Experience on our Equipment

On one hand, marine products have generally become very much more reliable. On the other hand, the harsh environment they are being used in gives them a hard life. In any case, reliability and world-wide service is enormously important and therefore I will post our personal experiences here, nevertheless. The posts should thus be regarded as a picture from our perspective only, while experience on how easy it is to find help and a judgement on the service from the supplier has a more general value.

If I have not mentioned a piece of equipment here, it is (still...) running as advertised and I have not had any problems with it (yet).

To get a bigger picture on the products as such, it would be more adequate to ask someone who has experience with a higher number of boats on world-wide cruises, such as HR Parts&Accessories. For Hallberg-Rassy boats specifically, they can give good advice on what spare-parts should be taken onboard depending on your boat's year of built and the equipment you have onboard.

Deck & Hull

The salty environment is not as bad as I had feared, either. The frequent (daily) rain showers rinse the deck and rig with sweet rain water, which dries up immediately.

The same goes for the teak deck. Its appearance has actually improved since sailing in the northern latitudes. In Sweden, our teak often got dark gray with a lot of black stains (mildew), which annually was very successfully treated with "Boracol". In the tropics, none of these stains are found any longer. Instead, the teak looks brownish clean, as if it was new. It is a joy to walk on such a beautiful teak deck and the fact that we have not done anything to it, makes the feeling even better.

Rig and Sails

The production batch of jammers that happened to be fitted on our boat had unfortunately a spring bar that started to get stains and eventually rust. When I noticed this two years after delivery, Lewmar immediately knew what I was talking about and sent 6 new jammers the same day in the post. I have great respect for Lewmar as a company and their service in particular.

Sails:

Despite the fact that most cruisers on the American side of the Atlantic have traditional mainsails, we have our inmast furling system by Seldén so often found on (northern) European boats. Many cruisers seem (still?) sceptical about the idea to roll your main into the mast, but we have so far only had positive experiences. One time, one of the vertical battens got stuck on its upper end and did not want to get out until we tacked over a couple of times. Otherwise it has worked fine, even on the Atlantic rolling in and out while running without the need to go up into the wind.

Vertical battens certainly make great sense when sailing in home waters, where upwind sailing is just as frequent as any other wind direction. Sailing mainly in the trade winds, it could make sense to have a battenless main, however. The extra sail area in the aft of the sail is not as crucial when running downwind. Without battens, the furling with pressure on the sail running downwind should become even easier. Furling with the wind blowing into the sail while running downwind is practiced all the time and that is the major advantage of an inmast furling main, I think.

I do not miss the furling line lead back into the cockpit. By the contrary: I think it is much better to have two dry tables behind the wind screen with no holes for ropes letting in seawater or clogging up the table with a winch and lines. Going to the mast feels safe, especially with jackstays along the deck and the granny bars around the mast.

In any wind above 15 kts, I use two handles when unfurling the main, one for letting out the sail in a controlled way and the other handle winching in the outhaul. By this, the sail comes out in a controlled way until the desired sail area is presented.

I stretch up the vang so the boom is in position and let go the tension in the backstay to straighten up the mast when rolling in and out to obtain an even rolling.

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Propulsion

During our Caribbean cruise the diesel sample pump broke. This is the little hand-pump installed by Hallberg-Rassy in the engine room. By pumping a couple of strokes, diesel is pumpt up from the very bottom of the main tank and can be drained into a glass bottle for examination. Sediments and possible water is also pumpt out by this. A fantastic installation with an inferior pump (by Volvo Penta), which has annoyed many HR owners. Through HR Parts&Accessories we will now get a similar pump but of much better quality originating from Italy.

Electrics

General Power Consumption:

The tropics are warm and the nights are long, so power consumption for cooling (fridge and freezer) and lights are increasing significantly on lower latitudes. After each swim we have the rule to rinse off the salt on aft deck, so water had also to be produced more often as well.

Our DuoGen produced good power while sailing (8 amps at 6 kts, 12 amps at 7-8 kts) and a little less power in wind mode while anchored in the trade winds (2 - 5 amps typically), but the main source of power production was our HOA on the main engine.

