Laundry While Cruising

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Its a stock Hallberg Rassy windshield which has a window that pushes out about 45 degrees.

Really? Mine goes up above the horizontal. HR40 #68.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Really? Mine goes up above the horizontal. HR40 #68.

Mine is circa 1974. So far haven't gashed my shins...yet.

[DeepFrz]

Last trip I found that lashing a bucket to the stern rail worked very well. Of course we spent 4 days crossing the Yucatan Strait which has been likened to a washing machine.

[Buzzman]

Many years ago whie travelling in a violet Kombi, we used a 60L bucket with a tight-fitting lid and simply used bungee cords to attach it to a few places inside the back to prevent it tipping over.

On the second-class roads we then had in Oz it did the load in a cuppla hours. Empty and swap for rinse water at lunch stop, empty and hang out over night, usually dry by the time we wanted to move on.

Seven pairs of undies a week? On a boat? You guys need to watch out for the follow-thru....mine would last a week....each pair.....

And towels....you are rinsing off clean water. Hang the towel up to dry and use it again....and again....and again.....until it's REALLY dirty. Then wash it and go again.

It's the galley tea towel that gets dirty....but is easy enough to clean in the sink.

Plunger in a bucket is faster, and provides exercise, but hey, strapping the bucket to the rail does the same job...with no effort at all.

[Siege]

A flight attendant friend of mine introduced me to this gizmo after she got tired of doing laundry in hotel sinks. I don't think I'd want to use it as my main means of washing clothes but for a singlehander in a warm climate it might work. Plus it has the added benefit of being a spare dry bag.

I'm thinking of getting one for backpacking and short cruises, though for anything large I think I'll go with the tired and true bucket method.

http://thescrubba.com/products/scrub...h-bag-2013-usd

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Siege

A flight attendant friend of mine introduced me to this gizmo after she got tired of doing laundry in hotel sinks. I don't think I'd want to use it as my main means of washing clothes but for a singlehander in a warm climate it might work. Plus it has the added benefit of being a spare dry bag.

I'm thinking of getting one for backpacking and short cruises, though for anything large I think I'll go with the tired and true bucket method.

Scrubba wash bag 2013 - The world's smallest washing "machine" - Clean Clothes Anywhere – The Scrubba Wash Bag

Thanks, that looks handy.

I like your avatar.

kind regards,

[tyke32]

We use the Wonderwash machine. It requires hot water and does small loads. Handy for skivvies and T's and shorts. Jeans and sweaters and towels can be done with a little more effort. It does a good job.

[NornaBiron]

We have a small, plastic, automatic machine on board which does not spin but does everything else. It is a god send and worth the space and power it requires. For the last few weeks we've been with family in a rented apartment and using the machine there. That has convinced us that we really want a spin dryer, so..............one should be arriving today, just got to find somewhere to store it now! :-)

[rjdives]

We have the combo washer/dryer made by Splendid and it is the ventless model. Aboard our cat power and water is not an issue but weight is and weighing in at only 148 lb and draws 11a it was a no brainer. It is so quite you don't even hear it run. I offset the weight with a 7 cf refrigerator and 3 cf freezer side by side across in the other hull in the galley. With only the admiral, our 2 puppy's and myself aboard I didn't mind pay loading the vessel out to give her all the creature confronts I could. The happier the Admiral is the more I get to sail.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by rjdives

We have the combo washer/dryer made by Splendid and it is the ventless model. Aboard our cat power and water is not an issue but weight is and weighing in at only 148 lb and draws 11a it was a no brainer. It is so quite you don't even hear it run. I offset the weight with a 7 cf refrigerator and 3 cf freezer side by side across in the other hull in the galley. With only the admiral, our 2 puppy's and myself aboard I didn't mind pay loading the vessel out to give her all the creature confronts I could. The happier the Admiral is the more I get to sail. Attachment 74808Attachment 74809

[seandepagnier]

cruising on less than $100 a month in philippines... lets see.. just tow the laundry behind the boat when you are going 5 knots or faster, this gets it really clean fast, then hang it up to flog in the wind and rain at anchor and dry in the sun, easy. Washing machines on boats.. hilarious, the boat already is one. Don't do this in the harbors around here though heh.

[tdoster]

Originally Posted by KDH

We use a plunger identical to the one at the link above and a 5 gallon bucket, no seperator. Works just fine with bio-degradable dish soap which is what we use most. I save the rinse water if it is clean enough to reuse for washing the first layer of grunge and sand off the cockpit floor or as the first wash for really grungy stuff like rags. Cycle the clothes through light colored first to dark as the dyes will seep on some items no matter how old they are and that way one bucket of water, 1/2 full will last for more items. In high winds clothes pins will not keep the clothes on the life lines unless you use 3 or 4 per item. Don't bother with the wooden ones without a hinge as they just split. Found large, Italian made clothes pins that are really strong and they work great. Don't worry about the pin hinges rusting as we've been out cruising for almost 5 months and they are holding up well. If you don't want to buy pins or can't find them some people string their clothesline through the clothes and then tie it up so the clothes can't come off. There are 3 of us, and each person is supposed to be responsible for doing their own laundry and mostly we do it by hand ourselves. Saw a thread on here previously about the wanderwash if you put the website name in the google search followed by a colon and then the search word it should turn up.

The plastic Spring Clamps you can find at good Hardware stores make great clothes pins. Don't buy them at Harbor Freight as the metal springs deteriorate after a short time.

[a64pilot]

A vent-less dryer, How does that work? Doesn't it dump a huge amount of heat and humidity into the boat? Trying to understand how that could work, years ago I tried ducting the house dryer into the house with a very good lint trap to capture some waste heat, but the humidity was incredible

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

cruising on less than $100 a month in philippines... lets see.. just tow the laundry behind the boat when you are going 5 knots or faster, this gets it really clean fast, then hang it up to flog in the wind and rain at anchor and dry in the sun, easy. Washing machines on boats.. hilarious, the boat already is one. Don't do this in the harbors around here though heh.

I have to agree but I will also say the face of cruising has changed to that of all the modern conveniences of life on land. It tends to be a little more like keeping up with the Jones's than a life of adventure.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

A vent-less dryer, How does that work? Doesn't it dump a huge amount of heat and humidity into the boat? Trying to understand how that could work, years ago I tried ducting the house dryer into the house with a very good lint trap to capture some waste heat, but the humidity was incredible

Different animal. The ventless units condense the moisture and send it overboard with the wash water. Different opinions on how well they work, but the consensus is they do take longer to dry, and smaller loads are required.

I found some on the Home Depot web site, look up "all-in-one" washer/dryer. I don't see any all-in-one vented units there, though. That's what I'll get if I do end up installing a washer/dryer.

Ventless units are made for an apartment, where you can't add a vent to the outside. On your own boat, that may not be a problem.