Blake& Sons: 75th anniversary of the Rolls Royce of marine toilets

The Rolls Royce of marine toilets, the legendary Blake & Sons. An important birthday for one of the boat accessories that we don’t talk about much, but which are one of the “hot spots” of the equipment. So, let’s ban hypocrisy, let’s talk about this wc jewel that resists, almost identical for 75 years and is considered the best marine wc still on the market.

Why is it considered the top?

Simple, because it is very simple, it can be disassembled with amazing ease and has a secret that makes it unique compared to the countless models on the market: it has two separate pumps, as the manual says, it has “Separate pumping systems ensure that clean water and waste are never mixed. No one else has done this, which is obviously more expensive than using a single pump to pump water in and out. The Blake & Sons system greatly reduces the risk of clogging and unpleasant blockages of mechanism that boaters know well.

The Blake & Sons toilets, still made in England (not even one screw is Chinese) are produced in just two models that differ only in the size of the cup and the axis: the Baby Blake and the Victory.

Why are they “jewels”? Think about it, no plastic pieces but only precious marine materials. The drive mechanism is made of bronze for an exceptionally long working life, the seat is strictly made of wood (white or wood color painted cup), the cup is made of fine porcelain. Obviously, the latest models are suitable for use with a black water tank and the assembly is easy and safe above or below the waterline with practical closing valves.

The story of Blake & Sons

Blakes Lavac Taylors Limited can trace its history back to 1798, when it began its business in Gosport, Hampshire as Blake & Sons, providing a range of metalworking for boats of that period.  With changes in boat design at the beginning of the last century, demand for many of these items has declined and Blakes has increasingly focused on boat hydraulics, particularly in the production of bathrooms and taps.   These incorporated high-quality seawater resistant copper alloys and the company became recognized as a specialist in this field. In 1969 Blakes added to its range of hydraulic equipment with the purchase of Lavac, and returned to the field of cooking and heating with the acquisition of the well-known business of Taylors 1981.

In the late 1980s the company moved to Poole, where it traded as Chillington Marine, until February 1999 when the Blake, Lavac and Taylor product ranges were acquired by the current company and transferred to Warsash.