Boat toilets – regulations and good advice

Having a boat toilet – a good comfort

Are you a creature of comfort, but also enjoy feeling the boat rock out on the water? Having a toilet on board a boat is a comfortable luxury that makes it possible to enjoy longer boat trips with the family. Maybe even some long-distance sailing? With a boat toilet you don’t need to moor at a port to use the toilet.

Do you already have a toilet on board, or are you looking for some advice on how to install one? Then read on for good advice on maintenance and to find out the regulations for boat toilets.

Regulations for boat toilets

All countries have their own regulations when it comes to emptying boat toilets. As a boater, you are therefore required to comply with regulations pertaining to the waters you are in and the rules that apply there. Before you head out on the water, you need to check the rules that apply to the waters you are going to sail in.

For Swedish waters, you can read more about the regulations from the Swedish Transport Agency.

For Danish waters, you can read more about the regulations from Retsinformation.

For Norwegian waters, you can read more about the regulations from the Norwegian Maritime Directorate.

For Finnish waters, you can read more about the regulations from Keep the Archipelago Tidy.

Maintenance and installation

When replacing or installing your boat toilet, it is important that you use suitable materials. Some examples:

Odourless hoses that are diffusion-proof and specially adapted for use in toilets.
Stainless steel clamps. Two clamps can be mounted opposite each other.
Choose a toilet that is acid and chemical resistant.

It’s also sensible to check how much space you have on board for a toilet and where you can connect it. For example, you should choose a toilet with the same connection hole size as the old one.

Prevent unpleasant odours

No one wants to smell unpleasant odours from the toilet when it’s hot in the summer. Here’s how to best prevent this:

Flush the toilet with fresh water when you leave the boat, so there is no salt water in the hoses.
Add detergent to the toilet along with the fresh water to clean the system.
Remember to use cleaning fluid and tablets regularly.
Use suitable hoses for a sanitary installation.
Empty the tank regularly.

Portable chemical toilet for boats

If you have a smaller boat without an onboard toilet, you can opt for a portable chemical toilet instead of a permanent installation. This allows for good flexibility since you can place the boat toilet inside or outside a cabin.

Tip: our portable boat toilets can also be used as camping toilets

A short list of portable toilet benefits:

Perfect for when nature calls, and you may only be out on the water a few times in a season.
You don’t need to install a boat toilet or make holes in the hull.
You don’t need to worry about antifreeze in the winter – a valuable detail.
Fewer unpleasant odours from hoses on board.
It doesn’t take up much space in the cabin.

The portable toilet is easy you use and flushes with a pump handle, which flushes down the water in the tank. You can also easily empty it when you are in port by detaching the top section and transporting the tank to the port’s emptying facilities, or just empty it into a toilet using the practical spout.

You can use the toilet discreetly on board, especially if you have a boat with an enclosed cabin. In the more open boats, you need to be a little more creative when setting up your new ‘toilet corner’. You can also create a shower cabin using curtain, which will give you some privacy on board when changing clothes for a swim.

How to easily clean a chemical toilet

The portable toilet is equipped with a smart flushing mechanism that makes cleaning easy and reduces odours if you follow the instructions correctly and use sanitary fluid. Emptying is done using the built-in pipe. You can easily empty it into a regular toilet when you are at port or in the emptying facilities as mentioned earlier. Once the contents have been emptied, rinse with fresh water and top up the sanitary fluid.