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Hi Guys,I ve been working on my new(to me) 2001 268 vista,things are going well and I have had the shorepower connected and checked everything over.Im now working on the water,waste and toilet.I have had water flowing from all the taps,in the galley ,bathroom tap and the transom shower ,both hot and cold are really good,I even cleaned the filters out on all of the taps which really helped with the water flow,The pump switches on and off correctly etc.The only thing I dont understand is how to operate the toilet,from what I understand so far ,is the manual reccommends flicking the switch on the toilet to the left and pumping the handle a few times to wet the bowl,then after using the toilet,pump a few times more and flick the switch to the right.Is this correct?the manual also goes on to mention the macerator switch in the bathroom,But in my bathroom there is only 2 switches ,1 is lights and the other is marked toilet(is this the macerator?) I also see there is a thru hull seacock marked toilet,does the toilet use the water thru the seacock to operate? also wondering how on earth do I empty the black water tank(toilet) and also the grey water tank(drains etc) do they empty thru the hull fittings or do they need to be pumped out at the marina only? This is my first boat with holding tanks and a pump out toilet ,my last few boats have had port potties and the sink just drained into the sea,sorry to sound stupid,just learning the ropes! thanks in advance ,Mike

Ok here goes,
sounds like you have a manual toilet, so the switch on the wall is just decoration it does nothing. Make sure your seacock is open for the toilet it is on the starbored side in the bilge. Put the switch on the wet side and pump till you get some water in the bowl, do your business then switch it to the dry side and pump it out.
You need to pump the toilet out at the marina, the fitting is on the starboard side beside the u shape lounge, same goes for your gray water tank if you have one. My sinks all drain directly overboard so I do not have gray water on our boat.

Good Luck!

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2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

As above ....
And, if you do have a gray-water holding tank (as we do), all drain water (both sinks and shower) go into the tank. The tank is pumped out just like the black-water tank. The pump-out port is right next to the black-water port on the top of the rear-starboard gunnel.

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

Thanks for your help guys ,sounds like I may need to modify things a little as we dont have any pump out stations here in our marina,is it possible and easy enough to modify things so the grey water drains overboard? can I do the same with the black water as well? I guess I would also need to buy a macerator? if I can do this Im thinking of removing the black and grey water tanks from the boat which would provide me with additional storage areas, do you think this is a sensible idea? I do like the idea of having things running into waste tanks rather than overboard,but if I have no way to empty the tanks it seems a little pointless to be honest? any suggestions are welcomed ,many thanks ,Mike

If you do have a gray water tank, the head and "Galley" sinks drain into the shower floor sump ... the water is then pumped into the holding tank. the easiest way to "undo" this would perhaps be to divert the hose that goes from th etank up to the pump-out and use a pump to pump it overboard via a through-hull (that you install).

The black water could be handled in a similar fashion, using a macerator pump.

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

Depending on your setup, your grey water tank may just be a fresh water tank that feeds the toilet. That's how mine is. I have 2 fresh water tanks and one black. The sinks and shower drain overboard.

When you run the sinks, does water come out anywhere on the side of the boat?

Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

Hi ,just been messing about a bit and trying to understand how things work.I can run the galley water and the bathroom water using either the vanity or the shower ,no water comes out the side of the boat at all ,but I took a look at the sump pump and I noticed any water from the galley and bathroom(that has gone down the drains) ends up in the sump,but then runs down into the bilge,I removed the sump pump and when I turn it upside down it runs or if I lift the float up it will also work .My boat has a freshwater tank in the starboard transom area,which I know fills when I run a gardenhose into the filling point on the port side.I also checked the other 2 tanks in the mid berth which I presume are a black and grey water holding tanks,they both seemed to be empty or have almost nothing in them.The question is why does the water go into the sump and end up in the bilge? shouldnt it go into the tanks ,or overboard? either way I want to alter things so they all drain overboard ,then remove the unused grey and black water tanks to provide extra storage ,can anyone help me with how to go about this? do I need a macerator? my boat doesnt have a macerator ,but does have the spare switch in the head marked 'toilet' it does nothing(as far as I can tell) any help would be fantastic!! ,thanks again,Mike

If the sink water runs directly into the bilge you do have an issue. Either a disconnected or severed hose to the grey water (or overboard). I'm guessing a disconnected hose to the tank at this point, however.

