Composting Toilet On A Boat: Our Experience | Sailing Kittiwake - Extra 302 2

Sailing 6 years ago 3,843 views

In 'Composting Toilet On A Boat: Our Experience' we talk about how a composting loo works, what it's like to use it and how easy it is to install. As #liveaboard cruisers, we love this setup. WANT MORE SAILING TIPS? 11+ Ways To Make Money While Sailing - https://youtu.be/IKIYr5UP6n0 How Much Does It Actually Cost To Live On A Sailboat? - https://youtu.be/r9DjSOLCxTM How To Become A Minimalist Liveaboard Sail Cruiser - https://youtu.be/ii5s0e7MkcA ***OUR SAILING CHANNEL*** We vlog about our adventures sailing from the UK to the Mediterranean on a budget on our sailing channel: https://youtube.com/c/sailingkittiwake ***OUR BLOG*** If you’d like to find out more about us or Kittiwake, check out our blog: http://sailingkittiwake.com/. In our Sail Cruising Tips section you’ll find some advice on how to set off cruising yourself, as well as ideas on how to make money along the way. Let us know if we can help! ***SUPPORT US ON PATREON*** If you like our videos and would like to support our production, we're over at: https://www.patreon.com/sailingkittiwake ***OR BUY US A BEER*** http://sailingkittiwake.com/support-us ***WE’RE ALSO ON*** - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sailingkittiwake/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sailingkittiwake/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/svkittiwake Follow us for live updates, plus extra videos and pictures. ***CAMERA*** Canon EOS M

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for Composting Toilet On A Boat: Our Experience | Sailing Kittiwake - Extra

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Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

We hope you find this video useful, guys. If you have any questions on our composting loo, please leave them below in the comments. Fair winds, Elena & Ryan

Watrworld - 6 years ago

Nice info on a sticky topic! Seriously, tho, more info could have been provided. What do you use to mix it with? sawdust? Cedar mulch? Others? How easy is it to get abroad? Thanks!

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Thanks for commenting Watrworld.
As we said in the video, our loo doesn’t need any sawdust, so we don’t mix it with anything.
We’ve been cruising Europe and it’s been fine. Each country/area has its own rules though, you need to check the rules for the area you want to cruise.

S/V Adma - 6 years ago

currently building my own....Less holes in the boat is better, and a holding tank is a nightmare. At some point any complex toilet will fail and some one has the glorious task to fix it.

SV Nimbus - 6 years ago

Great video..as usual. I have a std head.. but I'm glad to know if it fails I could still pee overboard and poo in a bag as a back up.

Zen Zen - 6 years ago

Lol @ "No 1 fan" :)

Ni Ivy - 6 years ago

Which Kind of Composting Toilet have you got?

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

No problem Ni! We took out any brand references because we didn’t want this video to feel like an ad.
It’s a Simploo.

Captain Cook's Boaty Bites - 6 years ago

Had a home built compost toilet on my narrowboat for the last two years. Cost under £30 and is brilliant.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Perfect! Even cheaper than ours :)

Geremy Chubbuck - 6 years ago

Great practical video. Keep up the great work.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Thanks a lot Geremy!

Robert Orzech - 6 years ago

To compost , you need moisture and oxygen for the bacteria so they can thrive and multiply so they break down the poop and fibre. When it is working well you only need to empty about half of it twice per year.There should be a slight sheen on it when mixing it. You mix it to incorporate oxygen into the process so the bacteria can breath. You've got the right bacteria working for you if there is no smell at all and the finished product looks and feels exactly like odourless potting soil. Drying out fresh poop sounds dangerous. I'm sure that would make all kinds of pathogens air bourn when it comes time to empty it. I give a little spray of "compost quick"on my turd and cover it with a little scoop of compressed peat moss mixed 50/50 with confetti from a paper shredder and mix in a gallon of warm fresh water once a week. Don't over water it or you'll kill your bacteria and you'll have a problem to get it working again. Ive been using mine for 16 years and it hasn't failed me yet. If you take care of it . It will take care of you ! Cheers

10. comment for Composting Toilet On A Boat: Our Experience | Sailing Kittiwake - Extra

Paul Fox - 6 years ago

Do you use coconut wood shavings and how much space does the supply of that material take up on the boat?

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Of course. We just didn’t want this video to look like an ad. We don’t get anything out of it either, hehe!
It’s a Simploo.

Marco Stolk - 6 years ago

Sailing Kittiwake would you mind sharing make and model?

Robert Garbe - 6 years ago

Not a composting toilet, it is a poop and sawdust in a bag and throw away. Nobody composts this stuff. Ridiculous.

Darren J - 6 years ago

Thanks for this episode Elena and Ryan, I've been considering a composting loo for my boat (fewer holes in the hull the better in my opinion) so far all of the separator ones I've looked at divert the liquid in to a bottle, so the drain pipe on yours seems a real winner. However, how do you get it to drain? presumably the skin fitting is not above the water line and if it's below the water line haven't you put a goose neck in to prevent siphoning or do you have it going out via a pump? Or am I just being really stupid and missing something obvious?

Darren J - 6 years ago

Thanks guys, that's helpful

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Hi Darren, on our cat the loo is just above the waterline so it drains straight through the thru hull. A pump could work also though I think.