Batteries:

In our third year (2005), I noticed that our open lead-acid service batteries already started to become sulfated. The density (specific weight) did not reach to the level it should after having been fully charged. After some contacts with our battery supplier Tudor, I learnt that I had been "too kind" to my batteries, since I had set our external regulator for the High Output Alternator to 14.4V only, which is the voltage where the "gasing" just starts at 25 deg C. The benefit of very little gasing and not having to top up with water very often, was a poor consolation, since this also meant that the lack of hydrogen production did not stir the acid enough inside the battery, resulting in premature build up of sulfate. At lower temperature, this minimum charging voltage should even be increased by another 0.3 - 0.4V per 10 deg C lower temperature than at the standard 25 deg C. At 15 deg C, for instance, the gasing starts at 14.7V-14.8V and this is thus the minimum recommended charging voltage to be used at 15 deg C. Not until the battery releases hydrogen, the acid is being mixed correctly, preventing sulfate and hence premature death. Interesting to know is that Tudor always uses at much as 16V at 25 deg C when charging batteries in their lab and say they take no damage from that. The main draw-back of having a higher charging voltage is that some electric equipment, especially light bulbs (but not halogen lamps) obtain a shorter life cycle with the higher voltage. Not to mention computer screens that really should never have a higher voltage than 13V. For computer screens, always use a DC/DC converter (11-16V in / 12V out) or make sure it is rated for up to 16V thanks to an already built in DC/DC converter.

Sulfate starts to build up at the bottom of the battery plates, which is the least practical place to start damaging a battery. With the lower parts no longer acting as a battery, no hydrogen is being produced at the bottom, either. This is especially bad, since, exactly there, at the bottom of the battery, the heavy acid is gathered, while it is so desperately needed for the still functional part of the battery higher up. Only the hydrogen bubbles being released from as far down as possible, can make sure that the acid is being "stirred around" and spread to all corners of the battery where it can be used for power production. Once a battery has started to build up sulfate, the damaging process is speeding up.

Please note that the above is valid for wet lead-acid batteries only and not for GEL-batteries, where the voltage always must be 14.4V to prevent gasing. Topping up with water in closed GEL batteries is obviously not possible, and thus the loss of hydrogen due to gasing can not be replaced. The lower voltage therefore also is a reason for GEL-batteries to die more often due to sulfate rather than too many cycles.

New identical Tudor batteries were installed in Cascais in September 2005, the same as the boat was delivered with. At the same time, I started to charge at higher voltage. I must say that I am disappointed, since a couple of month of continuous use, I was back with the problem not being able to get the batteries fully charged, i.e. not to obtain full density. The engine had to run extensively to get the acid gasing and hence stirred, and in February 2006 the batteries had hardly any capacity left at all. Running for 3-4 hours per day resulted in a rapid voltage increase under charge, and a rapid voltage drop down to 11.7V under use. After consulting several people doing several tests including "equalisation", I concluded they were already "dead" after 5 months in February 2006.

Checking on Tudors homepage, I found that the Tudor Millennium Heavy Duty batteries actually are starting batteries for trucks and no deep cycle batteries. I am surprised that Hallberg-Rassy uses these as cycle batteries and regret having replaced them with identical batteries in Cascais. The respected company Sterling Power in UK (www.sterling-power.com) writes under FAQ on this topic: "The standard so called leisure batteries are simply starter batteries with extra support from the active lead material. This may increase life by 5-10% but does not turn a starter battery into a deep cycle battery. .... On a daily use cycle, the standard so called leisure batteries (which is a starter battery) will last you as little as 6 - 8 months where as traction batteries would last 15 years. But on a leisure rating (2 weekends per months plus about 4 weeks of holiday) then you would get about 5-7 years out of a standard leisure." See full analysis from Sterling Power Products here.

My experiences are exactly these. If you lie in marinas regularly or keep your batteries fully charged with a diesel generator, you can get several years out of a starter battery.

