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2divers · 18-05-2006, 05:42

I'm looking into boats that have an actaul shower stall seperate from the head. The kind of place that has floor where you could do laundry/ hang wet foulies from the ceiling, etc....

I know Valiants have this feature, who else makes a boat that has one?

If I am going to be living aboard I really would like to be able to take a shower without soaking the TP and having to wipe EVERYTHING down when I'm done. I have some creature comforts that I want to have aboard with me, and a warm shower is defintely one of them. I can deal with short showers and low water use, but it needs to be hot for those days when I'm really cold.

2divers

markpj23 · 18-05-2006, 06:30

I'm pretty sure all manufacturers offer this - it is driven by LOA. Don't expect it in a Catalina 22. I know all the Endeavours I've looked at have at least one separate shower. E40, E42, E43 and E52.

Richhh · 18-05-2006, 07:26

Most Tayanas can be built / found with an independent shower stall. I have 'separate shower stall and find for long term voyaging its just 'wasted space' and usually place a lot of stores in there. As another poster stated, it all depends on LOA and if you dont mind the wasted space that a separate shower stall adds.

2divers · 18-05-2006, 08:58

Richhh,
Do you shower on on deck? Are you taking sponge or bucket baths? No offense, but do you bath once a week?

Why is it that you say it's wasted space? If your living on your boat long term, I would think that it would be used daily (or least every other day). I can see a lot of use for a seperate shower.

Mrkpj23 - most of the showers that I see are the combined shower and head with a curtian area. These just don't seem all that practical especially if you are underway and need to get cleaned up. I could see myself getting pitched right through the curtian.

2divers

Richhh · 18-05-2006, 09:40

Sure I use the shower stall and its damn convenient, I also shower in the cockpit. A separate enclosed shower stall usually has its own grey water sump so that the 'gray shower water' never enters the bilge to make a god-awful rotted stink.
The issue is that a separate shower stall wastes a lot of space ... and on a cruising boat, stowage is important. So on passage I simply shower in the head (after removing all the 'wettables') ... imagine that: having a shower stall (filled with stores) and showering in the head or in the cockpit because stores are more important than little used space of a shower stall. :-)

Talbot · 18-05-2006, 09:53

My shower is in the heads, but I dont soak the toilet paper when using it. Plenty of hot water from a gas heater. all contained by use of a full size shower curtain, and sensible siting of the loo paper etc.

marc · 18-05-2006, 12:15

My last boat, Niagara 35, had a shower stall. I loved it. Newer models of my present boat, PDQ 36, have a shower like you would have at home.
Marc

Sandero · 18-05-2006, 14:13

I beg to differ in the approach. The boats I have seen with stall showers have little ventilation in them and they soon smell.

Our head is all high gloss varnish with a removeable teak grate over the fiberglass shower pan. The makes the entire head the shower.... which is a a hand held shower which doubles as the lav faucet. The hand shower has a chit off valve to save water as well.

The TP is in a small locker above the lav and does not get wet.

Yes you DO have to wipe the walls / etc. after showering. But this takes all of 2 minutes and it keeps the head very clean. With a large hatch above ventilation helps in drying the head and it is also pleasant to shower with fresh air in the hot summer.

I find this arrangement an asset and I like the fact that our head in 20 yrs has absolutely no foul odors.

Boats are compromises and our well ventilated heat and V berth can also serve to use for drying clothes etc.

Think about it.

Jef
sv Shiva
Contest 36s

markpj23 · 18-05-2006, 14:28

2Divers - the boats I mentioned have a separate shower stall so you don't have to worry about spraying all over the head. Plexiglass doors on some, curtains on others but still a bulkhead between the stall and the head.

Weyalan · 18-05-2006, 14:58

I am planning on installing a hot shower on Insatiable. I had certainly been thinking along the lines of using the existing head space. There is a decent sized hatch (20" x 20") above the head, which will make for decent ventilation, and I just can't see myself justifying the space to put it anywhere else. I am still a little fuzzy on the logistics, but I think I am going to glass in a "gray water sump" below the head....but it merits further pondering, I think.

Steve Kidson · 18-05-2006, 16:02

I am fitting out a 32' Hartley. I was lucky in that I had a blank canvas, entire below decks was stripped out, and I could layout as I wanted. My planning took some time with thin strips and masking tape to create spaces suitible to our needs.

There was no way, in this size boat, I was ever going to be able to create a separate shower and head without sacrificing an enormous amount of space that in reality is used for a matter of minutes each day. I need the space for other uses.

Fair winds

Steve

Pura Vida · 18-05-2006, 17:32

S2 sailboats don't exactly have a shower stall but many do have tiny bath tubs like one might find in a RV.

John Drake · 19-05-2006, 04:55

I have to admit I go back and forth on the issue. My boat does not have a separate shower stall. I just spend about 4 weeks cruising down from Annapolis to Stuart FL. A hot shower at the end of each [long] day was a must have. Invictus has the set up that I think Defjef described: teak joinery and fiberglass with a teak grate on the deck, separate sump to pump the graywater out. And a curtain to surround the area. I used it with and without the curtain (putting the handtowel and tp away. At first I thought the curtain a bit too confining (though worked great to keep the compartment dry) and wished for a separate shower. Lateron, I just showered without using the curtain.

I found that the space was fine not using the curtain, I did not feel at all confined. Also found that with the overhead hatch to the compartment opened, it dried fast. So, do not really think about it much now.

I would agree with the poster who said that on a cruising boat, space is a premium. I like the size of this boat, 38 LOA, very convenient, easy to solo, maneuver etc and not to expensive for a marina stay. At this length, not sure a separate shower would be worth the space use.

Interesting to note the post about generating smells (mold?) from a confined shower space....I thing that might be more of an issue than any.

In warm weather....I also have plumbed a cockpit shower in the boat. Reality is that we use that more often when it is warm enough out...which hopefully it will be now forever (as I have moved south).

My best to all

John
s/v Invictus
lying Stuart