One Head or Two for 45' or less Boats?

[Mako]

I had a VacuFlush system on my 40 year old boat. I don't know how old the system was, but it was definitely not new. I was always suspicious of it, but I have to admit that it worked flawlessly. The previous owned sailed all the way to Aussie and back, and I never saw anything in the log book about problems with it.

Hat's off to your toilet!

 

[syjos]

Sandpiper was designed with two heads and two stateroom. The PO deleted the second head when he placed the order for the boat.

We cruise by ourselves, no guests! Most of our friends are boaters. We turned the second stateroom into storage so our non- boating friends don't get any ideas.

We have Vacu-flush and I replace the duck bills every 5 years and rebuild the toilet and vacuum generator every 10 years. In 19 years of ownership, never had toilet issues. I carry every spare part for the Vacu-flush, just in case.

As we get older, there are times that we wish for a second toilet. But thinking about the extra space gained, one less toilet to maintain and one toilet to clean makes that wish go away.

 

[Fletcher500]

One of the interesting takeaways from the responses is the same sort of response one sees in "single verses twin engine threads", what happens if it breaks. Wonder if, just like twin engine boats, owners with twin heads are more prone to fix what breaks as opposed to doing preventative maintenance? Ted

Reliability aspects for an engine and a toilet are two very different animals. I spare no expense on engine PMs, am proactive, and carry lots of spare engine related parts. If you have guests on the boat a lot, which we do, it just takes one person to shut a toilet down regardless of PM or spare toilet parts. I spent a couple hours on our jam to no avail. When I brought in reinforcements the Tech said it was the worse TP jam he had ever seen. With that said, they are kids and I don’t hold any grudges. I enjoy spending time on the boat and in the water with kids more than a lot of adults I meet. But I get it, if you don’t have guests, one makes sense.

 

[O C Diver]

Reliability aspects for an engine and a toilet are two very different animals. I spare no expense on engine PMs, am proactive, and carry lots of spare engine related parts. If you have guests on the boat a lot, which we do, it just takes one person to shut a toilet down regardless of PM or spare toilet parts. I spent a couple hours on our jam to no avail. When I brought in reinforcements the Tech said it was the worse TP jam he had ever seen. With that said, they are kids and I don’t hold any grudges. I enjoy spending time on the boat and in the water with kids more than a lot of adults I meet. But I get it, if you don’t have guests, one makes sense.

As previously mentioned, maybe you need to ration TP to your guests.

Ted

 

[Fletcher500]

As previously mentioned, maybe you need to ration TP to your guests.

OCD, that is good advice. Thanks.

 

[smitty477]

We have always preferred the two heads on our boats - much more than the boats we had with one.

 

[OldDan1943]

What's the old saying, "Two heads are better than one.", yea that's it.
My N46 had 2 heads, never used the forward head but then, I never had spend the night company. Wash/flush the fwd sanitary tank a few times and then, put a gallon of water in it and ignored the tank and head.

 

[rgano]

As with a single engine boat, I would expect to have every part that can break or wear out, in the spares department on the boat. For most heads, that would be about 2 shoeboxes worth of space.

Ted

Doesn't do you any good on a day run with a bunch of guests and no time to fix the head. I vote two heads. Had em on my GB42, but only one here on the MShip, but I can run to a marina or home at 20 MPH if need be,

 

[O C Diver]

Doesn't do you any good on a day run with a bunch of guests and no time to fix the head. I vote two heads. Had em on my GB42, but only one here on the MShip, but I can run to a marina or home at 20 MPH if need be,

I understand.
IMO, 99% of head failures where you can't use the head at all are a function of lack of preventive maintenance or poorly instructed guests. I ran a charter boat for 20 years. 7 people, 1 head, 1,500+ days. If you are diligent about PM, they are one of the most reliable items on the boat.

Ted

 

[rgano]

Given the choice between luck and skill......

 

[River Cruiser]

Given the choice between luck and skill......

“Never trade luck for skill”

 

[koliver]

Doesn't do you any good on a day run with a bunch of guests and no time to fix the head. I vote two heads. Had em on my GB42, but only one here on the MShip, but I can run to a marina or home at 20 MPH if need be,

LOL
Hope I never need to rely on speed due to a head issue!

 

[HenryD]

Ted,
Two berths, 2.5 heads - have had all three broken at the same time(once). The half bath on the pilot house level would be the only one I would consider "optional". As with BoatHealer - enough storage already.

