Washing without a Shower . . .

[capngeo]

My boat is only 28' BUT I have hot and cold water in the minuscule head, and enjoy a hot shower... I guess you can take the powerboater on a sailboat, but he's STILL a powerboater!

@Jobi... Go easy there man, haven't seen my s/o in a few days; you're killin me! LOL!

[boatman61]

Invest $15 in a Solar Shwer bag... easy to use and rolls up for easy storage... bowls good for the morning face wash... And yes.. Baby wipes are great, just make sure the 'perfumes' a decent one.. some make me want to heave...lol

[Whimsy]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

This thing kicks ass, inside or outside the boat. Fill it up with water, leave it in the sun, and it's warm within several hours. Or just fill it up 1/3 with hot (not boiling) water from the stove on cold/cloudy days.

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Pump-up Solar Shower

A big +1 on pump-up garden sprayers for showering (and rinsing soapy dishes). The device achieves relatively high pressure and the nozzle is fairly low volume and very adjustable for utility of spray shape and intensity (that's with garden type sprayhead - can’t speak for a 'dedicated' showerhead on the unit linked above).

My experience with these started in the mid 70s when I was living aboard and cruising in my 1963 VW micro/kombi bus. I built the interior with a bed, storage areas, bucket head in its own spill-proof box, curtains and a 2-burner Coleman stove. A manual-pump camping sink (drained overboard) was strapped in the starboard aft corner, a 60-quart cooler secured in the port aft corner.

The stove was amidships, centered aft on the engine platform, between the cooler and sink. It was held in by one bolt through the center of its bottom that allowed it to rotate to face forward or aft, to be used standing outside behind the vehicle, under the raised, swing-up after door, or from inside if privacy or shelter was wanted. Either way, the sink, stove, and cooler were lined up athwartships, easily accessable from in or out.

Somewhere in southern FL, Homestead maybe (fresh from an Everglades adventure, headed to the Keys, IIRC) I happened upon a nice, old-fashioned all-metal garden sprayer of maybe 2.5 gallon capacity in a thrift shop there (I was working odd-jobs as I went - was on VERY limited funds). It was factory-painted drab green, had an all-metal valve/nozzle assy and was in very good condition.

Upon returning to the van, it was immediately filled with water and placed on the Coleman stove (top off of sprayer can, of course). From that day on, I had a nice shower every evening before bed, mostly just standing between the two open side doors of the van after dark. Later I rigged a stick with a sheet attached that could be hung on/between the doors for privacy, if needed. And truth be told, if its chilly out, hot water is nice, but when the weather is hot, I didn’t bother to heat the water and a cool shower was equally refreshing - its all good, either way, after one towels off, compared to being un-bathed, no?

After my next pay check, I extended the hose to maybe 5' in length to avoid having to hang the sprayer tank from a hook to bathe. In another thrift shop I found a glass cooking thermometer. After that, the water temperature was perfect every time, 109*F, IIRC. I also started using the unit to rinse my dishes as it was so very convenient and miserly with water compared to the sink pump.

After 'graduating' to small boats, I continued to use the pump sprayers as mobile manual pressure water systems, often not bothering to heat the water in warm weather. Then, when I was able to afford a 12 vdc demand pump, I connected the valve/nozzle units for garden sprayers (wands shortened, as stated by another poster) to the pump with hose to dispense/spray the water. They are very miserly with water, often allowing a decent bathing session with a quart of water (careful don't use too much soap - takes more water to rinse...), or two quarts for real luxury, and an ounce or two for rinsing soap from a washed dish (I pre-dilute dishsoap 20:1 in a squirt bottle to avoid using too much soap which then needs MUCH more rinse water; wash dishes with a white plastic scrub pad cut in half, and wash cups with a round-head dish brush - my hands don't fit; I squirt the soap-water on the pad or brush, not on the dishes).

