How do you go to the toilet on a narrowboat?

Three systems cover almost every narrowboat. A cassette toilet uses a small removable tank that lifts out through a hatch and empties at an Elsan disposal point found at most marinas and many canalside services, the most common setup on smaller and older boats. A pump-out toilet flushes into a larger fixed holding tank, emptied less often via a pump-out point, usually for a fee. A composting toilet separates liquid from solid waste, needs no chemicals, and is emptied less frequently again, appealing to boaters minimising both cost and environmental impact. Which one suits a boat depends on tank size, mooring pattern and how often you're near an emptying point: worth weighing up alongside the rest of what it costs to run a narrowboat. The plumbing changes from boat to boat; the name on the side doesn't, see our first year afloat gifts.

Written by Craig Fearn, Narrowboat Gifts.