Also highly respected Nigal Caldar has the same opinion: "Sulfphation is probably the number two cause of battery death in the marine environment, with the misapplication of cranking batteries in cycling service being the number one cause" (Boatowners's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, 2nd edition, page 25)

Of course, I confronted Tudor with my experiences and the answer was as obvious as it was academic: Tudor answered that after each cycle the battery must come up to 100% charged, which takes between 10 and 12 hours of charging. They sent a curve showing that my charging only went up to 95% charged after 3 hours of engine running daily, which was said to be the reason for them not to last longer than they did. Of course charging overnight in marinas for 10 to 12 hours is ideal, but the world of a cruiser looks differently, even with a diesel generator installed. How come are these batteries recommended on a boat? With the tough treatment that a livaboard cruiser gives to his batteries, 6V traction batteries is the answer, we were told by many experienced cruisers. There are countless cruisers living like we do and who live with their batteries for years, provided the batteries are true deep cycle batteries with thick lead plates rather than (converted) starter batteries which extremely thin lead plates and hence a huge surface.

The Trojan 105 6V wet lead-acid battery was hence chosen to replace our Tudors. These have the benefit of not only being a true traction battery, but also are they placed in numerous golf carts and hence they can keep their cost at a reasonable level thanks to a huge production volume. Trojan Batteries and Rolls Batteries/Surette (both wet batteries) seem to be the most popular among experienced blue water sailors. I paid USD 99 for a Trojan 105 in Grenada in February 2006 and was able to fit in 8 of these by lowering our battery box by 2" (5 cm). For 30% less cost than for the Tudor batteries I bought 6 months earlier, I now got 900 Ah instead of 560 Ah, originating from true deep cycle traction batteries. Hopefully, these will last longer!

One side effect of having deep cycle batteries and not cranking batteries is that these are not too good at providing very high current during short times, as it it needed for cranking an engine or, for that sake, powering an 8 hp bow thruster. 8 hp, or 6 kW means 500A at 12V which is a lot of current. It works, but it gives an instant voltage drop which is noticable with some instruments. Better would be a 24V system or a separate battery for the bow thruster, but that would be overkill on our boat.

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High Output Alternator:

I have only the best experience with our High Output Alternator installation giving some 100-130A charging current. The brackets are solid, the alternator with the large frame not getting too hot and the belt not showing any sign of being worn. The HOA was the single best retrofit made on the boat after commissioning.

The relay that controls the regulator became unreliable in its second year (2005), however, but this was a standard auto-part and was easily exchanged for a cost of EUR 5 in Ireland.

We have installed an external "ON/OFF" switch for the regulator/HOA at the helm. Innitially, this was to reduce the load on the engine when full power from the engine was needed, e.g. when manouvring in close quarters. In hinsight, this was not necessary on our 55 hp engine (approx. 4 hp used for the HOA), but the button turned out to be very helpful in another matter: The regulator gives strong interference when using the SSB, so with this "ON/OFF-switch", it is possible to run the engine and still use the SSB. After SSB-time, it is easy to switch on the HOA again and thus the charging.

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DuoGen:

The DuoGen produces good power, but some parts inside the shaft did not withstand the torque of being used continuously for 6 months. On our boat, the DuoGen is constantly engaged, either in wind- or in water-mode. New parts will be sent and the service from DuoGen is excellent.

Also, the paint on the propeller and water drive did not withstand 3 weeks of continuous use over the Atlantic and came off. It is said that a new way of painting the aluminum is being used in the future, which should hold better. Some production batches are said to have had our problem, some don't.

The DuoGen is at its best in water mode, working quietly, giving ample power underway. Contrary to other towing generators, simultaneous fishing is no problem and it is easy to employ and retract. The loss in speed is neglectable once you sail above 4 kts.

Sailing for long legs, we really appreciate the (Water-) DuoGen. In wind mode, it obviously needs to blow to get it working, which not always is the case in quiet anchorages. In the (windy) Caribbean with constant trade winds, it works fine at a number of anchorages, but not all, since some are more protected than others. Anchoring behind a reef with some trade winds blowing, it really decreased the number of necessary engine hours for us.

Depending on where you plan to go sailing, the wind mode can be of more or less value for you. We installed the DuoGen with the possibility to cross the Atlantic and sail in the Caribbean. If the Mediterranean had been our prime destination, we would have more thought of solar panels, but, then again, you need several large panels which only find place on an arch spanning over the stern, which is not the most beautiful solution.