If you want to use a macerator to purge black water, you will still need a black water tank. I have never seen a setup that moves waste from the toilet directly overboard. The systems I have seen always put waste into the black water tank and the macerator is activated by a switch which "sucks" the waste from the black water tank through the blades and overboard. This might be a great use for the unused toilet switch in the head. I have that switch as well, it doesn't do anything if you have a manual pump toilet. But you could make it run the macerator if you added one.

Regarding the grey water tank, yes if you reconfigure, you can get rid of that tank. If your sinks and shower drain overboard and your toilet water is pulled from the seacock, you have no use for the grey water tank.

Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

ok, my 268 (year 2001) is setted for european countries and works like this:

TOILET AND BLACK WATER TANK
The toilet (standard from FW is handly operated with jabsco toilet my one is macerator operated) through the macerator and a hose sends black water into the black water tank (under the bed in the mid cabin), from the black water tank there's a second hose that connects this tank to a second macerator positioned in the engine compartment, from this second macerator a further hose is connected to a big discharge seacock in the bottom of the hull that allows to discharge black water in the lake/sea making the black water tank empty.

In the bathroom I have a button with double position: push the lower part of the button to operate the flush in the toilet and the first macerator, push the upper part of the button to operate overborad discharge via the second macerator to make black water tank empty.

I will take some pictures of all the stuff and post it here. Next saturday.

SINKS DISCHARGE
All water from sinks (galley and bathroom) are discharging directly in the lake from two holes in the sides of the boat.

BATHROOM SHOWER
The bathrom shower: when you take a shower the water falls down to your feet and there's a discharge hole that collects water. This discharge hole is BELOW the floating level of the boat THUS IT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DISCHARGE OVERBOARD DIRECTLY .... it's a physical matter. SO: from the discharge hole of the bathroom shower, a hose bring the water into a plastic box where a pump activated by a floater push the water up and then overboard from a level higher than the floating line of the boat.
Into the box there's a stupid filter that sometimes blocks the floater and the pump doesn't work. That's why when you move the box or put it upsidedown it works. You have to unscrew the screws of the box-cover and bend a little the iron arm of the floater, after this it works in its proper position. This box is under the floor of the small wardrobe on the right of the bathroom door (open the wardrobe and unscrew the plastic plate in its floor, inside this "bildge" you should find this plastic box with filter and pump and floater)

So definitelty my 268 has no grey water tank at all, I have only 1 black water tank and 1 fresh water tank.

I hope it's clear even though my english is far from being proper.

hi, Oscar

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2006-288 Vista
"Drogue One" - a starboard story -
2 x Volvo Penta D3 - 160 HP

previous boats:
2001 -FW 268 Vista
1998 FW 258 Vista
2003 Saver 690 Cabin Sport

for a quick start take a look at these pictures

here's the schema of the discharge system in the engine compartment (taken form an old Vista ower handbook of Four Winns)


This is the picture take with handyphone from my owner handbook (it's the macerator in the engine compartment)


same as previous but picture of the seacock discharge in the engine compartment, positioned beside the bilge pump


anyway I will try to take better pictures alive next saturday

_________________
2006-288 Vista
"Drogue One" - a starboard story -
2 x Volvo Penta D3 - 160 HP

previous boats:
2001 -FW 268 Vista
1998 FW 258 Vista
2003 Saver 690 Cabin Sport

fourwinnskiwi,
here the pictures i promized you so, in case the thread is still of your interest: should you need an overboard discharging installation for black waters, this is what someone has to make for you...e.g. your local FW distributor.
He surely knows how to do but anyway, need to connect the button in the head to a macerator installed in the engine comparment, connect a discharge valve through the bottom of the hull near the transom bildge pump, the big white hose is the same that now bring the black water tank to the deck fitting for sucking out the waste water.
really brand new should be only the transom macerator. Toilet you can continue to operate manually with the jabsco pump.

Button for overboard discharge


intake of black water to the black water tank that you should already have


transom macerator with hose coming from black water tank and going to discharge valve


discharge valve in the bildge


hi, Oscar

_________________
2006-288 Vista
"Drogue One" - a starboard story -
2 x Volvo Penta D3 - 160 HP

previous boats:
2001 -FW 268 Vista
1998 FW 258 Vista
2003 Saver 690 Cabin Sport