Jim/Woolamaloo, how are you able to mount the Air Head in the 30+? I have a little shelf that the toilet sits on. Is that also in your boat? There is no way the Air Head or Natures Head would fit on that shelf. Are you modifying the floor to accommodate the toilet?
Thanks!
That little shelf is definitely on my boat and it concerned me. I measured the best I could. But, the area is a really weird shape and it's particularly difficult getting good measurements with the old head in the way. I just rolled the dice. I was pretty confident that the main base would fit. I was worried about the two tabs that holds the liquid tank. Of course, if those don't fit, it's a problem. In the instructions I could find mention of building up a new ledge to support the front if necessary. Vague.
There are two sizes of the Air Head: Marine Size and Household Size. If memory serves, (I did this research about 16 months ago) the bases are identical. The only difference is the size of the seat. And really, that size different only causes a problem with getting the head to fit because the household size has the hinges hang off the back of the base - preventing you from mounting about an inch farther back. If you look a little closer at their site, you find that there is an alternate base. It takes up the same room as the regular base but has the lower back corner angled. They call it the hull shape. So, I got greedy. I chose the Household Size knowing it was going to cause me more problems. But I tried to mitigate it by getting it with the hull shape. Knowing I was going to vent it to the anchor locker, I called and ordered the vent hose a few feet longer. The head came and it's very nice. It was in my garage for about a year - waiting.
This, I'm not proud of. The marina called me in December and asked if there were any projects that I needed done. I'm not too proud to pay someone when I'm over my head. I feel the more I do, the more I know and the better prepared I am when something goes wrong on the boat. But honestly, how prepared do I need to be for the head system that I'm throwing away? When I sheepishly floated the idea of them pulling the head and holding tank for me. They said the owner's son was home from college and wanted the work. He'd do it for 175 bucks. Yes, please. A few days later, I got the invoice, which included "1 roll of paper towels" in the parts section. I've never been happier to pay the yard rate.
My next trip up was my first fitting of the head in the empty space. It
almost fits. It might fit fine with the marine size seat but now my heart was set on the household seat. I tried angling it and it almost fit there too. But with it angled, my feet would be in the salon when sitting down. I decided to think on it. I filled the old screw holes with epoxy and worked on other projects. I came home to think about it.
When it was angled towards the door, one of the liquid tank supports hung out about an inch and a half. I considered getting a piece of aluminum that I could mount under the base that would support that hanging support. I was worried that by only supporting one (or two) brackets it would cause it to twist. I went back up to test my theory. Looking it over, I realized that if I mount the head facing aft like the normal, the two front supports only hang out less than an inch. I bought the aluminum plate. It's a tenth of an inch and 12" x 12" and cost me about $14. The more I thought about this, the more I liked it. Mounting the four brackets while awkwardly kneeling beside the head was going to be difficult. Now, I'm going to shape the aluminum to fully support the bottom of the head and all brackets. Then, I can mount the brackets in my workshop at a comfortable level. Then, I'll just need to mount the aluminum plate and the head will snap right in. I'll keep it as small as I can and it will take some hard to find hardware because of the clearances. But, I don't think it will even be noticeable. What could go wrong?
So, those are the plans I have right now. I'll keep you informed.