In general, a great product which, however, needed several replacement parts after 6 months of continuous usage.

Alternative source of power production:

We have seen many sailors carrying these little red suitcase-sized HONDA 230V petrol generators. They do not last very long (2 - 3 years) in the harsh marine environment, but do cost very little and take hardly up any space. As an emergency power producing device, you could use the petrol you carry for your outboard engine (with no outboard-oil added, of course) to produce 230V. In marinas without shore power, we observed them on many boat's aft decks humming along charging the batteries.

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Steering

If you decide against a wind-wane, as we have done, you could possibly opt for a second autopilot. One of our friends purchased a complete set of Raymarine 7001G autopilot in an unbroken box. By this, he had all parts as spare and if he did not need them in the future, he could easily sell the entire box as a complete set of autopilot.

Another sailor had a cheaper autopilot which is being connected to the main steering wheel if needed. These wheel-pilots are often found on coastal sailing boats but can not withstand constant usage on ocean passages with all the electronics exposed outside by the steering wheel. Having said that, it certainly makes sense as a backup, normally stowed away under deck and rigged in a couple of minutes should the main autopilot cease to work.

A most costly alternative would be to have two independent sets of autopilots installed.

Our Raymarine 7001G Type 2 did actually behave very strangely a couple of times crossing the Atlantic. Obviously, while on the Atlantic, our Autopilot is working 24 h / 7 days a week. At 565 miles out, the system first gave incorrect wind information, then lost all GPS signals and finally the autopilot was complained about "off course", while behaving very strangely, doing only minimal course changes in incorrect direction. By switching off the entire system at the navstation and then re-starting it, it all worked again.

At 1550 miles out, the Autopilot said in the display "No Pilot". What was bad was that the rudder was locked in a fixed position by the Autopilot and the rudder could not be moved any more by hand. No pressing on any buttons helped and we jibed on mid Atlantic (luckily with a preventer). Again, it was all fixed by a cold-start (switching off and on at the navstation).

I immediately sent of an e-mail to the Discussion Group for Hallberg-Rassy owners asking if someone else had experienced something similar. Owning a Hallberg-Rassy with an active discussion group turned out to be most valuable, since other owners had experienced the same. Apparently it is a software problem with too much data being stacked up in the RAM-memory. The RAM is reset by a cold start (switching the system with autopilot, GPS etc on and off), which we henceforward have done every two or three days under continous usage, e.g. on an ocean passage.

I sent an e-mail to Raymarine in Sweden upon arrival in the Caribbean and they agreed to help and send some new parts. I appreciate that it was sent under warrenty.

Talking about switches, I do not like that the entire Seatalk system is switched on and off by just one switch. In our case, we just wanted to disconnect the autopilot, or reset the GPS, but, by doing so, the entire system went down as well, resetting also the trip-meter etc. I would prefer to have individual instruments working independently with its own on and off-switch, exchanging data if it is available on the net. As the Seatalk system is set up in our boat, one system is dependent on the other. At least the autopilot and the GPS should be working independently.

Furuno's NAVNET with independent instruments exchanging data via standard TCP/IP seems more transparent, I think.

Navigation

Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (MARPA) uses the echoes from the radar to identify speed, course and closest distance of the targets through trigonometric calculation. Contrary to AIS (Automatic Identification System), where the data is transmitted electronically via VHF by the individual vessels, MARPA relies on its own information to do the maths. The only input MARPA receives from "outside" is the echo's angle and distance. Hence the own vessel needs to have very accurate speed and heading to obtain useful information. Especially a stable heading is crucial.

Best would be to own one of the new GPS-compasses, of course. They use three GPS-receivers and calculate a very accurate and sensitive heading. Lacking this, we have to use the standard fluxgate compass included in the autopilot system. Doing so, it is crucial to "swing" the compass to compensate for deviation to get correct readings.

