Shower in the Head: Separated Area with Glass or not?

[Plutoi]

Hi,

Which is better: A separate shower area with a glass divider or right in front of the toilet? What are the pros/cons of each style (besides space). Does a shower above the toilet allow you to clean the head area more often? Does it get old having to wipe dry the toilet seat and surrounding areas? Does it encourage water problems such as more mold or wear and tear on the wooden areas? I’m leaning towards a bigger head with separate shower if possible but there may be some drawbacks I did not think of (besides space and cost.) Observations?

Thanks,
Frank

[Mark Stillwell]

Hi Plutio,

Our B393 has a shower in the head, no separate shower stall. We have 2 heads and tend to shower in each on alternating weekends to keep them fresh.

We see the advantages of taking less cabin space and keeping the head cleaner as we towel down the head after each shower. We don't have a problem with mold and have very little wood in the head. If not careful, we do get a little water running under the door.

Although the separate shower looks great at the boat show, I'm not sure of an advantage compared to lost cabin space.

[deltaten]

Glass??

Oh my!!!

[Sandero]

Contest 36 uses a lift up hand shower which is also the sink spout.... The entire head aside from the headline , the hill liner and the shower pan is multi coated varnished teak which has held up for 30 years beautifully. There is a teak grate over the shower pan and so the head IS the shower. You can sit on the toilet or stand... We wipe the teak down after showering and find that because the entire head gets a shower... AND it has a large forward facing hatch... there are no odors in the head at all and it's always squeaky clean aside from the shower pan which does require we lift up the grates and clean them every once in a while.

I find this works really well.... and the small head is not all that small for a shower! Kudos to the designer!

[Clipper4730]

Definitely separate. We looked a long time to find a boat with a separate shower that was in our budget and are very happy with the decision.

[Tayana42]

Separate shower area is very nice. Much better to keep toilet paper and toiletries dry and not have to towel dry around the toilet every time you shower. Ours has a hatch directly above for ventilation and an ordinary cloth shower curtain to keep the water where it belongs.

There space taken by the shower must come at the expense of a larger saloon or forward berth. The designer of our boat did a very good job of maximizing the functionality of the spaces. Only you can decide if the trade off is worthwhile for you in the particular boats you are considering.


S/V B'Shert

[Sailor Doug]

I have a two room head. Sink and cabinet are in first part. Then I have a glass door that separates off toil, shower stall area. This has worked for ten years, cover style toilet paper holder keeps TP dry. We have revarnished bright work twice. Hand held shower and limited water cuts over spray.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Plutoi

Does it get old having to wipe dry the toilet seat and surrounding areas?

Yes.

That was the #1 motivator to sell our last boat and buy this one. There were other good reasons, but that was the big motivator.

Admittedly, we survived 10 years with the head/shower combination. And yes, it meant that the toilet area got cleaned often.

I'm not saying it can't be done. Just, given the choice, I'd avoid it if at all possible.

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Separate shower area is very nice. Much better to keep toilet paper and toiletries dry and not have to towel dry around the toilet every time you shower. Ours has a hatch directly above for ventilation and an ordinary cloth shower curtain to keep the water where it belongs.

There space taken by the shower must come at the expense of a larger saloon or forward berth. The designer of our boat did a very good job of maximizing the functionality of the spaces. Only you can decide if the trade off is worthwhile for you in the particular boats you are considering.


S/V B'Shert

Put TP is inside a cab door above the sink top and next to the toilet. Lots of things are stored in these large cabs and they never get wet from the shower.

Towels hang on hooks but are placed on a high shelf which is the top of the above mentioned cab... which has a long fiddle with all manner of bottles of stuff. When not showering the towels hang from a couple of hooks. No problem!

There is a very large ventilated locker in the head for all the towels and linen... and it is never wet either.

No shower curtain to clean which can get mildew. This design is well thought out and works a charm... I actually prefer it on the boat to a shower compartment as everyone one I saw smelled.

