Power sprayer as cockpit shower

[Craig Cape Town]

Hello everyone.
I need to install new water tanks and was thinking of using a powered garden sprayer, normally used on the back of an ATV, as a stand alone shower for the cockpit. I only have foot pumps at the basin and sink and don't want to shower in the head. It will sit at the bottom of the cockpit locker, which is pretty deep.
Has anyone used one of these as a cockpit shower? Any suggestions or possible problems, which you think I might run into.
https://www.amazon.com/Seaflo-ATV-Sp.../dp/B01MSCX0UF

[conachair]

Another option.
Cheaper, smaller, warmer

[Craig Cape Town]

I used those solar showers for 5 months on the Appalachian trail and was happy with them,though I never had the patience to wait for them to warm up. They break after a couple of months, but that's to be expected.
The complete tank/pump/spray kit cost $109 on Amazon for a 13 gal. size. I have to get water tanks, which cost at least that for the tank only at marine stores. So I was thinking of having this as separate shower tank.

[Delancey]

I recommmend you save yourself a hundred bucks and just get the old reliable hand pump garden sprayer that everyone else uses for cockpit showers. Cheap, portable, simple, effective. Will get you clean with a gallon of water.

Looking at the Seaflo- 13 gallons full of water will be heavy. If it's not in the sun the water will be cold. Living life in a cockpit locker is rough, the unit better be rugged as it won't be looked after. Electric pump? Maybe bring a replacement pump as a spare?

[jamhass]

+1 for the sun shower.
Used on boat for 6 seasons. Quite happy. Keep a spare on hand.

[sailm8]

A friend of mine used the hardware store type pained black and hung on the rail. Plenty for a warm shower for two. In fact, here in Florida it sometimes got too hot.

[CaptRory]

We used a garden sprayer for 10 years. It was our youngest's job to be the spritzer. Of course the first shot was always up the nose. A dark green one will get hot in the sun.

[Cheechako]

a 12v water pump under deck and shower nozzle located in the cockpit is very nice to have and out of the way.

[northwestsailor]

We used a hand garden sprayer also as a rinse after bathing in salt water which is best not to get in the cockpit.

[Gypsyjon]

I use my raw water wash down for the shower part, unlimited water!! Then rinse off with my fresh water wash down.

It can be chilly at times, but it is invigorating too.

Of course the raw water shower depends on where I am, in regard to neighbors and water cleanliness.

[fatherchronica]

We lived off the grid 40 years ago near San Simeon for a few years and relied on a solar shower during the sunny part of the year. We spray painted a bunch of gallon milk jugs black, filled them with water, put them against a south facing wall and leaned an old french door over them to limit heat loss from the wind, and had water too hot to use undiluted for showering. We used a similar system the rest of our lives when camping or cruising. Only difference was if it was windy we used a piece of clear bubble wrap to limit heat loss from the wind and when the sun set we would throw a towel over the whole thing and have hot water for hours after sunset. We met several boats cruising that had installed tiny little propane on demand water heaters in, usually, a lazerette. They all loved them. If we ever cruise in the cold I think we will go that route with perhaps a more wind proof cockpit shower curtain than we use in the warm places we have cruised.

[arthur.watson.1]

I like the idea of small, propane on-demand heaters and would like more info on those.

In the meantime, have used a Chapin garden sprayer with stainless steel body for many years with satisfactory results. The big virtue of the stainless is you can simply put the stainless sprayer body right on the stove to heat the water. Works a treat.

[fatherchronica]

I should have mentioned that the on demand water heaters I saw were not marine grade, but at least one boat had had theirs for 3 years. Do a search online, there are a lot of them. I saw one for 129 bucks US on Houzz.com.

[nwdiver]

Originally Posted by arthur.watson.1

I like the idea of small, propane on-demand heaters and would like more info on those.

In the meantime, have used a Chapin garden sprayer with stainless steel body for many years with satisfactory results. The big virtue of the stainless is you can simply put the stainless sprayer body right on the stove to heat the water. Works a treat.

Many threads on demand propane water heaters, do a search, standard equipment on many, meaning thousands of Canadian built boats, mine still works fine with yearly service after 25 years..........many say run in complete horror......whatever......

[siamese]

I'm a big fan of showering in the cockpit. In my opinion, sailboat manufacturers do a lousy job of providing a space for a proper shower. My Catalina 28 is typical with a shower curtain in the head, and varnished teak trim, and no exhaust fan. That is NOT a shower. That is a boat show shower. I would GLADLY give up the space devoted to the chart table for a useful shower...but I digress.

Here in Michigan, if I was to wait for the sun to heat my water, I would be in for frequent disappointment. My solution has been to use a bucket. In my case, one of those plastic buckets that 35lbs. of kitty litter is packaged in.

I have a pan in the galley that I fill and heat to the boiling point. I dump that water into the bucket and then fill the bucket to a line I drew on the bucket. This way, I'm mixing a known amount of 212 degree water with a specific amount of tepid water so I get the perfect shower temp water every time.

I was using a little ten dollar fluid transfer pump that I got a home depot that I mounted on the bucket with zip ties. The water only flowed when I pumped it, so there was no waste. Fairly effective, but I'm going to modify that and go to a gravity feed. I'll just add a barbed fitting to the bottom of the bucket, a flexible tube, and a shutoff valve ...again, Home Depot should have all the hardware. I'll just suspend the bucket from the boom.

I don't know how much water I actually use in the bucket, but would guess it's a smidge under two gallons.

Best part of the shower is the end, when I've already soaped and rinsed, but there are a couple inches of warm water left in the bottom of the bucket. I just dump the bucket of my head...awesome!