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Old 04-11-2013, 10:41   #1
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Smile Question for the women...

Hi everyone! My boyfriend (a world-class professional sailor) and I are considering buying a boat next year to sail the Caribbean. We're thinking about a Catalina 30, which we've seen is the best compromise for people on a budget and looking for small living quarters.

Now this may seem like a dumb question, but I'm very curious as to how the women like life aboard a sailboat. I'm not high maintenance at all, but I am concerned about not being able to wash my hair often and all! I guess it's mostly a general question.. but how would you rate your life aboard the boat?

Any input any of the female sailors and liveaboards can contribute would be EXTREMELY appreciated!
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Old 04-11-2013, 11:00   #2
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Re: Question for the women...

If you love the water, like the outdoors, and don't mind cramped spaces, you will love it :-).
I've lived on 23-40ft vessels. We are now on a 34, which we find perfect.
When conserving water I would bath in salt and rinse in fresh. A solar shower hanging on deck in a secluded anchorage is the best hot shower a gal can ever have .
Catalina's are very spacious for their boat length, good sailors, and are seen in anchorages all around the world. Also look at the beneteau too.
Cheers,
Hope to see you out there
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Old 04-11-2013, 11:02   #3
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Re: Question for the women...

Also we have a mermaids group here, just for women, feel free to join up.

Cruisers & Sailing Forums - ~~Mermaids Group~~
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Old 04-11-2013, 11:05   #4
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Re: Question for the women...

You can always wash your hair in the sink in a public restroom. Not fun, often chilly, but it works.
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Old 04-11-2013, 11:13   #5
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Re: Question for the women...

i love my 41 and life aboard it.i have lived on board many different boats since 1990. many different ways to wash hair, but in caribean you will be swimming a lot, so when i do that, i use shampoo in ocean and when out of water, rinse with small amount of fresh. helps to almost dry hair with towel first before wet with fresh.. you will get more salt out that way.
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Old 04-11-2013, 11:24   #6
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Re: Question for the women...

I am not a female, but I have lived a few years aboard in the caribe with a lady of two on board. Hot showers and lots of fresh water for them was important to me and to the gals.

I made it a point to be able to top off the tanks easily and frequently as needed... so short handed docking it mission critical. But I think your captain should have no problem You'll want a engine heat exchanger and at least a 6 gal storage tank for hot water. You don't want to do the solar showers.

Other than that you might spend some time at this blog because these two young ladies have it all hooked up and looked like they had a blast and not the least bit beat looking.

KATIE & JESSIE | - Aboard Lovely Louise -

And Louise is smaller than the boat you're thinking about!
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Old 04-11-2013, 11:46   #7
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Re: Question for the women...

With all due respect to sandero and his good ladies, of whom he obviously takes good care, I lived 18 yrs. with naught but a sun shower for all my bathing, and it really isn't a problem to do it this way. You will find that after swimming in the sea, if your hair was clean when you started, just a little, tiny bit of conditioner, followed by about one cup of fresh water, slowly poured over your head will keep your hair nice, and towel dry. When you have to conserve water, it really is pretty easy to discover for yourself how much more we tend to use than we actually need!

If necessary, keep 2 sunshowers, only for bathing, and do your main washing, as zeehag suggested, in the water. Swimming for hours every day tends to soak off loose skin and dirt, any way, as walking on damp beaches wet-sands your feet.

Use as much sunscreen to protect your skin as you can; sun ages skin almsot as badly as smoking.

Have a ball with it--it's going to be so fun!!!

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Old 04-11-2013, 13:00   #8
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Re: Question for the women...

Love it! Love it! Love it! Do it!

Water conservation becomes second nature, but you still make decisions based on your priorities so being clean & having clean hair is definitely possible. Long hot showers may have to wait for a marina.

Sunshine showers work great in warm climates, not so good in cool wx.

Enjoy!
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Old 04-11-2013, 13:35   #9
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I have been cruising for a year now, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Now having said that, there are things that you will prioritize differently. Washing hair before I did every day -- now, every 3-4 days. I was shocked to find my hair looks and feels more healthy these days. I do swim everyday (sometimes multiple times) and I do rinse the saltwater out by the end of the day.

The cramped quarters have not been an issue for us because we wanted to do this so bad. We do the 24/7 together better than almost anyone but have found we each need a little bit of space occasionally and have worked that out in various ways depending on the circumstances.

There are so many variables, it is impossible to cover them all -- but I believe that if this is something you really want to do you will find compromises that work for you.

Robyn
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Old 04-11-2013, 14:10   #10
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Re: Question for the women...

I guess I should have added that if it is not sunny enough to warm water in the Sunshower, it is always possible to add hot water from the kettle, to make the temp. okay; if necessary, let some water out into your biggest pot, and put it back in by syphoning after your shower.
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Old 04-11-2013, 14:20   #11
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Re: Question for the women...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate View Post
With all due respect to sandero and his good ladies, of whom he obviously takes good care....

Use as much sunscreen to protect your skin as you can; sun ages skin almsot as badly as smoking.

Have a ball with it--it's going to be so fun!!!

Ann
Ann,
I don't take long hot showers... except at home. ON board we take short hot ones and it is a luxury but one that is manageable because it was planned.

I use engine drive refrigeration and so I run the engine for an hr a day... which makes hot water... and tops off the batts. I vacuum when the engine is running while someone is in the shower. The heat from the engine is captured energy... why waste it?

I could have used a 12v refer, but then I've have to have a separate water heater or run the engine anyway. I don't like to run the engine and I don't like to vacuum... but I do like a hot shower even a quickie one on board... because I don't like to take it in some marina and have to dink to get there.

I think the captain should set up his SO with a nice hot shower.
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Old 04-11-2013, 14:29   #12
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Of you can't manage to generate a few hot showers on a 30 foot modern boat, something's a little screwy


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Old 04-11-2013, 14:51   #13
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Re: Question for the women...

Well, there are trade-offs. If you shower using a sun shower in the cockpit, it is extremely easy to monitor your water use. Clean-up is minimal compared to the dry-down and pumpout and bail out of the shower sump. We rely on solar and wind generation for most of our electric needs, so no need to run the engine daily. If there were, indeed the regime might change.

If I understood the OP correctly, we're talking a fairly minimally equipped Catalina 30. Having cruised a lot on a 30 footer, I still think sun showers are the better way to go. YMMV. Perhaps the OP and her fiance would like to experiment and find out which works best for them?

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Old 04-11-2013, 15:31   #14
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Re: Question for the women...

One of the best things that I learned this summer is to always keep a water jug in your dinghy. Every time that you go in try and fill the jug. If you go in and do two trips a day (not uncommon) then you have ten gallons of water and can shower.
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Old 04-11-2013, 15:51   #15
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Re: Question for the women...

I've been living aboard about 6 months, so I'm still adjusting but heres my two cents. I love living aboard because it allows us such flexibility as to where we live and I love being on the boat. Also, I like having much less "stuff". But there are some things my husband and I have had to work out on our 34' sailboat. It takes a conscious effort (we call it the boat dance) to move around each other on the boat. One person often has to get up so the other can get something out of storage underneath them and it is generally accepted that if someone is working in the galley the other stays out or asks permission to share tight space. And we are both small to medium-sized people. Also, we have physically divided our clothing space into his and hers, or his would crowd mine out. We are both much neater than we were and are constantly putting things away. There are also some times when one of us is doing a messy project that takes a lot of space when the other person will stay up in the cockpit or on deck, or off the boat if possible. So it takes more consideration on both people's part.

About bathing, I sometimes wash my hair in the sink with a bucket and I often take sponge baths.
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