Richard Collins - 6 years ago

Is the fan on all the time or just on a timer from when last used?

Cigarmann - 6 years ago

I have not added a composting toilet to my boat but have one at my hunting cabin. Using a Nature's Head, it has been trouble-free and runs off a solar powered fan. I did rig mine so that the liquids drain directly outside into a gravel filled pit so no issues with freezing of the urine if not emptied during winter.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

It sounds very efficient! Nice.

Sailing Starbuck - 6 years ago

Hello Sailing Kittiwake, thank you for your videos. My wife and I have been following you with interest. Which composting loo did you go for? If you don't mind would you mind explaining how you came to choose the one you have as well? I'm currently looking at the Airhead for our upcoming boat, but the Nature's head looks equally as good.

Sailing Starbuck - 6 years ago

Sailing Kittiwake superb... Thank you.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Cheers guys! We have a Simploo. We chose it because it was much cheaper than any other composting heads, easily shipped directly to us in Falmouth, and it doesn't need any sawdust. The fan also doesn't draw any energy whatsoever - we can't see it in our energy use report from the solar panels controllers. It was also the perfect size for our boat, of course. We hope this helps :) Let us know if you have any more questions. Fair winds!

Ken Dorsey - 6 years ago

Thanks again for posting the information that really answers the questions that will make or brake a cruise. Not the most glamorous topic but one of tremendous import.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Cheers Ken! We're not glamorous people anyway ;)
The whole point of making videos for us is to share our experience (the good and the bad) and help other people who want to go cruising get out there. So these practical topics need to be addressed, somehow.
Elena writes quite a lot of useful stuff on the blog too, if you fancy checking it out. http://sailingkittiwake.com/

Sailing Lucky Bear - 6 years ago

thank you for sharing this, I am planing for a composting head for our sailboat build.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Sorry to hear about the work. We've been on a couple of Wharrams and we're fans. If you go for it, maybe try and rearrange the indoor spaces - they are usually pretty small for the boat's size, so you need to be smart with how you plan them out.

Sailing Lucky Bear - 6 years ago

That is the plan, however the build may change to a Wharram Cat for the first boat (2 jobs fell through as well as some freelance work here so can build the Wharram for 1/3 of the cost).... but you know what they say... your second boat is 2x as fast as the first! so may not loose to much time and will still have a boat (and faster as the build will take about 1/2 the time).... Will be putting an update soon on the channel (this week) to catch everyone up.... loosing the jobs bummed me out and got lazy lol

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Your build sounds really interesting. Is the plan to sail in high latitudes?

Sailing Lucky Bear - 6 years ago

hehehe, thanks I can use all the support I can get :)

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

You have our full support :D Hehe!

Charles Thomas - 6 years ago

I have had an envirolet for almost 40 years in a log cabin on a mountain. It requires it's own solar panel and 12 volt battery as well as an air vent to the outside. A fan and heater inside the unit dries out the fecal matter and evaporates the urine. A series of shake trays breaks the fecal matter down into what looks like dust which you then throw out. I have wondered why more people haven't installed them on boats. I am happy yours is working for you. Great episode.

Charles Thomas - 6 years ago

Tibor Kiss Hi guys. I haven't had a problem up on the mountain either. Usually, we dump the ashes, and make sure the urine is all evaporated before we are gone for a while. The only thing going is the ventilator fan on the roof which is wind driven. Never had a problem with smell in forty years.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Hi Tibor, we've done exactly that lately - while we've been in the yard we've just been using the loos in the yard. We emptied it when we first got here and turned the fan off after that. There hasn't been a smell. If you liked, you could clean the bucket (maybe with bleach?) I guess but we haven't felt the need to and it hasn't been stinky.

Tibor Kiss - 6 years ago

Hi, do you have any experience what happens when you empty the composting toilet, than leave it for - let`s say - 6 months with only the fan on. Any smell or debree build up? Our boat is used only a few times each year and is posted far away from us (about 600 miles), so we close it down for the winter.. best regards.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Cheers Charles - sounds like a great setup and we love the sound of a log cabin on the mountain - very John Muir :)

Ed Hespen - 6 years ago

I had large holding tank on my boat. Worked well no smell. Problem was the nearest pump out was 75 miles away. Only options were to hire porta pottie pump out truck or pump overboard. Next boat will be composting or if big enough both.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Yes, it can be tough to find a pump. We think you're making a good decision Ed. Having both, if the boat is big enough, is also a good option.
Our friends' holding tank overfilled into the bilge while they were crossing Biscay... It wasn't a pleasant passage - they had to spend the whole crossing in the cockpit. They felt sick as soon as they went down below.

20. comment for Composting Toilet On A Boat: Our Experience | Sailing Kittiwake - Extra

Harry Taylor - 6 years ago

What brand is your composting toilet ? Keep vides coming.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

It's a Simploo. It's a small UK-based company, more like a one-man band really. They're built in-house and they're way cheaper than most composting heads on the market.
Cheers Harry!

Brian Petersen - 6 years ago

Good information.

Sailing Kittiwake - 6 years ago

Thanks a lot Brian. It's really nice of you to comment often on our videos. We appreciate it. Elena & Ryan

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