And now comes our experience: During the first years we swung the compass according to the manual, i.e. turned the boat slowly 720 degrees and then speeded up to align the heading. The problem was just that with the High Outpult Alternator (HOA) running, we got a slightly different deviation compared to read headings without the HOA. That was not all: depending on the revs and the state of the batteries, the deviation differed! Not much, but enough to get inferior MARPA readings and strange current information.

The solution was as easy as it was effective: By turning off the HOA while swinging the compass, the reading got perfect - at least while under sail not using the HOA. While motoring, the readings got back to incorrect headings, but if the batteries were full or by turning off the HOA, MARPA worked much better again.

The ulitmate solution would, of course, be to find a better place for the fluxgate compass, but we live well with knowing how to do.

Communications

A SSB is most useful once you sail to the Canaries and beyond. By this time, you have made many friends with whom you wish to stay in contact with when crossing the Atlantic and beyond. Once in the Caribbean, high roaming costs prevent you to use the mobile phone for calling boats just to ask for their position or to make up a joint anchorage. Many boats have their mobile phones switched off and you won't reach them that way. The SSB is a great source for social contacts as well as helping each other if you have any problems. The SSB is the long distance VHF and most cruisers have one installed.

Many use the SSB also for e-mails, which works perfect once at sea and most often in ports (harbours sometimes have disturbing surroundings giving bad propagation).

Iridium:

We were using the Apollo gateway by Iridium (situationed in Tempe, Arizona). Many other cruisers used Mailasail, instead, with their Iridium or Globalstar-phone and gave very postive testimonials re their compression software and a very helpful technical support. Since our system was working, I did not see any reason to change it.

Until suddenly, we recieved the piece of information that the Apollo-server would cease and Iridium replaced it by the "Direct Internet 2.0". This new software, however, is a disaster, and we ruined more than 120 minutes of air-time to try to figure out, how the new dial-up networking and compression software should work. It crashed and froze our laptop, so after a week of fiddling, I contacted Mailasail in UK, who could confirm that they also had great problems with Iridium's new Direct Internet 2.0 and that they have therefore programmed an own way to access the Internet via Iridium which works together with their compression software. We have thus decided to use Mailasail in the future.

The experience with Mailasail has been very positive so far. Especially impressive was how easy it was to install. It was just one click, and the software configured both Outlook as well as the dial up network by recognizing my Iridium phone and installed an appropriate modem drive. After that one click, it was just to press "SEND and RECEIVE" on Outlook, and it worked out of the box! Furthermore, the compression software is very comprehensive, passing through the text of the e-mails, filtering out attachments, which then can be fetched if desired. Weather info, both as text as well as graphical can be obtained via Mailasail. It is so easy to use Mailasail, that everyone onboard now can fetch and send e-mail e-mail, which was not the case before, when only I could handle the data transfer via several complicated work-arounds on the PC...

Please send Ed at Mailasail an e-mail for more info and give some regards from Regina!

Anchor and Mooring

The chackel of our Delta-anchor is, by the way, glued in place with Loctight so it can not get loose, especially not by divers who are said to loosen the anchor and then selling it back to the dragging owner...

As we anchored off Guadeloupe in 13 m of water and had to re-anchor three times due to bad holding, the anchor windless suddenly ceased to work. Luckily, I had heard of the same experience on a HR43 just a couple of days before. The Lewmar windless has an overheat relay, which switches off when the anchor motor gets too hot. Down below, in the front cupboard, I could feel the heat of the anchor windless. I opened the cupboard and turned the Hella-Turbo-fans 180 degrees, so they blew onto the windless instead. A couple of minutes later, the windless was working again!

Galley, Head and Comfort

After some weeks of producing water close to shore, the produced water gets a bad smell similar to rotten eggs. We always taste the produced water before letting any self-made water enter the tanks. Once the pre-filter has been exchanged or washed (rinsing with salt-water using your deck wash pump works fine), the taste is perfect again. We have always a set of two 20 micron filters alternating, one in the system and the other one washed and tried ready for use. In northern Spain I changed every time I had made water, since the Atlantic and in the Caribbean I change much more seldom with the cristal clear sea water that is available here.

The smell is a gas dissolved in the water originating from plankton stuck and dying in the pre-filter (dying due to lack of oxygen).

