Here's a picture of Alto, a 25' 7" long diesel powered Ranger Tug sitting at Turner Marine yacht brokers in Mobile, AL where we bought the boat brand new.
I had been reading the many blogs about travels to the Bahamas and doing the Great Loop in Rangers, and knew this was the boat I wanted. Trailerable, I could use a Ranger in the Cape Cod waters in the summer, and leave her in Florida for the winters. This made financial sense as opposed to paying $100,000+ for a boat and $5000+ for a slip, to only use the boat for about three months of the year on the Cape. There is a good reason why folks charter boats in the Virgin Islands for a couple weeks per year instead of buying. But, the Ranger's portability, along with having inexpensive reliable diesel power started making some financial sense–if I could use it year round. You'll come to your own conclusions over time, but this may cross your mind, too. Now my plan was to buy a used Ranger Tug and save some money. But, two things changed my mind:
1.) At a boat show in New England, I ran into Mark Mansfield then V.P. of sales for Ranger Tugs. I asked him about a used tug I was considering in Washington near the Ranger factory that was beat up from use in Alaska. He told me that, instead, I should consider two new Rangers at a great prices that were sitting in Mobile, AL at the Turner Marine Yacht Yard. As V.P. of sales, he knew that Turner had decided to end its representation of Rangers, although they loved them, since they concentrated on selling sailboats, principally Catalinas and Island Packets, and the Rangers were not selling for them. So I called Turner's yacht broker immediately, and the price was good. One boat had electronics and the other didn't, so I gave them a deposit on the one with all the Garmin gear and flew down to finish the deal after a sea trial which went great.
2.) The second issue that caused me to buy a new boat was the head had never been used. Nah, I'm not that obsessive-compulsive that I couldn't use someone else's toilet! This meant I had the option of getting rid of the pump head and installing a composting head. And, since the 30 gallon waste tank had never been used, it could be converted to a spare fresh water tank, so now we carry double the amount (60 ga.) of freshwater, which is remarkable for a 25' boat. Shower any time! Another option is that I can convert it to holding an additional 30 gallons of diesel at any time in the future. I knew from my reading that for cruising with limited in-port time near pump out boats, I really wanted a composting head. Plus, tank space is important on a small boat.
So I paid the boat off and flew out back to Boston, leaving Alto with the skilled shop folks at Turner for the addition of a factory full bimini and installation of an Air Head composting toilet to replace the standard marine head. Since the head was such a big deal in my boat purchase, I figure I better spend some time, here, explaining why it was so important to me, as it may prove important to you next time you buy a boat. Those of you who are not into toilets can move on to the next blog in Alto's Adventures, but any serious cruising boater should know this stuff.
The Airhead isn't cheap ($1000+). It is a composting toilet has been used on boats, campers, rural cabins and places without septic systems for many years. We had terrific support from the owner of the company. He actually called me several times to make sure everything was going well. I checked with Nature's Head, a competitor, but was disappointed with their knowledge (lack of) and quality of their product in comparison to the Air Head, although it very similar (actually copied from the Air Head by former employees) and only $100 less. Why carry around dozens of gallons of gross, stinking waste until you find a place to pump it out? Most boats have a macerator to chop up and pump the waste overboard, but the law says you need to be miles out to sea to do this, and we are inland cruisers. During inspections the Coast Guard wants to see that your "Y-valve" is locked in the position to discharge into your holding tank, not overboard. Of course, any standard pump out system requires a lot of plumbing and hoses and clamps not to mention usually a big waste tank (an expanding bladder is shown below) in comparison to the compact, self-contained Air Head:
Aside from removing the old toilet (we left the discharge and intake hoses in place, some dummy may buy Alto someday and want to reinstall a pump out head), the biggest part of the installation was running that tube you see hanging off the side of the Air Head to a 12v fan in a hole through the transom. The tank under the toilet holds a composting material (peat moss made from coco fiber, about $4 per brick from Amazon) which is mixed with the solid waste (i.e., poo) deposited in the toilet. You break the brick it up in a plastic bag and then add a couple quarts of water. Over night, it expands and becomes a crumbly slightly damp mulch which you then dump into the bucket that the air head sits on. The removable front tank holds urine, which is the enemy of composting–so it is kept separate.
