial for 20 mins or so and then bought the boat- the forum has been extremely helpful in catching up so to speak with how things work.

Now then, how about life on the water for say two days....two questions come to mind and one from a problem I created over the weekend.

First, when your staying on the water, waste.....If your cooking your meals I have two problems, what to do with leftover food and how to clean the cook/dishware.....Is it bad form to throw the table scraps over board rather than bag and store for shore disposal? Same for cleaning pots and pans, concerned about the soaps going into the water or is that just the way it's done?

The other issue I had was the manual pump toilet I recently rebuilt and was pumping like a charm, now will pump to the tank but won't pump raw water....got some heavy female use, guy at the dock said tp must be caught the pump somewhere...won't tell you what he does with his tp.... 

pepmyster

We can't get enough on the hook. Cooking is great with the alcohol stove( methalhydrate) , very fast. Also, the bbq. Also excellent. We only cook with water that has been bottled for the boat, ie.1 gallon. We never cook with the water from our tank, not the same and could be stale. We only wash with it. Clean the dishes in the sink or by the rear deck.Food is food...anything that we can give back to the water we do. All else is in the garbage bag. Use a quality biodegradable dish soap to wash with. As for the manual toilet, we had the same problem, pour some veg oil in it and begin pumping, that is your first step of action. 

rasbury

all good info,thx....I'll take any other tips that start out " I wish I had known....."and then disposal of the bagged, I assume the marinas aren't thrilled for you to stop by and drop off your trash, what are the guidelines for that?

rasbury

and the oil goes in the pot or open up the pump?

Cableguy Greg

I agree with pepmyster using bottled water to cook with. I usually throw food scraps overboard as well. The fish tend to like it.

My toilet quit pumping the raw water as well. I ended up replacing the pump because it was only a few dollars more than the rebuild kit. I am not a huge fan of putting river water in my holding tank, so most of the time I put a gallon of water from the sink in the toilet then flush that down. You could use that method until you figure out what is going on with your pump.

LaRea

Dumping food waste is usually fine, but be aware of nearby boats or swimmers.  Another thing to consider -- nobody wants to see a big nasty gob of toothpaste spit come floating by!

If you are a paying customer at a marina, you can definitely use the marina's dumpster for trash from your day or weekend on the boat.  That's part of the deal.  No hazmat or household trash.  If you aren't a paying customer, ask their permission and they'll probably allow it.

Michael T

We give all of our guests a brief overview of the toilet use. It has paid-off well....and they all say they'd rather know in advance than be the one who "plugs" the toilet! The Admiral tells the girls that there is a bag to dispose of feminine products - most of which will kill any macerator. We tell guests to add extra water for solid waste and after using three wipes of toilet paper (3/4sheets each) to flush the toilet and if more is required to just flush it again. Everyone seems relieved (pun intended) to hear how to use the head and most make a joke of it. BTW we have heard more than once from guests that if we hadn't explained how to use the marine head to them they wouldn't have used it. Our toilet flushes with fresh water from the fresh water holding tank. MT PS we bag and dump all waste at land stops. We drink the fresh water from our fresh water tank which is filled-up at marinas after going through a carbon filter and then a water softener. I am VERY particular and we have never had a health issue. This Spring i will add bleach, flush than and refill with fresh water. Fresh water has never sat in the tank long, but if it did I'd dump it and re-fill. BTW I carry a small spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide in my transom locker. Before I hook-up any of my water hoses I spray all contact areas. There are two physicians in my family, one who is an infectious diseases specialist, and they have recommended that procedure. It has worked (knock on wood) like a charm so far.

JC290

Lake water threw the head fresh water for cooking scrap food for fish and ducks trash where ever I get fuel or pay to dock. When in doubt apply common sense and you will be fine. Try putting a little head lube in the bowl and pump it threw once in awhile it helps to keep everything working correctly 

Black_Diamond

I never toss food overboard, but most of my trips are day type and at a marina in a slip if travelling, even on the few days out I just bag it up and use a dumpster when slipped up. 

I use my fresh water from the tank for everything: cooking/drinking/washing.  I use probably a tank or more a week so it never sits long.  Bleach in the spring to clean it up.  (knock on wood here)  I too use hyd peroxide on the hose end and at the tank inlet.

rasbury

10-4, thanks for the tips!

Dream_Inn

 Well, lots of good info here.  I guess we are basically the same here.  I will say, there are many times we will anchor for 3, sometimes 4 nights in a row.  Before we go, we try to minimize what will become trash.  We are also really careful that we eat all of what is there (or put in the fridge for next day).  Not really much food waste (& yes, we have 2 kids).  I guess anything minimal gets washed in sink and into water.

 As most on here have heard me rant, we do use/drink our water from tank (that's what makes our ice!).  We also carry a 5 gallon bag of water that we use for whatever.  The longer times on the hook we may even take our portable ice maker cause it is so quick when using the genny (especially during rinker rendezvous - lots of ice needed).  Other thing people have heard me talk about is, well, the only thing that goes down our head has to be eaten first (if you eat TP, well then you can flush it).  Trash, well, we usually have a couple areas we store it in (doubled up in grocery bags to help with stink).....I feel like I may be scaring people from anchoring out with us!

rasbury

well dream, heard the same comment about the tp from someone met on the river but don't want to describe what he does with it? Multiple nights with two kids? Do you drug them or something? I have two grandchildren we are raising and there is no way the four of us are over night on our 270, sounds like you have a bigger boat. Do you run your genny constantly while out? Lot's of heat here still in FL but would guess the evenings could be cool enough to do no a/c but not with 4 of us...0r 5 like it usually is (8 & 15 year olds)

Michael T

Ras, DI does not have a "boat"  he has a SHIP- think supertanker. You can have a full line scrimmage in his galley! MT

Dream_Inn

Ha, not quite MT.  But yes, it is a bit roomier than the 270.  I will say though we used to do it in a 310 & a 240 before that.  I can definitely relate to anchoring on a smaller boat.  Although most of the 240 trips involved marinas.  It does not matter the size of the boat, when tied up together we all have the same amount of fun!!

Ras, we do not run the genny constantly.  As a matter of fact, I have never ran it over night.  & yes, we've anchored over night on a couple 100 degree days in a row (Rinker rendezvous 2 years ago, some of you will remember - ran the AC till about 1am).  If we are out for several days on the hook, we typically run the genny somewhere from 5-8 hours a day.  Most of that to keep things charged up and the fridges cool (& make ice). 

My daughter is 14 and son is 11.  They know nothing different than boating, so they have no choice than to find something to do without always bothering us (don't take it in a bad way).  I've learned that they need toys as they grow older as well (don't we all??).  That is great you are helping raise the grandchildren and nothing better than doing that on the water!!  Their life will be much better because of you!

rmrstlmo

We use the on-board water for coffee and washing.  We drink bottled water.  I try to get everyone to crush their empty water bottles or cans - it really helps with trash space.  I clean the water tank out in spring with bleach and rinse a couple of tanks of clean water.

MarkB

We always use fresh water from a tap at the slip to make coffee. Always drink bottled water. Only use the water in the tank for cleaning the boat, dishes, ourselves. I'm sure we can drink from it as well, just never had a reason to because around our lake  an overnight trip is always on a well equipped slip.