How many heads on a mono for couple?

[johnnybago]

Can a couple cruising on a monohull with occasional guests be comfortable with only one head onboard?

[Mike OReilly]

Of course.

[Paul L]

Yes. On many cruising boats with two heads one ends up being used for storage. Also, if you are a long distance cruiser, there is usually less guests than you might have thought.

[seamountie]

Certainly one head will do.....however, redundancy in critical systems is always good

[J Clark H356]

Yes. Have spent 1017 days on board with one head.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Recommended Guest Head. (To assure short stays.).

It also serves as the "redundant system" when needed.
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On a more serious note...

I have traveled thousands of miles on sailboat with a full crew of four with just one head.
But that was four men.

The needed "bathroom" time will change when at sea, as do the needs for personal appearance and grooming standards.

If I were a couple, I would have no need for a second head. With guests, it is a luxury, but not essential. If worried about a broken head, take a bucket with you.

Hope that helps.

[Jim Cate]

REally, you will absolutely need three heads: one for you, one for the wife, and one for a wet locker. Anything less will cause divorce and likely warts, too.

For the record, Ann and I have been living aboard and cruising to distant shores since 1986. Both of our boats have had single heads, and we've had guests a few times... up to four at once. It has worked OK. We do have a bucket or two for emergencies, blockages, and when I am in the doghouse.

Jim

[KJB]

Living on board for almost two years with a single head.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

REally, you will absolutely need three heads: one for you, one for the wife, and one for a wet locker. Anything less will cause divorce and likely warts, too.

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Jim's right.

Heads?

It's what's above your shoulders that counts.

[Alan Mighty]

The crucial part of the Johnny's inquiry, which has been missed by responders to date, is:

Originally Posted by johnnybago

occasional guests

Any cruising couple can live with one marine toilet.


But occasional guests? They are prone to:


* general fear of doing the wrong thing;


* constipation, the brick-like results of which can destroy a joker valve; and


* not following the right flushing procedure, including depositing things (e.g. 'disposable wipes') that should not be deposited into your marine toilet.


The solutions?


One key solution is to buy a pail that perfectly sits inside the bowl of your marine toilet. That's to give you a workaround until you have the time and sea conditions to do the necessary emergency craniotomy to get your marine toilet working once more.


Attach a lanyard, long enough to let your pail kiss the waves, to your pail. And have a roll of kitchen paper around, so a sheet of paper can be a modesty cover over the contents of said pail on its way through your saloon to visit the briny.


As for preventing constipation (and a different way of using the emergency pail, involving a paper bag), I refer you to one of Latitude 38's Max Ebb columns from 2016: see Hang up and drive.pdf from Sept 2016.

[svHyLyte]

When we bought our current yacht, my (much) better half insisted that we had to have two heads as "when a lady has to 'go' she has to go NOW!". That was 15+ years ago at this point and the need of the second head for other than brushing teeth, washing, doing "make-up" has never arisen. There is something to be said for "redundancy" but provided one does routine maintenance faithfully, and everyone follows the rules regarding what's disposed of through the head, a fall back is rarely necessary.

FWIW...

[robert sailor]

We have 2 and to me it's just twice as many things to go wrong. On a boat 40-50 feet long the ideal for us would be one head but it would be big and have a walk in shower.

[rwidman]

It wasn't that long ago that a typical three bedroom house had only one bathroom. People lived for years in those houses and many still do.

Unless you or your partner has some unusual medical condition, one head is plenty for a couple and occasional guests.

[TJ D]

We just have one on our boat too. We've had other couples on board for weeks at a time, and it's been just fine.

It would be nice to have a second one to use as a wet locker, though.

[sailor1924]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

We have 2 and to me it's just twice as many things to go wrong. On a boat 40-50 feet long the ideal for us would be one head but it would be big and have a walk in shower.

On my old boat, I converted the larger of the two heads to a truly luxurious 3' x 4' shower compartment and never regretted it.