MSD's in Bahamas - Is holding tank necessary?

S

Sharon

Member
Joined
May 30, 2005
RO Number
17592
Messages
3
Vic, thanks for the help you provide on the board.

I'm getting ready (finally!!!) to pull out a 40 gallon holding tank that the P.O. installed in the V-berth. It's a mess, sitting there on top a bunk, total waste of space.

I would like to install a whole new system that wouldn't require a holding tank at all. We sail mostly in Lake Pontchartrain and along the Gulf Coast, but want to make sure we're in compliance for planned trips to the Bahamas and beyond.

I've heard there is a new MSD that is like a super-duper macerator/purifier that doesn't require a tank and the discharge is "clean enough to drink." :) This is sounding too good to be true, and I'm curious to see if it exists.

What I'm trying to find out:

1) Does such a system exist?

2) What are the specific MSD regulations for the Bahamas? (from their website, it appears they have eased up since years past.)

Any hints/links/advice is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!
 
"What I'm trying to find out:

1) Does such a system exist?

2) What are the specific MSD regulations for the Bahamas? (from their website, it appears they have eased up since years past.)"

1) Not to my knowledge. The electro-scan comes pretty close, but its discharge isn't invisible, and I certainly wouldn't think about drinking it. But it is a better quality than what most, if not all, municipal treatment systems put out. This would be legal in Lousiana waters, as long as they are navigable to the ocean or Gulf.

2) From what I've heard, it's pretty much of an "anything goes" situation in the Bahamas. I'm not aware of any laws that pertain to marine sanitation from pleasure boats. They're more concerned about cruise liners dumping their multiple thousand gallon holding tanks in their waters, than to be overly concerned with pleasure boaters flushing a toilet here and there, every now and then. But others may be more "up on it" than I am, so lets wait until some other RO's respond.
 
i woudln't have a boat without a holding tank ! there are many places where you can't legally discharge treated waste. the florida keys for instance... many harbors, lakes, etc...

adding a lectrasan for increased flexibility is great, but you still want the option of the holding tank.

the bahamas dont seem to have any rules but do you really want to pump brown but treated sewage in a cristal clear anchorage ? i dont think so...
 
>>>but do you really want to pump brown but treated sewage in a cristal clear anchorage ?

Not an option. That's why I was looking for that mythical system. :D

We already have a Lectrasan, so maybe keeping it and replacing the large holding tank with a smaller one in a different location would be a better option. (For some reason I had the "40 gallons" number in my head as the minimum required for certain waters.) I've got some room in locker I could convert but would have to order a custom molded tank with some odd angles to get to that 40 gallon number.

BTW - I stupidly downloaded a worm from this site when I posted yesterday. I realized after my post that I wanted to update my profile and when I did I got the message up top that the site wanted to download an add-on: Mircosoft Corp's Outbox.exe. The profile wasn't loading, so I thought this was some missing componant. Turned out to be three for the price of one: :)

IEHlpr
Spowaint A
Disable Task Manager Reg Entry

I did a system restore to the previous day (combined with running Housecall) and that seems to have worked. Not fun, though!
 
"the bahamas dont seem to have any rules but do you really want to pump brown but treated sewage in a cristal clear anchorage ? i dont think so..."

You just do it at night with an out going tide like everybody else. Because there ain't no pump outs in the out islands.
 
Sharon - Tell Vic exactly what model treatment device you have. If you're lucky, you can convert it to a Hold-n-Treat. We did this with a 20 gallon tank in line before our Electro Scan. It gives us many options for both anchoring (not wanting to waste battery power running cycles) and NDZs.

We're supposed trailer our boat down 95 next spring to join some folks from our owner's group on a 3-4 week Bahamas trip (they go every year, so we're going to welcome the help and experience). I'm fully planning to run my waste through the Electro Scan while there. I could easily bypass it and macerate the waste out. But what the heck, I've got the Type I so I'll use it even where it's not required.
 
Thanks, mixman, I just looked it up: http://www.raritaneng.com/pdf_files/hold_n_treat/holdntreatsystem.pdf

Right now we have an ancient LectraSan in line before the holding tank. (There's a Y-valve between them to a thru-hull.) If I understand the Hold-n-Treat, there's no processing before the holding tank. Isn't that a recipe for a seriously gunked up tank bottom?

The Electro-Scan is looking more like it, although that Hold-n-Treat would drop in soooooo easily under the sink. (26"x18") :)
 
Let's not get too carried away (Kurt, I appreciate the plug..!), only electro-scans or Lectra/San MC models with the "E" chip on the circuit board can be used with the Hold 'N Treat. That only goes back to about 2004 - if you have an ancient Lectra/San, it won't be able to be used with a Hold 'N Treat system - you'd need to replace the Lectra/San.

As I've said numerous times before, the Hold 'N Treat isn't the "magic cure" for everyone, and isn't suitable for every situation. In "complete system" form, it includes a 15 gallon holding tank. Hopefully, with a tank that small, it'd get pumped and rinsed out fairly often, so that it doesn't get all gunked-up inside. It is primarily intended for use on boats that regularly go in and out of No Discharge Zones (the Keys as an example). Everything goes into the holding tank first, so while in a NDZ, the system is locked out via a key switch, and it is a holding tank only - and must be pumped out at dockside like any other holding tank. But after leaving the NDZ, the captain turns on the key switch and it starts sending anything that may be in the holding tank into the electro-scan, in measured amounts, where it is treated and discharged. It has the maximum capacity to do 4 gallons/hr.
 
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