Prepping boat for Guests

[Pelagic]

Thought it would be interesting to share ideas, precautions, etc... that work, when you are having non sailor friends or family coming with you for an overnight cruise

I'll start.
Guest shower sump pump... Switch from on/off button to a "hold for on" button, so they cannot forget to turn it off

[Calif.Ted]

Couple clean red plastic buckets conveniently placed, ginger ale and candied ginger, I've seen people get sick on boats tied to the dock on a nice day.

[Singularity]

Someone recently mentioned the idea of holding up a joker valve while introducing guests to marine head function with the education that "everything that goes into the toilet must go through this [joker valve]; if you clog the head I'll be standing behind you with tools, instructions, and moral support while you unplug the head."

[JPA Cate]

Unless you already want a hold it in for showering button, I would not get one for guests. I would simply tell them to wet down quickly, turn off. Soap up. Rinse off. Let them bail the sump afterwards, explain about holding tank limits, and what overflow would do in their sleeping quarters. If they stay longer than overnight, they'll quickly realize that less water means less effort in their cleanup. All guests to be treated equally, with respect to gender.


In areas where one must jerry jug water to the boat, wait till the guests get there, and allow them to help carry the full jugs to the dinghy, and syphon or pour the water into the boat tanks. It is very educational for them, and again, they learn appreciation for a scarce resource. People we hosted in the Sea of Cortez responded well to this treatment.

You may find this all unnecessary with Asians. We've had few non-sailing guests. Those ones got the how to use a marine toilet story, and we had them keep their life jackets at the foot of their berths, so they'd always know where they were, and told them the skipper would tell them when to wear them. Everyone went along with it, with no complaint.

Landlubbers understand that they're coming into an unfamiliar environment, and if one forgets, and leaves the shower running, turn off the pump at the circuit breaker, and go have a chat about it, then turn it on again. Or, let them use a timer. People with longer hair take more water to wet it. Showering above decks after a swim is probably the best time, as the original wetting is already done.

Completely agree that who clogs the toilet must unclog it. Happy to supervise. Children's toilet paper use should be guided by the parent, according to your instructions, and parent and child can clean it depending on age and capabilities of child.

Another aspect is to enquire as to allergies, and remove allergens from their environment. One of our guests was allergic to molds, which necessitated more vigorous whole boat removal of mildew than one might normally do. For others, it is merely re-storing foodstuffs where the guests won't accidentally get into them.

Ann

[toddster8]

Hmm... I used to have a "float plan form" template on my computer that I'd email off a couple of days in advance. Had the usual stuff on the front and on the back was a little safety briefing bullet list and hints on what (not) to pack.
But back then I used to take a lot of noobs on scuba trips and they'd show up with loads of gear and duffle bags that wouldn't possibly fit on the boat. People seem to need explicit instructions on how to pack light, take navy showers, etc.

I also used to have an explicit list of stuff to read for the safety and plumbing briefing (so I wouldn't forget something obvious) tucked into the log book, but I seem to have lost that, too.

Ever since I stopped bathing, those pesky extra guests have stopped being a problem

[Pelagic]

Great notes Ann! [emoji106]

Just returning to the shower, we are lucky to make lots of water to store in a 300 gal tank.

However, between the hot/cold mixer and shower wand, I have a 1/4 turn tap to facilitate Navy Showers. I encourage it, but don't enforce it as some guests forget. However, if I hear the waterpump running for ages, the breaker switch unexpectantly trips[emoji6] and I explain to the soapy howls, that it must have overheated. (They get the message)

We are also fortunate to have a large grey water tank that is good for 5 people having 2 showers a day for 3 days.
With a tank master gauge and a 3 way discharge lever under the galley sink (which is direct discharge) it pumps out in 5 minutes if gauge is in the red.

The forward and aft sinks and showers pump into this holding tank, with individual inline transfer pumps in the bilges.
Being quite a distance from the shower floors which have the standatd teak grates above them, gravity fills the line and the guest has about a minute of shower time before the water rises to the grate.
So they then need to HOLD the waterproof button to purge the line into the tank. (This helps to encourage Navy showers, with the 1/4 turn tap)

It is the fwd pump that I needed to protect with the "hold on" switch, as guest do not hear that transfer pump and/or forget.