Suggestions for waste holding tank on 1975 32-2

[bitman]

I just purchased a 1975 32-2 in the SF Bay Area and I need to add a waste holding tank to meet marina requirements. Any suggestions on sizes and locations? There is a large area behind the head that seems like an ideal location, but wondering what others have learned from experience. Is there an existing vent hose on these boats, or do I just need to add one?

 

[ChrisS]

Some years ago I put a Ronco B238 tank in the port compartment of the vee berth. I had to cut an opening to drop the tank in. I ran a vent line back into the head cabinet, and installed a vent right beneath the rub rail.

Ronco will need to know where to install the tank’s three ports (head to tank, vent, and tank to discharge). Once ordered, they shipped my tank pretty quickly.

 

[tenders]

Mine is Ronco B278 (10 gallons, as opposed to Chris's B238, which is 14 gallons), also on the port side of the vee berth, nestled between the curve of the hull and the freshwater tank amidships. It was a tight squeeze, and required careful measurements for where the fittings needed to be located (I first duct-taped together a cardboard dummy tank), but didn't require any cutting.

The area behind the head is a wet locker in my installation. But there are a few layout tweaks for the 32-2, so maybe that makes more sense for a holding tank in yours.

 

[bitman]

Thanks for the suggestions. On mine it looks like there was a wet locker there, but it's unused and seemed like a good place to install a tank since it was so close to the head itself and appeared to have a lot of space to the left of the thru-hull.

Do I need to ensure that all portions of the holding tank (aside from the vent) are lower than the head itself or is going up a bit vertical okay? I will take a look under the v-berth today to see how it looks. Taping up a dummy tank sounds like a great idea to make sure the dimensions are correct.

 

[Loren Beach]

Quite a few of us have rebuilt our head plumbing and tank system.
When starting from scratch, you can design in your fill and pump-out fittings better than they probably were, back in the day.
I would recommend having the fill go into the top of the tank, and have both exits handled via dip tubes installed in the top. That way a hose leak will not empty the tank into your bilge. Note that your holding tank will nearly always be partly above the 'seat level' of the head, due to the shape of the hull.
One good thread:

We Didn't Mean to Replace the Holding Tank

Virginia and I purchased a very fine Ericson 34-2 last fall. When we took possession, the head had that certain odor which was never there previously during any of our inspections and sea trials. Time to investigate. We looked under the head cabinet and found the optional Ericson Rube...

ericsonyachts.org

Our system rebuild:

New Holding Tank, Piping & Valves

I am about to replace the 20-year-old hoses. They are starting to permeate, and some even have checking in the outer surface layer... :( Our '88 model has the then-standard Ericson "full Monty" waste management system that allows direct overboard via Y-valve, or, into a 15 gallon (Ronco Plastics...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[bitman]

Great advice. Thank you!. Going to do some measuring, mock up a tank and get one ordered.