Showering how often?

[Fore and Aft]

Hi Everyone, just wondering how often other sailors shower when cruising?
We are on day 7 of our Easter cruise and have been having a 5 litres each bucket and flannel bath in the cockpit every night. Not feeling dirty yet and could imagine washing like this for a fair while.
Cheers

[denverd0n]

Not every day. Not unless there is a real reason. More like every two or three days, and sometimes longer than that. Which is also how often we shower at home.



That said, we use "tush wipes" regularly to keep our backsides clean (don't even THINK about flushing them!). And if we go swimming while at anchor then we'll do a quick fresh-water rinse (probably less than 2 liters for that).

[1affiah]

We used a dedicated "saltwater towel" after swimming, then a sunshower in the evening as needed.

[maxingout]

Showers depend on cruising mode. On passage we take cockpit showers less often. In the islands, we take buckets of salt water and pour it over ourselves on the sugar scoop after lathering up with lemon joy. Then we rise off the salt with a sun shower which uses little fresh water. Every day or two we rinse off with fresh water in the islands.

[sguerrero1971]

We shower every other day, unless we have been swimming and then we'll usually do a quick rinse on the sugar scoop and then a shower that evening. We consume about 25-35 gallons of water a week sticking to this schedule.

[Chotu]

What's a shower? Ha ha ha.

You don't even want to know. Tops once a week. Everyone is different though regarding stink. I just don't happen to have much. I use baby wipes and deodorant in between if feeling dirty. I also use baby wipes as toilet paper so that may be a factor. Deodorant lasts 4 days on me before I need to reapply.

Yes, I'm around people all the time and no, I don't smell. Just biology.

I started taking less showers to conserve water but then found it was fantastic for your skin and keeping wrinkles and other aging effects at Bay.

This goes for on the boat or on land.

[J Clark H356]

When we cruise we shower every other day at a minimum while moving if moderate temperatures and not sweaty. If hot and humid, then every day. At dock, we shower daily. We use about 15 gallons per day normally. I have 75 gallon tank plus 6 in the hot water heater. No water maker, but that’s next on my list for the next cruise. Water is a necessity we don’t like to skimp on.

[roverhi]

Cruising where the water was warm we never took a shower. We spent hours in the water snorkeling everyday so why would we need a shower. Where we didn’t jump in the water used salt water hauled up in a bucket and rinsed off with a pot of freshwater in the cockpit or took advantage of passing rain showers. Tried the shower inside the boat once. Got so much condensation that we never tried it again. Of course we had the advantage of cruising when/where it was warm.

[Stu Jackson]

Read this, then the SMELL and then the Pillow topics...wonderful way to start a day!


I shower every morning at home. Some folks do every evening. I can't understand why, but it's their choice.


On the boat I shower when there's hot water from running the engine or when I hook up at a marina. That means I usually shower in the afternoons, a complete switch.



Sometimes I'll go a few days, but oddly enough am OK when it's shorts & T shirt weather, but I feel yuckier when sweaters are required.


Point being, like the pillow thread, who cares what other people do? I would no more change my hygienic habits based on what other people do, than I would many other things in life. Nor would I expect anyone to follow my lead in that regard. It's not a contest or a race.


Now, about that Smart Gauge...

[Paul L]

Not on passage we shower daily. It keeps me married and with the crew I want, my wife.

[a64pilot]

We shower every day, and she likes a hot shower.
I spent over 20 yrs in the Army being deployed in deserts etc. I can remember sitting down to eat on day and something stank like a dead dog, so I moved, I could still smell it and then realized it was me. No more of that, I’ve checked that box thank you, and no more baby wipes, ever either.
We have a water maker, we use almost 30 gls a day with showering and washing clothes etc, plus I’ll wash the anchor chain off with fresh water and wash dive gear, even the boat occasionally.
A Watermaker is a life changing experience in my opinion, we didn’t have one for a few years, but we also started out with no auto pilot, no windlass etc too.
Would not want to go back to no auto pilot or Watermaker, but realize different strokes for different folks.

[Mike OReilly]

Whatever you do, make sure you’re in sync with your partner. Just like eating garlic for dinner, it’s best if you both do it at the same time .

[Tricolor]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Whatever you do, make sure you’re in sync with your partner. Just like eating garlic for dinner, it’s best if you both do it at the same time .

[emoji7] +1 - sometimes its a little difficult to get in sync with the users of the public transport system.

[Sailmonkey]

I sweat buckets just by existing, then throw in strenuous activity and I’m dripping. So I “shower” daily on the boat. But that shower is accomplished with a garden spayer and consumes less than a gallon of water.

[laika]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

I shower every morning at home. Some folks do every evening. I can't understand why, but it's their choice.

Why shower in the morning if you're just gonna start getting dirty right away? You'd have to wash your sheets as often as you wash you clothes! Crazy morning shower people