Worst boat project ever?

[Clay Greene]

I am wondering if anyone can beat this one.  In process of installing a holding tank sensor, we realized that the hoses to and from our waste tank smell. . . ., well, not exactly like lilacs on a spring morning,  if you know what I mean.  So, being responsible boat owners and not wanting our boat to smell like the zoo, we decide to replace the hoses.  We purchase the good white hoses and dutifully replace the hose from the head to the holding tank, the hose from the holding tank to the deck, and the vent hose.  There is just one hose left, the nasty black hose connecting the macerator to the holding tank.  Our boat has always been a Great Lakes boat and will always be one as long as I own it, so I decide that the macerator needs to go.  It is not even hooked up to the throughhull so it is a relatively simple job to unscrew it from the bulkhead and to clip the wires (which, as it turns out, were not even attached to the control panel).  The problem is the hose that is connected to the macerator from the absolute lowest point of the holding tank.  Now, we're not complete idiots, we go over to get the tank pumped out before I remove the hose from the tank (at this point my wife has chosen to go read her book in the cockpit - other than marrying me, she is a smart woman).  I carefully put paper towels under the tank and i have a section of hose pre-cut with a capped end to replace the macerator hose.  The old hose comes off surprisingly easily and I am then faced with - well, you can guess.  Let's just say that the pump out was not even 90 percent effective in getting out the accumulated sludge (and that is the kindest word I could use to describe it - I just involuntarily shuddered with a sense memory of the experience).  So, after several rolls of paper towels and several liberal applications of bleach spray, we now have beautiful white hoses running to and from our holding tank and a sparkling clean space that runs under the floor and into the bilge.  I will sell the boat before I do that particular project again. 

So, that is my nominee.  Anyone have anything worse?

[Stephen Butler]

To quote a past president, I feel your pain.  Last year we were going offshore for awhile and were going through our usual checklist.  It was 8 PM and we were down to the last items, which included checking the macerator pump - just a quick on-off to make sure it worked.  The pump literally twisted itself apart in a fraction of a second and we were left with an open and very short hose to the bottom of our holding tank.  Stuffed some rages to "slow" the flow and started to empty the tank a cupful at a time (no room to get anything bigger than a cup in place and certainly not a bucket).  After a few hours and lots of cupfuls, we added bleach cleaners to the bilge, turned the a/c and fans to high and got some sleep.  The next few days were spent on clean-up, removing what was left of the pump (a Jabsco), and plugging the hose. We still need a method of pumping out the holding tank, but are considering something manual, or another brand of macenator.  Any suggestions? 

[Stu Jackson]

...the next few days were spent on clean-up, removing what was left of the pump (a Jabsco), and plugging the hose. We still need a method of pumping out the holding tank, but are considering something manual, or another brand of macerator.  Any suggestions? 

As I was reading the first few lines of this, I said to myself: "Gotta be a Jabsco!"  Yup.  Steve, those Jabsco macerator pumps have been reported on this and other message boards as being the worst things known to man since Jabsco's marine heads!  Both Shurflo and Johnson make much better and reliable macerator pumps, try one.  Our Shurflo is 24 years old and still going strong.

[Stephen Butler]

Should add to the story...called WM and of course I was on my own there.  So called the Jabsco people and received perhaps the most brusk customer "non-service" in my experience.  To quote the factory, "....we have never seen this problem before, but cannot be held responsible for what was no doubt either operator error or an installation error."   I remember saying something rude and hung up the phone. Out of curiosity, is CY still putting these pieces of c--p (pun intended) into their boats?  Should add that our Jabsco head is still functioning well (once we figured out how to store the o-ring), but will definitely be out of the boat when replacement time comes. 

[Ted Pounds]

I did the same thing a while back and had the same issue.     I didn't bother with a wimpy spray I just poured a whole jug of bleach down there...  And you are right; it is the worst boat project ever.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I've always professed that if the female side of the crew had to work on/fix that damn  @#*&^% "head system" - we'd be using the "Olde Oak Bucket".

The problem is that marine heads are pieces of very expensive JUNK.  It's easier and less expensive to buy a new one on sale, than it is to buy the repair parts to fix the old one!  A few thoughts

[Clay Greene]

Until they had to use the "olde oak bucket," then we'd be sailing on our own. 

[Joe and Carol]

It seems age of things and people present harder tasks where simple becomes complex and easy becomes more than just messing around.  My solace lies in no longer having "man fits" as projects turn, at first, more work than thought then more time and money consuming than planned.  This weekend, it was the bilge pump, looking as if it was pumping at volume, yet no bilge water exiting the boat. Checked out everything: float, pump, hose, cleaned bilge area, etc.  Sitting and laying on the floor working on the pump managed to hide tools and screws from myself, developed new communication skills shouting to wife watching stern for water, and found a couple of things surprisingly stored in bilge area.  Drove to three marina shops for replacement pump finding none in stock.  Now, thinking when  installing new pump if nothing blows out the back, just may have to have a "man fit."   Will up the pressure so I can spray power boater speeding by stern! At least, not dealing with the odor of your problem, I know you are content for the time being with the struggle you endured to fix the holding tank problem. And, like at lot of us, will wait a few days or weeks before opening another can of worms on the road to completing little become big projects while wife reads a book.