Installing a holding tank pumpout system.

It sems likely that the future will bring more sailing areas that require yachts to have pumpout capabilities. Thus I found it is sensible to start considering solutions. I am actually not that happy to do it yet, as there will just be more parts, work, costs, weight and systems prone to failures and trouble. Available space for tubing is also required. Such space is not that easy to find on our boat, most of it is already used. As for parts, many manufacturers offer such, but still it is important to find the best ones for own use. I ended up pressing on with the project because after about 6 months of thinking solutions and looking for parts, I could as well finish while it was all fresh in mind. 

Pumpout system solutions will be different for each yacht, so there is not so much reason to describe ours. But there is one part I did buy that I think most should avoid. 

I want the pumpout deck fitting lid to be as low into the deck as possible, so the possibility of stumbling is eliminated and the appearance is nice.

This Rutgerson deck fitting was bought through a webstore. It looked OK in the picture, and the price was good.

At first I thought that the plastic rim was supposed to be below deck, so that one could screw the lid down to flush onto the deck. But no,that was not possible, and not the intended way. The plastic rim is to be above deck, and the stainless steel lid on top of that. Thus I was disappointed with this product, and searched for another. I did find one, and of course it was more expensive...

The Osculati model does allow the lid to come all the way down to the deck, enclosing the plastic fitting. To lower another millimeter or two, I made this sanding tool so I could remove the anti-slip surface under the deck fitting:

 

Using it with a drill made a nice recess for the deck fitting:

The Osculati fitting is a fairly low-profile solution: