Refresh in the Head

C-Head Toilet

One area in Great Ketch that I wanted to refresh was the shower and head area. I removed the shower grated teak floor and seat and sanded it and revarnished. The look of the floor and seat is outstanding. For the grated teak floor I ensured that the underside was epoxied in order to really seal it from any moisture.

Shower Seat

New caulking was added to the corner seams of the shower stall  and the trim work into the shower was sanded and varnished.

Another improvement I made was to replace the oak veneer panel that surrounded the port-light with white veneer.  Most of the walls in the head area were white veneer while only the aft wall and wall with the port light were oak veneer. One problem with oak veneer in a boat is that they need to be sealed in order to prevent de-lamination of the panel as a result from moisture. I also preferred the white veneer because original Herreshoff boats typically were painted white inside on the walls and ceiling and I wanted to tip a nod to the yesteryear look of the Herreshoff boats. Moreover, white can have a super clean look.

The shower floor under the grated floor was painted of with the non-skid Kiwi grip, which is the same non-skid I used on the top of the deck of the boat. I replaced the shower pump with a new RULE bilge pump.

Shower Floor

Door to Head

The door to the head was sanded and revarnished and I replaced the door handle. The old handle was worn out and the nickel plated hardware was worn off. It looked awful.

In addition, I replaced the faucet for the sink as well as a new drain. The sink was cleaned and reseated. The head itself was replaced with a C-Head composting toilet. For my thinking I prefer the C-Head over the traditional marine toilet for the following reasons:

1) Easy operation and easy maintenance - no pumps, joker valves, and moving parts

2) More storage space for liquid waste 

3) No need to look for specific waste stations

4) No oder from leaky hoses or connections

5) Ability to stay out longer off-shore because waste can be managed efficiently

The head is not completely done as there are some minor trim work that needs to be completed, but, the majority of the work for this summer has been completed.