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sailor49 · 17-11-2011, 08:33

Concerning Small Sailing vessels(28ft-35ft) I have a simple question, How in the world do you maintain a clean fresh wardrobe (laundry) and take a fresh water hot shower as often as you need with out being the cause of local air pollution??? With my fixed income and limited means the Transition from land locked in a corn field in Indiana back to the Ocean that I left is difficult. (Ex Captain 3000Gt Oceans) At my advanced age I would like to have as many creature comforts aboard as is possible. Cleanliness and a decent comfortable place to lay my head among the top 10. Every vessel i can find at a price i can afford is not equipped with what is needed for extended offshore voyages. Two weeks or more. How do you guys do it???.
P.S. Are water makers worth the astronomical expense???

rebel heart · 17-11-2011, 08:43

If you're at a marina you can use all those facilities. Onboard there's a few ways to skin the cat ranging from full shower enclosures with pressurized hot water, all the way to using the bug sprayer approach. Laundry is the same. You can have a small boat-sized washer-drier combo, or you can use a bucket and a plunger with some ammonia detergent.

No one with access to a marble bathroom would use a bug sprayer, and no one with access to a laundry machine would use a bucket and plunger. But the cost, energy, and maintenance associated with those items are of course the tricky parts. Everyone has their own level for what's "camping" and what's "happily living".

Examples of the cheap/simple/relatively-maintenance-free approaches:

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/gear/shower/index.htm

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ay-4142-2.html

Cheechako · 17-11-2011, 10:48

Yeah, big difference between marina with hose water available and cruising. A watermaker that works well can be invaluable. Even with one, in southern waters I often jumped in, washed my hair and used a gallon or two of fresh to rinse off on the transom afterwards. Showering every day and washing a bunch of clothes becomes less of a necessity in southern lattitudes. Shorts, t shirts etc dont accumulate a lot of laundry. They can be washed by hand if necssary. Still takes water though! The third world always seems to have someone willing to wash and fold clothes cheap. If a watermaker is too much $, then increase your water capacity to the max in space available. Get/Buy water whenever you can at fuel docks etc, and shower using 2 gallons.

zeehag · 17-11-2011, 11:07

wash clothes in bucket in sea water, partial dry after sea water rinse, then rinse final rinse in fresh--- i wear one set of clothing for passage making, leaving me fresh clothing for checking into port--must look decent for that--no bathing suits or rags-- so i keep separate clothing for just that. and i dont go out fancy, so i dont have that problem.......
what i use daily in port i wash onboard in a bucket with plunger and hose..... the rest i send to laundry....comes back nice n fresh!!!

msponer · 17-11-2011, 11:28

Once you are some place warm, it's also quite common to sail naked, and only wear clothes when you go ashore. That's very laundry efficient, so that we arrive in port with all of our clothes clean rather than having a huge bag to do.

David_Old_Jersey · 17-11-2011, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailor49

Concerning Small Sailing vessels(28ft-35ft) I have a simple question, How in the world do you maintain a clean fresh wardrobe (laundry) and take a fresh water hot shower as often as you need with out being the cause of local air pollution??? With my fixed income and limited means the Transition from land locked in a corn field in Indiana back to the Ocean that I left is difficult. (Ex Captain 3000Gt Oceans) At my advanced age I would like to have as many creature comforts aboard as is possible. Cleanliness and a decent comfortable place to lay my head among the top 10. Every vessel i can find at a price i can afford is not equipped with what is needed for extended offshore voyages. Two weeks or more. How do you guys do it???.
P.S. Are water makers worth the astronomical expense???

I too was wondering about laundry recently - at 30' no room for a washing machine, the "answer" I came up with is little and often (and an occassional run ashore to a Laundrette)......time will tell how that works out

Still thinking on the hot shower thing

senormechanico · 17-11-2011, 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by msponer

Once you are some place warm, it's also quite common to sail naked, and only wear clothes when you go ashore. That's very laundry efficient, so that we arrive in port with all of our clothes clean rather than having a huge bag to do.

I've always been amazed at how many people don't realize that.

bella · 17-11-2011, 21:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Still thinking on the hot shower thing

Well IF it is a small boat... wallmart sells a very nice "sunshower" black platsic heats up in the sun, holds 5 gallons.

Before that we used those 2-5 gallon insecticide spray things.. fill with water, sit in sun heat up..then pump up to make the hot water spray.

Personally I just sit on the back transom and take my bath with a two 1n galon pitchers.. one to pour the salt water as I bath and a galon to rinse my hair and pour over me.. to get the salt off..

Define comfort... I have lived on everything from a 25 footer to a 45 footers and the right range for me is about 30-32 feet.. Oday 30 1978-82 models have pretty much all the amenities.. including showers.

Dhillen · 17-11-2011, 23:56

Friends of ours circumnavigated in a 35 foot steel sloop without a watermaker. They swore by "Baby Wipes," as a solution to washing without using a lot of water.

On my first boat, which was just 33 feet in length, I had enough room for pressurized hot water for the shower. It was great. Wouldn't go without it. We found on our last boat, Tehani-li, we used a lot less hot water and a lot less clothing in the tropics though. Also, it tends to rain a lot and many cruisers have relied on rainfall (the Pardeys, etc.) for all their water needs.

Make sure you budget enough for drinking water though. If you run out then it's on to the rum and that gets expensive.

Cheers.

Dhillen

David_Old_Jersey · 18-11-2011, 03:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by bella

Well IF it is a small boat... wallmart sells a very nice "sunshower" black platsic heats up in the sun, holds 5 gallons.

Before that we used those 2-5 gallon insecticide spray things.. fill with water, sit in sun heat up..then pump up to make the hot water spray.

Personally I just sit on the back transom and take my bath with a two 1n galon pitchers.. one to pour the salt water as I bath and a galon to rinse my hair and pour over me.. to get the salt off..

Define comfort... I have lived on everything from a 25 footer to a 45 footers and the right range for me is about 30-32 feet.. Oday 30 1978-82 models have pretty much all the amenities.. including showers.

A sunshower will probably be the answer - in cockpit (enclosed - it gets chilly around here!), possibly topped up by a kettle

Another thought did occur to me, hot (mini) towels - let 'em heat up for 5 or 10 minutes and use 'em quick

or simply have them on a burner in a saucepan nearby.......

Cheechako · 18-11-2011, 10:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by msponer

Once you are some place warm, it's also quite common to sail naked, and only wear clothes when you go ashore. That's very laundry efficient, so that we arrive in port with all of our clothes clean rather than having a huge bag to do.

Being around clutches, winches, flying rope ends with figure 8 knots etc always made me a little nervous. So i wore my Speedo alot!

imagine2frolic · 19-11-2011, 12:28

I use a gln of water to shower, unless I am sanding, or grinding. If cruising in a warm climate. You will be surprised how little washing you will need. The solar showers are good, or a tea kettle to warm water. A quick washing with small items in the sink is good. Best is a water catchment system where it's rainy. I have been living on rain water for 3 months now steady. If you're where it is rainy. You will be able to waste water if you so wish. Sometimes I can catch 50 glns in an hour........i2f

nwdiver · 19-11-2011, 12:41

LPG demand hot water heater for all hot water, as much whenever I need it, well till the tanks are empty (30gal and 90 gal when way off shore). When I leave I will have a 6 gal hour 12 volt water maker I will run off of the 585 watts of solar panels I have, after my batteries top up I’ll make water. I already have a keel cooled refrigerator that uses 45amp of juice day, I should be able to run about 12-15 gals of water a day that’s lots for my needs. I'm working through the systems for several years before I leave.