Many owners of watermakers don't flush their systems with fresh water after each usage. We do this, however, following Spectra's recommendation to prolong the expensive membrane and to obtain best possible water quality. The drawback is that we use 30L for flushing after each cycle, corresponding to half an hour of water production. If you have the system running for one hour making 60L, you loose half in the rinsing again. We hence run the system for at least two hours, getting 1.5 hour of net water production.

Over the Atlantic (20.5 days), we had the following water production/consumption. As you can see, with a watermaker, you have a lot of water to use and comfort onboard was high from that perspective.

After dismantling the pump from the motor, I brought it to Watermaker Services in Antigua, who were very helpful to take the pump apart, clean it, grease it with silicone fett and to re-assemble it again. Hopefully it will keep tight again for a long time!

The lifespan of the pump is prolonged by fresh water flushing after each production cycle, which we actually always have been doing.

The support by e-mail by Spectra was very good and prompt. They do have an upgraded "austenitic pump" which is said to withstand the harsh marine environment better. I would recommend buyers of Spectra 12V watermakers to go for this option.

I can mention that it was a pain to work inside the fancy "feed pump module". I understand that the compact and "elegant" Spectra Watermakers using very little Amps per produced Liter of water sells very well on exhibitions. For service, however, it would be much easier with everything mounted separately with no disturbing "box" enclosing it all. Also, to save power consumption, the pump used is very efficient, and hence maybe less robust. I would possibly go for a less elegant and more power and space consuming watermaker next time to allow for better serviceability.

See also some more opinions on the watermaker in the June 2007 story Infarct.

Water Tanks:

A true blue water cruiser should have two water tanks with a gauge in each, individually fillable both from deck and from the watermaker. It should be possible to choose from which tank you take your water.

The reason for this is that, on passage, you want to be able to shut off one tank as reserve, using the second one for your daily consumption together with your watermaker. Furthermore, you wish to be able to fill (questionable) shore water in one tank only, keeping good drinkable watermaker-water in the other tank. Depending on your needs, you should be able to select water out of the "shore-water tank" for showering and washing, while water from your "watermaker-tank" for drinking, keeping one tank "clean" of shore-water.

The above was obvious on many other boats, but, unfortunately, not possible on our HR 40, while highly desired.

Jabsco PAR MAX3 Pressure Water Pump:

The Jabsco pressure water pump started to sound differently in July 2005, after 5500 miles. Oily water was leaking from the motor housing. There was not much to repair. Luckily we carried a spare one, which was replaced within minutes. This is such an essential piece of equipment, since the water production (the water maker flushing with sweet water after each production cycle) relies on the pressure water, as well as hot water is dependent on pressurized water onboard. I recommend carrying a spare one onboard.

Whale Gulper 220 Shower Drain Pump:

Approximately at the same time, at 5500 miles, the not at all as crucial shower drain pump did not suck as efficiently any longer. Despite their brochure claiming that no strainer is necessary, some hair had become stuck in the valves. The pump is easily taken apart and the hair can be removed, at which time the valves will not work quite as efficiently any longer. I recommend carrying a service kit with new valves onboard. By coincidence, our pump lost its efficiency in Bangor, Northern Ireland, where the headquarters of Whale is situated. Splendid service resulted in a brand new pump housing under guarantee, complete with new valves.

Galley:

The galley layout is superb on our HR40, easy to work in, big areas to place items and a good backrest for cooking at sea. The only criticism I might have is the actual surface material. It is difficult to keep clean. Where the wooden surface is cut out for the sinks, the paint often comes off when touching it with saucepans while washing up. I regularly replace the paint, but would have preferred a more stable and better surface as such. Possibly Corrian, which unfortunately is quite costly.

Gas Storage:

Just as with diesel and water, the capacity for cooking gas is essential, especially within the EU, where filling is prohibited and exchanging bottles impossible with every country having their own types of bottles. Our 2 x 6 kg aluminium bottles did not corrode, but were experienced too small in capacity. The 10 kg bottles made of composite material (so called PK10) would have been preferred. Unfortunately, there are a few cm missing in height to get 2 x 10 kg PK10 bottles into our gas storage. Room for improvment for Hallberg-Rassy!

