Camping departments usually sell an inexpensive rig that consists of a
toilet seat supported on a folding aluminum tubular frame. It uses
disposable plastic bags that clamp to the seat. I managed to install this
rig in my P14 many years ago when a group of five or six Potter 15s made a
trip down the Sacramento River. We camped out two nights in our boats with
the boats tied to trees on shore.
I didn't use the supporting frame since that would make it as high as a
Porta-Potti. Instead I installed a tube across the outboard side of the
port locker just inside the companionway. The tubing supported the back of
the seat, and the inboard bulkhead of the locker supported the front of the
seat. The resulting "head" was only about 7 inches off the bottom of the
locker, which was sufficient space for the bag, although the bottom of the
bag lay on the bottom of the locker. I lined the locker with plastic cloth
"just in case" but there were no accidents. I could sit quite comfortably,
with my feet in the footwell. (I'm 6' 1"). The neck of the plastic bag was
tightly knotted after use, and the used bag was then stowed in a large
trash bag that could be stuffed in the locker under the seat.
I probably have more room for that kind of setup in my first-generation P14
because there is no inner liner to reduce head and foot room. I may even be
able to use a Porta-Potti in that same location if I level the floor of the
locker. I did a preliminary fit check and decided that it might be usable
in an emergency...but just barely. In the worst case they might have to use
the "jaws of life" to extract me from the boat.
I still carry that camping seat stowed in the locker but haven't had
occasion to use it again.
I do find that an All detergent bottle makes a perfect male urinal. It has
a generous opening and a built-in handle that makes it easy to use and easy
to dip over the side for dumping and rinsing, or it can be capped for later
disposal. (Could be used as a bailer also.)
Can we talk about something else now?
Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA