Showering how often?

[gonesail]

in temperate non freezing climates .. if you don't shower daily your bed and clothes are going to stink. cockpit showers or a garden hose work fine. use soap and don't kid yourself.

[Stu Jackson]

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 .

Like showering? Hmm, I LIKE that idea!!!

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by laika

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

I sometimes get haircuts, like once every six months if I need 'em or not! But before any of my haircuts I look like Doc from Back to the Future. That's why I shower in the morning. I'd rather "impress" my friends than my bedsheets!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Like showering? Hmm, I LIKE that idea!!!

Yup, works both ways .

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Yup, works both ways .

Mike, Mike, Mike...given "us" I'll bet WE'RE have more fun than they are!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Mike, Mike, Mike...given "us" I'll bet WE'RE have more fun than they are!

Probably true .

[FlyingScot]

Hot shower every evening if possible. Morning showers are an option, but rare to do on the boat. Sugar scoop quick rinse down after swimming too.
I'm more likely to take two showers a day than zero. I don't mind getting dirty, but I don't care to stay that way. I find that I don't usually need deodorant on the boat, but I usually don't wear shirts on the boat either.

[zboss]

Maybe 3 times a day each when cruising where we are in and out of the water swimming everyday. The one before bed is nice and hot. A watermaker makes life good.

[Copacabana]

Every day, without fail! In the tropics, it's pretty important to shower with fresh water. During the day, I'll swim quite often and sometimes rinse off with fresh water, but at sundown everyone has a proper shower with soap and fresh water and dresses in clean clothes (sometimes just undies if it's hot) before dinner and bed. Going to bed salty will eventually lead to salt in the mattress and subsequent humidity. I also have a rule that no one enters the boat dripping salt water for this reason. I can have a proper shower with shampoo and soap using about 5 to 7 liters of water (I hang a solar shower from the staysail on the bow). No watermaker, but I have 500 liters in the tank and I collect rain water.

[Shrew]

Daily, at night after the sun has set and things cool down a little. I installed a shutoff on the shower head. We take 'military showers'. The clean clothes I put on for the 1-3 hours that night after the shower are my clothes for the next day.

Nobody wants sweat, salt and sunscreen in their sheets. You will appreciate the cleanliness of your bed.

[MV Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by 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.

I'm right there with you on just about every checkbox.

[Fore and Aft]

Mikes definitely got it right, you have to be in sync with your partner and crew.....
It’s amazing how even just a bit of freshwater and a wipe down makes you feel so much cleaner
Cheers

[robmo]

When you find that you have more than two dozen flies buzzing around you, that is a definite indication that it’s time for a shower

[Hasbeen]

In the tropical Pacific Islands there is usually an afternoon storm or at least a rain shower most afternoon. In some areas you can almost set your watch by the timing of these. You have to be careful, in the big thunderstorms the rain drops are big & heavy enough to hurt bits of the naked body, but shower water is reliably available, free from the sky.


Elsewhere I would shower daily in the cockpit, having first a salt water shower, followed by about 6 litres of fresh to clear the salt.


I never went to bed salty, as in humid climates it leads to prickly heat rash, & the crutch rash known as dobby rash.

[roland stockham]

As a (now ex) seniors care nurse skin hygiene was an important part of my job. It may surprise some of you but the main problem from a health perspective is that people in developed countries wash far to frequently. Probably comes from living in crowded cities and being afraid of BO when crushed into a commuter train etc. From the health standpoint what you want is to maintain the natural oils you skin generates. These lubricate and hydrate the outer layer of you skin mainlining its effectiveness as a waterproof and infection proof barrier. Particularly important if you swim frequently or are in tropical zones where the risk of skin infection is higher. The ideal is to only shower with soap 1 or at most 2 times a week. This is because every time you use soap you strip away those essential oils. The result is that skin looses it protection and gets invaded by microbes. The side effect is also that this invasion leads to breakdown of skin cells and other things that cause BO.

RINISING is totally different. If the skin has healthy levels of oils then a rinse either in a shower or with a bucket will wash off any dirt but without soap does not strip away the oils. Does not make any difference whether you use fresh or salt water. Rinsing is more effective than wipes which tend to push contaminants into the skin rather than washing them off.

If you go with this for a couple of months you will initially find you feel dirtier and may get a bit smelly. That's because your skin lacks oils. After a bit you find your skin becomes smoother with less wrinkles and generally looks and feels better. Any smellyness will disappear. It is particularly noticeable in hot climates where people sweat more but wear lighter clothing. In cold climates with more and closer fitting clothes it can be more difficult as clothes tend to grind dirt in more.
Obviously this applies to 'normal' dirt from daily living. If you have been working on the engine by all means use soap to get rid of the effects! I find the only way to shift used diesel oil is cream cleaner and a pan scourer...