Head:

We like our head with its dedicated shower compartment and its position by the companionway. The major drawbrack of our head is its ventilation consisting only of the window. I would have liked to have an alternative ventilation, which could ventilate the head also during heavy passage making or in rainy weather. An electric vent sucking out air similoar to the engine vent could be a solution to mechanically ventilate the head, since it is difficult to install a dorade or Electrolux ventilation on the HR40 head as well as the aft heads in the HR43 and HR48.

We often are asked how we treat our toilet to avoid salt sediments, since we obviously use it on a daily basis for an extensive time. The most common way to treat your toilet is to pour in some 1/3 liter of vinnager (5%) every 3-4 weeks and pump it through, after having emptied the holding tank. Let it sit overnight to dissolve salt from the holding tank, pipes and pump housing. A couple of table spoons of cooking oil into the toilet overnight will grease the pump.

A way to force through any blocking in the holding tank is to close the vent valve and pump with the outlet valve open. By this, an overpressure is obtained inside the holding tank until, hopefully, the blocking is pushed out through the open outlet valve. Hopefully, this is not needed too often...

Some time must be the first time: At 12.000 miles and three years the head hose got clogged up. Had it just been the pump, it could have been dissabled and fixed, but in this case it was inside the hose under the holding tank. Luckily it was me who was the reason, or better me using a new type of toilet paper, that apparently did not dissolve as easily. Where the hose ends into a brass T-fitting to finally discharge either overboard or into the tank, the brass fitting is slightly smaller in diameter than the hose and makes a 45 deg bend at the same time, in other words perfect for clogging. Unfotunately, on the HR40, the fittings under the holding tank are so tightly placed and cramped that it was considered almost impossible by me to take the hose apart from the brass T-fitting. The cramped fitting is, of course, done for the obvious reason to obtain a holding tank with maximum capacity while taking minimal space from the cupboard. For servicing, this is not very handy, however. Finally, I solved it by various tricks, like carefully pumping in air and using the deck wash pump and a hose to flush into the waste-outlet on deck. No, we will not avoid throwing toilet paper into the head in the future either, it is just a matter of using very soft paper and not using too much of it.

After 17.000 miles and a total of 18 months of living onboard, our system was totally clogged up by salt deposits and there was no way around to take out the tank, clean all the pipes and replace all hoses. Luckily we were in home waters and close to a professional yard, who could help us. Our experiences and thoughts at that stage is summerised as a story dated 17 June 2007: Infarct.

A last word on the rubber valves inside the pump: Take many of these as spare parts with you and don't borther trying to clean them. I have tried many times and each time ended up just replacing the leaking one with a new. You notice when use toilet water is running back into the head that it becomes time to exchange the lower rubber valve in the pump. Have HR Parts&Accessories supply you with adequate service kits.

Using an electrical toilet, which grinds the waste inside the pump, and using fresh water for flushing is solving many head problems, however making you dependend on your watermaker as well as the electrical system. Today, after having experienced what urine and saltwater can result in, I would strongly consider electrical fresh water flushed toilets.

Electrolux Ventilation:

The Electrolux vent on foredeck obviously needs to be closed under any upwind sea conditions. This is done by pullling down a handle, by which the plastic cap (transparent) is pulled down onto the cylinder (white). However, even closed, whenever green seawater comes rushing down the deck, it was also rushing into the V-cabin onto our dry berths. In other words our Electrolux vent was leaking in heavy seas from the bow. We tried to "seal" it with a cloth from the inside, which had to be exchanged after a while when it was soaked. Not very satisfactory.

The reason for it to leak is that it does not seal completely between the cylinder (white) and the plastic cap (transparent). See picture. I bought a new Electrolux-vent (the inexpensive one with the plastic lid, not with the stainless steel lid we have) for some EUR 15. I just used the transparent lid and the pull-down handled to which it is attached and replaced these parts on our Electrolux vent. Furthermore, I greased the top of teh cylinder with silicone grease (where it normally leaks). This has improved the situation significantly. However, I am no fan of having an Electrolux Vent on foredeck, which originally have been designed for caravans.