[accomplice]

We have one head with a separate shower and two with showers in front of the toilet. I think you hit on the pros and cons - space and cleaning vs keeping everything dry. The only thing I can add to that is that having guests keep TP dry, and yet having it in clear view can be a challenge.

I will pass on this one story. One day I took some of my wife's relatives out for a day sail. The girlfriend of one of them received directions to the head, and emerged several minutes later laughing and wet. She had mistaken the shower faucet handles for the head flushing valve.



Sent from my SM-G930V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[hellosailor]

Remember that glass is always one bump away from becoming a wall of sharp knives waiting to cut and slash you, and then do it again as you try to walk barefoot out of the mess. I know, there's safety glass, and glass can be very strong, but I still don't like it even as a glass table top ashore. In the 50's you saw a lot of glass kitchen cabinet doors and room separator doors in homes. In the 50's and 60's you saw a lot of hospital visits and by the 70's glass was not being used very much--because of the dangers. So personally, I don't want it around, except for "windows".


A separate shower stall makes for very nice cleanup. You take a little 6" squeegee and squeegee down the walls very quickly after a shower, and voila, everything is nearly dry and a solar vent or portlight will take care of the rest. As opposed to a shower head above the toilet, water around and under the toilet lid, the hinge, the pump body...You'll never get it all dried out as quickly, although that will be a convenient time to clean off the head.(G)
The separate stall can also make a good wet locker. IIRC the Sabre 38 had an interior plan with the head just forward of the companionway, starboard side, and the stall shower doubled as a very nicely placed wet locker as you entered it from there. Of course, you need extra room to have that luxury.

[Cheechako]

A pull around shower curtain avoids getting the head wet, and is easy. Big enough boat separate is nice, but never has been a big deal to me.

[annsni]

Our Tartan 33 was a shower in the head with a pull around shower curtain that stuck to you as you showered. When you were done, you dried off the entire head and put everything back that you had to move to take the shower. Now on our Catalina 42, we have the separate shower with curtain and it's SO much better! I'd love "glass doors" but our model didn't come with it (later models did). Of course "glass doors" aren't really glass. I love the separate shower and know that I can shower and not get everything soaked.

[valhalla360]

It's purely space vs convenience. If you have enough room, it's a nice option as you don't get the entire bathroom soaked. If your boat is small, it's a lot of space that could be put to other uses.


Don't worry about the "glass". It's either plexiglass or safety glass, so no worries about a wall of knives if you bump into it. When safety glass breaks, it fractures into tiny cubes that are not prone to leaving sharp shards (think when a car window breaks).

[Schooner Chandlery]

We borrowed what we learned in Japan. When we lived in a house in Japan we learned that no houses there have combined the "unclean" toilet room with the clean bathing room. There we had a laundry room with tiny sink, washer, and that included a door to a 6x6 wet room with shower, soak tub, and removable aluminum bars that spanned the rom to hang clothes for drying. It had an exhaust fan and a tiny heater for drying the clothes and wet/shower room. The toilet room just had the toilet with tiny sink above the toilet tank. Also-there was commonly a sink in a hallway (we had this) or bedroom for washing face and brushing teeth. Nothing like the USA combo of all 3 functions.

On the boat, we have a head with small basin. No shower there. Because our boat is old pre-ww2 it has far more utility space and less living space than modern boats. So we have a real forecastle with chain locker and room for hanging wet lines etc. We put in a shower floor with separate shower pump for this room and placed a shower curtain so we can stand in the middle (under a hatch made for stuffing headsails into the forecastle) and shower there. We love it. A wet room that serves cleaning us as well as lines or other gear in need of a fresh water wash.

We planned to put in a couple bars to hang clothes (on hangers) and a little exhaust fan to dry in there but we find the hatch drys the room and it very convenient to hang damp clothes in the main saloon if we need drying inside.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum