The Waterfall Shitter Blues!! To put this story into perspective a little history is required. The Waterfall originally had a Jabsco Marine Head. You all know them well. Business done, open valve and pump until all evidence is gone. On the Waterfall the discharge was small and there was no check valve in the overboard. On an average day offshore waves on the discharge side of the vessel would create a little “back draft” up thru the bowl so one had to be quick to escape the bidet effect as it was so affectionately called. This set up was extremely prone to clogging and always seemed to act up at the most inopportune times. Captain Rob decided that this situation must be addressed. After consultation with the experts and a number of suggestions it was decided that indeed a larger overboard and inline check valve would be required and was done and then a low flush house fixture with a large demand pump may indeed solve the problem. Well shit house nirvana was now ours. For the last 6/7 years everything has gone away well. No bidet effect and all deposits summarily flushed. A sign in the Head explaining procedure and the resulting events for non compliance was posted. The thought of becoming an apprentice marine plumber had everyone in total compliance. Until yesterday! A Friday, and against his better judgment, Captain Rob was planning to leave port. Friday departures being about as bad luck as it gets in a Mariners world, when he heard, “ Hey Cap I think the toilet is plugged.” The absolute worst words one could hear after a nite in port. “Try the plunger” perhaps an extraordinary deposit needed a little help. No, that didn’t work!!! Arggg. Looking around for some assistance the Captain watched as the crew suddenly found other things to do. Time for Captain Rob, the at sea “RotoRooter Man” to deal with it. Open all clean outs and found no obstructions? Clear sailing from the fixture to the sea??? Check value working albeit a little discolored, gag! Next, after elimination of all the obvious bottle necks, the fixture itself became the center of attention. Had something fallen into the bowl??? Perhaps a paper towel had been flushed and was hanging up in the siphon? Well no other choice but to take the fixture out and onto the deck for further examination. Break out the deck hose and apply pressure to the outflow, duck!!! Back flush was clear?? Apply deck hose to the water supply, no luck, discharge still plugged. Fill bowl completely, still no luck, bowl will not clear??? Repeat all procedures a number of times with the same result, bowl will not siphon and clear?? On one of several repeat procedures we noticed a small what appeared to be a tail appear from the main water jet in the bowl?? What could that be??? One of the crew says, “looks like a Gunnel”! Okay what’s a Gunnel we ask. Well, having 2 resident Scientists aboard the little devil was soon identified. Seems a Gunnel is a small sea creature related to eels. Time for an extraction. Back into the bowl with pliers and gently extract the animal from the orifice. Slowly but surely emerges an intact animal of 3 to 4 inches in length. Now you got to known this little creature was much smaller when it found itself living in the land of plenty. But as it grew in size it would be forced against the opening for the water entering the bowl from the supply pump and stopping up the siphoning effect necessary for flushing. Who would ever imagine that a sea creature was the problem?? But it is a little disconcerting to know that these creatures lurk in an appliance we all take for granted. Do they swim out into the bowl under darkness waiting for feeding time? How large might they grow? Do they have teeth? Could these little creatures be genus to lamprey or leeches? Enjoy making your next deposit on a Marine toilet!!! This is a100% true account of an aborted Friday departure, no shit!
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 23:28:35 +0000
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