After each deposit you turn the crank on the side of the tank one half turn to agitate/mix the waste with air and peat moss to start a natural decomposing process. The secret is aeration, as air is constantly pulled through the tank and then out that big tube to the aft end of the boat. Of course, it can smell a bit for a few minutes after use, but the composting process quickly degrades the waste and the smell dissipates fast. To keep the air moving you install a 12v computer fan at the end of the tube at the transom which "pulls" the air out continually through the toilet, into the composting tank and then out the transom fitting. Yes the fan runs nonstop, but it draws very little current and you can install a simple solar panel to power it. As Alto, has two 120 watt solar panels, capable of powering the refrigerator and electronics (we never use our generator to charge batteries) on the hook, there is no problem, even if the boat is stored on a rack. Even indoor rack storage places usually have translucent panels in the roof for natural light, which charges the batteries. Hell, I've discovered that the panels work even under the heavy white plastic wrap we cover the boat with over the winter.
Solids:
To deposit solids (poo) you push a lever at the last moment (God, don't forget!) to open a trap door over the bucket, and in it goes to mix with the cocoa fiber moss. Close the trap, move the crank half a turn and then forget about it.
Amazingly we empty the solids holding tank once per season. We've discovered it will break down solid waste for a couple (two people) using it weekends for an entire season, or two people can use it daily for a month before needing to empty it and then recharge it with a new $4 moss brick! For the season emptying, I just dump it in the garden. If you use it daily, a smart plan is to buy a second tank. I ran into folks on a catamaran who would switch out their tank when full and bungy it on their forward deck with a cover letting the composting continue. By the time the head tank needed switching out again, the spare tank was fully composted and could be emptied anywhere, including overboard. No smell no mess. Imagine a month (or even a full season) without emptying your head of solids. You can even get little packets of enzymes to speed the composting process so nothing but peat moss falls out of the tank when you empty it.
Liquids:
Urine is diverted to the tank in the front which you remove and pour into a marina's toilet, or just pour overboard since urine is sterile. I had the Air Head people send me a spare urine tank with a fitting on the front bottom which latches to a thin 5/8" flexible plastic tube which I threaded through the old 2" discharge line from the head we removed. The tubing runs all the way from the toilet, under the floor and to and through the old septic discharge outlet on the side of the boat. I stuck in a 12v inline pump, and now every 2/3 days I turn on the pump for a couple minutes to pump the contents of the urine tank overboard. Later, in the Florida Keys, the harbor master in Key West had no problem with this–and they have to be the most sensitive folks in the world to waste being discharged overboard. I admit, with two people aboard, removing and carrying the liquids tank up to the marina bathroom to dump every day or two got old. Not to classy, either, to explain to folks I met on the docks what I was carrying and why... Pouring it overboard looked a little gross, so now it is all done discreetly and easily. No muss, no fuss and most important no pump outs and double the normal amount of fresh water storage.
I posted some pictures of the installation in Alto in our blog under St. Johns–2nd Trip. Enough about toilets! Let's move on to Alto's first adventure, as I had her trailered from Mobile Alabama to a marina on the St. Johns River in Florida. This is the longest river in Florida and, weirdly, it runs South to North with an average current of one or two knots. It is loaded with manatee, so much of the river is no wake, or slow cruising. Aside from the nature experience, this seemed like a good way to get my wife Gail accustomed to boating as she doesn't swim, is not super coordinated (hope she doesn't read this) and hates boats to begin with. So there is an element of drama to Alto's adventure, too! Stay tuned.
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