Sink on boat
 

So the new to us boat has a wetbar sink and head sink. We don't pick up boat until next Friday, but are buying things now. I was told that the sinks drain overboard. Seems crazy to me. So that means can't just dump a warm soda downn the drain. Also, if someone wanted to wash hands, can we use soap? I have a holding tank, so why wouldn't it just collect gray water?

Steve

I don't think that legal on the lake. The state inspects your boat to make sure you don't have any water going into the lake and after they do you get a sticker.

You are not allowed to drain anything overboard. All drains need to go into holding tanks that can be pumped out by a marina.

The state did have people checking and tagging boats to certify that they were legal but I have not seen one for years. They used to go into marinas or public docking areas and inspect boats. I don't think the local dealers will sell you a boat for use on the lake without installing holding tanks.

3rd on no dumping. The law says/said no over-board drains. My certificate instructor said if the drain is sealed you won't be cited but you may want to double check to see if they are still going with that interpretation.

Good luck and congrats on your new boat!

Hope that's true. I can see thru hull drains near where the sinks are located. Guess I have to wait to find out.

Thank you for considering this. :)

you are not allowed to drain into the lake. The boats are built with every state and coastal in mind where it could be allowed. In NH you have to or are supposed to re-route it into a holding tank.

It is very cheap to do it yourself or have someone do to it

Y Valve
 

Most boats have a Y valve so the waste water can be dumped when you are out to sea. Many of those only function on black water and just let grey water go overboard. That's the way mine was and I had to have the gray water routed into the holding tank before they would launch the boat. If you trailer and launch yourself, you take a chance. Don't have my registration here, but I think there is a Y/N block on your registration that DES can cross match with stickers issued. Even though it goes to a holding tank and then into municipal pump out / sewer, I'd be careful about what goes into the sink or toilet; Marine heads can be delicate and expensive to repair / replace. Some gray water goes into a sump in the bilge and the bilge pump throws it overboard. Not legal, so trace your plumbing all the way.

Years ago they pulled up to our dock at our house to inspect it.

It is a 2003, and believe it has lived its life on Winni, so this must have been addressed at some point. I will make sure before using it.

Don't bet on it!;)

Dave

Can we clarify language here, I see several posts saying you cannot drain anything overboard.

That cant be true, virtually every boat made in the last x years has bilge pumps that drain overboard.

I get the post is talking about gray water from sinks, but after several posts saying you cannot drain anything, I am concerned that this is either too broad a statement, or I am in trouble for having a bilge pump that often drains bilge water (dirty) into the lake.

Please help me be 100% clear on this matter.

Thanks

You can not drain waste water Black or Grey overboard on any inland body of water in the state of New Hampshire.

The bilge pump is something altogether different. So is water that comes out the exhaust as part of the cooling of the engine exhaust.

Now to my knowledge, there is no law that dictates that a dealership can't sell you a boat that has an improper waste disposal set up. In fact I know that many dealerships do all the time. Boats are set up based on Federal USCG regulations, not based on state by state regulations. Now some dealerships may take the time to fix the issues, but that is really a dealership by dealership basis. They have no way of fully understanding your use model for your vessel.

As a buyer and recreation boat user you should be aware of the regulations, and discuss the issue with the dealership or seller. But really it is on you as the consumer to make sure that the boat is set up correctly for the body of water in which you intend to use it.

Finally, us they can inspect your boat at any time for compliance. There was a crack down on this years back, when sinks became popular in many pontoon, and smaller sport boats. Most of which would just drain out through a fitting and into the lake. This simplest why to get around this, was to disconnected the drain, and allow the sink to drain into a five gallon bucket. To the last of my knowledge this was an acceptable solution. It is however possible that, that stand has changed. Personally I have never understood the need for a sink, unless the boat was big enough for a head.... But it has become a popular feature on many vessels that don't even have heads. With out a head it is likely the boat would even have a storage tank for waste water, in which case you become screwed....

Bottom line, it is your job as a consumer to make sure your vessal at all times conforms to any law, and or changes in the law that happen....

Common sense rules. If your boat is sinking, turn on the bilge pump.

If you spill or over flow engine coolant, oil, etc into the bilge, disable the bilge pump and go to a gas dock or marina for an onshore pump out, or get oil absorbers and place them accordingly. Probably ought to have one in the bilge anyway.
Under " Clean Drain Dry" programs to prevent the spread of exotic aquatic invasive species, don't drain or pump while you're on the ramp. That includes bait buckets and live wells.

Same thing happened to me when I bought a used boat a few years back. I was very surprised to find no tank for the sink. I put a tank in myself for very little money. If you would like me to walk through what I did PM me.

If it does drain overboard, I have a 4-5 gal container from work that I can just route drain into. Then I could just dump it mainland or into the head and pumpout when full.