Equipment: Field Tests of a Prototype Crapper

December 1997 - January 1998

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by John Baxter

In honour of Thomas John Crapper, inventor of the modern flush toilet.

C - certifiable R - reliable A - androgynous P - portable P - politically-correct E - excrement R - relocator

Backgrounder

In the "good" old days, doing your trick on the beach below high tide was considered to be the responsible thing to do, but now, yuk! Twenty three people shared our campsite our first night in the formerly remote Nootka area, but only nine of us weren't using the beach.

Growing awareness of the need to put into practice 'low-impact' camping principles is perhaps nowhere more obvious than to the kayaker standing on the beach, toothbrush or dishes in hand, wondering...

For several years our Club's guru, Wally Priedolins, has been advocating the use of a 'honey-bucket' as necessary to low-impact camping where other facilities are not available. The first large scale testing took place this May by the 40 participants in the Sea Kayaking Guides' Alliance of BC "Spring-Guide-Exchange" campout on Prevost Island. The success of this trial prompted our club to use the system on a recent 8-day trip to Nootka Sound.

Equipment

The equipment we used consisted of:

• a hard plastic dishwasher detergent bucket with a sealing lid and wire handle. The 5.89 kg size (17.5 cm high and 25 cm diameter) fits nicely under both 'buns' and rear-deck bungies, and worked well for nine people

• a wooden 'seat': a circular ring approximately 4cm wide of 20mm plywood to sit on top of the bucket, with an inner flange routed out to prevent slippage and painted with several coats of a good durable enamel.

• small bottle of biodegradable RV potty fluid

• large ziploc bag(s) for used toilet paper

• a bottle of hospital grade antibacterial soap

• a box of disposable (but not until you get home) latex gloves (optional)

Giving new meaning to the word 'port-a-potty'. Photo: Sea Otter Kayaking

Procedure

A small amount of potty fluid is added to the bucket and it, along with the seat and a ziploc, is left in a discrete but handy location. Users then take the bucket as needed and retire to a private site of their choosing. Used tissue is placed in the ziploc and all returned for the next user. The bucket is taken out daily for emptying in the nearest channel or open water. Because the bucket fits best on the rear deck, dumping requires a second boat to do the dirty work (current and wind direction should not be overlooked). A hand-line with wrist loop was added after a near disaster! Used tissues were burned daily. Obviously fire bans would mean packing out.

Because there is a general tendency to slip into a mode of "roughing it" in the wild, hand washing is often overlooked. Considerations of personal and group hygiene are well served by prominently including a bottle of antibacterial soap with the potty and promoting its use as an important part of the system.

Results

In a word "Excellent"! The test group (more about them in a moment) voted unanimously to recommend that use of the crapper be made mandatory on all club trips, with the possible exception of the Broken Islands where certain of us have become somewhat addicted to the soft whir of the solar-powered fans in the biffy there.

The test group was as evenly divided between male and female as possible, ranged in age from 31-67 years, averaged 5'9" in height and weighed a total of 1405 pounds. Test conditions ran the whole dietary gamut from the catch of the day to such toughies as commercial freeze drieds, powder bars, peanut butter, and a rib sticking recipe of bannok. Also included was a junkfood binge on the 5th day while visiting Yuquot (Friendly Cove).

Though all agreed that the crapper was eminently functional and no one experienced any major difficulties or upsets, all thought that some form of 'portable stump' on which to place the bucket would go a long way to bring fast relief to aging knees.

Postscript

During the test period our group, like most new converts, made a point of doing a little proselytizing to other groups we encountered. Reactions tended to be favorable with the exception of the guides of one group who said that their outfit was aware of the concept but had decided against it for now. This attitude probably results from a reluctance to impose this on their clients. Personally, I feel that the clients are being underestimated in their willingness to "go green". And besides, I remember my first kayak trip when the guide pointed me to the beach. Had I been given the option to use a bucket, I'm sure that privacy would have won out over any squeamishness about being the third person on the bucket.

In closing, a brief comment about the advice of "How To Shit in the Woods" (author Kathleen Meyer). My best information comes from personal communication with Lil Alessa and is that the thin soils of the Temperate Coastal Rain forest are too sparse and acidic to adequately recycle the rate and volume of poop that today's kayakers are bringing to their favourite 'wilderness' campsites.

John Baxter is a member of Island Paddlers on Saltspring Island.