 

[FF]

"I like RV heads (if you can fit one) because they are about as complicated as a wood board with a hole in it."

Even better is the fact that it uses 1/10 to 1/ 20 the water .

Sadly it seems boat "designers"/assemblers are seldom interested in maint or practical use.

 

[O C Diver]

Ted,
Two berths, 2.5 heads - have had all three broken at the same time(once). The half bath on the pilot house level would be the only one I would consider "optional". As with BoatHealer - enough storage already.

Henry,
I hear you. How many windlasses do you have? Short of cutting the chain and loosing the anchor, I would consider it a bigger problem if it broke, and I only have one to retrieve the anchor with.

Ted

 

[smitty477]

Henry,
I hear you. How many windlasses do you have? Short of cutting the chain and loosing the anchor, I would consider it a bigger problem if it broke, and I only have one to retrieve the anchor with.

Ted

Our windlass had a manual backup which we did try as a practice run but never needed in actual use.
We could also retrieve by hand if necessary and/or set a fender on line to mark the anchor and tackle.
In our area 99% of the time the lengths used are fairly short.
YMMV

 

[Mako]

This discussion reminds me of an old thread I remember about what system gave you the most trouble. I don't recall anyone mentioning heads, because the biggest problem is usually clogging them, which is a user error.

BTW, for me the most hated systems on my boats have been the potable pressure water pumps and the generators.

 

[ABfish]

Nicest I have seen was a Hood that had a standard head / shower below and a toilet head mounted fwd in the cockpit for folks to use without going below.

My Mikelson has that setup. The day head in the cockpit is often used as a storage closet, but it makes a great backup facility.

 

[markajh]

So I'm looking at the website for the new Nordhavn 41. It has one head. My Cherubini 45 has one full and one half. While there are many 2 and 3 stateroom boats that sleep a dozen including 2 on the dining table, that need 2 full heads, how many do you need for a 1 or 2 staterooms forward boat? More may be better, but I keep viewing my master stateroom half head and wonder how awesome a closet I could make out of it. It's not going to happen, but I'm curious what you think about more storage or more head.

Ted

Good question ... Space can be tight - but you might consider that in the same way you would other redundant systems. You have a "get home" with a single engine and other back-ups. Having a second toilet can be a blessing. This becomes more logical depending on your cruising goals.

 

[RossWilson]

Had a head and a half on my Monk 42, and appreciated having two ... at times. However, with our "new" Mainship 34T, we have only one. And so far, we don't miss the extra toilet and all the maintenance it demands. More storage would hold greater value to me.

 

[O C Diver]

Good question ... Space can be tight - but you might consider that in the same way you would other redundant systems. You have a "get home" with a single engine and other back-ups. Having a second toilet can be a blessing. This becomes more logical depending on your cruising goals.

5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat to be civilized.

Ted

 

[Mako]

Really like that maroon RED hull of yours, Ross!

 

[dirtdoc1]

I have two staterooms and one head. I had a couple of friends aboard for a week and wished that I had two heads. Next time!

 

[Pacific Time]

Never buy for guests you may or may not entertain. If your buying a vessel for cruising, buy what you can use and not what you think others like.

 

[Tony sundeck 40]

On my Albin 40 I have one forward and one aft. On my 47 foot sailbefore my trawler I had one head. Damn I love having two!!

 

[OldDan1943]

The AT has 2 doors, making it a very usable 'day head'.
The dead of night, your guest need to use the head, they enter via the door in the stairwell, not disturbing the owner in the stateroom.

 

[Comodave]

I have two staterooms and one head. I had a couple of friends aboard for a week and wished that I had two heads. Next time!

I agree on the second head.

 

[healhustler]

For that occasional unsavory (but healthy) colon cleanse, I installed this set of low maintenance Double-Doody davits as an alternative to running the Admiral out the boat. Trouble free unit, for sure, but has been hard on the swim platform.

 

[Exsailor2018]

My wife can share a shower but her head is her head till it messes up then it’s my head. We’ve had electric fresh water flush high end heads on our last two boats and will on our next boat. Remember guys a happy wife equals a happy life.

 

[Bryant]

1 or 2 Heads

One of the reasons we bought our Grand Banks 36 is two full heads, one in the aft cabin and one in the V berth. Yes, it’s twice the maintenance but I wouldn’t trade the two heads for anything even though it’s just my wife and myself. One head got plugged on one of our trips and we still had a functioning head left.
I can’t imagine having a trawler with only one head now.