On small (22' - 26') boats with a 12vdc demand pump, a pressure accumulator tank self-made from PVC piping to prevent rapid pump cycling, and 4-5 gallon jugs for tanks, I connect the valve/sprayhead on a 1/4" reinforced clear plastic hose long enough to reach from the pump/tank location to the galley, for washing dishes below, and also to reach out into the after end of the cockpit - handy for rinsing people (and diving gear) in the cockpit, be it salt water after swimming, or for hygiene bathing purposes. With two intimate people in the cockpit (after dark, kneeling on a pad for privacy in populated areas) if one soaps and bathes while the other stands by to rinse spot-on as needed, it is even more enjoyable and efficient with water usage.

Also, to me (6' 1", 200#), its much easier to wash dishes sitting in the aft of the cockpit of a small boat and rinse the soap suds to the sole and out the scuppers, stacking dishes in a small plastic drainer unit for draining/drying and transport below.

I even install these garden sprayer heads (shortened wands) in the galleys and heads on larger boats, and shut off the more wasteful conventional sink and shower valves with inline stop valves under the cabinets. This keeps some of our more lubberly and/or less-considerate water-wasting guests from using a gallon where a pint is more than enough - they can spray away 'til their heart's content, with little effect on a fifty gallon fresh water tankage system (170 gal on the latest Morgan 41').

If I seem a little fanatical about these units its cuz they've worked so very well for me, for so long. Brother, have you heard the word?

[Minggat]

Wow Whimsy !! Great water saving idea. Love it.

I found that a foot pump saves a lot of water and actually less messy because no wet hands slinging water back up to the faucet. I never turn on the pressure system anymore. My wife still does..

But you've gone beyond that.

So how does one get a second garden sprayer head without the whole garden sprayer? I guess like most other things on boats, like you have done. Just keep your eyes peeled.

Originally Posted by Whimsy

If I seem a little fanatical about these units its cuz they've worked so very well for me, for so long. Brother, have you heard the word?

I know the feeling. I have idea that work so well for me doing double duty and all. Ya wanna share and the world is just... duh... for not getting as excited about it as you are.

[otherthan]

The sprayer can be use to cool off in the cockpit on hot days...

[bljones]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Invest $15 in a Solar Shwer bag... easy to use and rolls up for easy storage... bowls good for the morning face wash... And yes.. Baby wipes are great, just make sure the 'perfumes' a decent one.. some make me want to heave...lol

Remember, jobi lives in Montreal. You know what we call a Solar Shower this time of year?
A bag of ice.

jobi, you are gonna cheap yourself to death. You want to live on a boat in the winter in Montreal with an unvented kerosene heater and cold water. As someone who has lived aboard on the north side of the Great Lakes through the winter, I have been there, done that, and pissed ice cubes. To quote Hans (or maybe Franz, I can never tell them apart), listen to me now, or pay attention to me later. Take a good, long look at your current girlfriend. By January she will have unfriended you on Facebook and is no longer taking your frantic phone calls.
A mutual sub-zero celsius sponge bath is fun and romantic... once. Maybe twice, if the booze doesn't run out.
But, as time goes by, what sems like quaint cost-effective innovation in October is a whole lot less enchanting. Instead of being the daring non-conformist chiseled devil-may-care adventurer who is ready to sail over the horizon at a moment's notice, you begin to be a stinky broke-ass mofo who is a hobo on the water.

look at your girlfriend. Now look at your hand. NOW, look at your girlfriend. NOW, look at your hand. Who would you rather spend a Friday night in January with?

I'm on a horse.

[Velma]

You make me want to cry...OMG...you guys (and gals) are an absolute hoot!

[otherthan]

Originally Posted by bljones

Remember, jobi lives in Montreal. You know what we call a Solar Shower this time of year?
A bag of ice.

jobi, you are gonna cheap yourself to death. You want to live on a boat in the winter in Montreal with an unvented kerosene heater and cold water. As someone who has lived aboard on the north side of the Great Lakes through the winter, I have been there, done that, and pissed ice cubes. To quote Hans (or maybe Franz, I can never tell them apart), listen to me now, or pay attention to me later. Take a good, long look at your current girlfriend. By January she will have unfriended you on Facebook and is no longer taking your frantic phone calls.
A mutual sub-zero celsius sponge bath is fun and romantic... once. Maybe twice, if the booze doesn't run out.
But, as time goes by, what sems like quaint cost-effective innovation in October is a whole lot less enchanting. Instead of being the daring non-conformist chiseled devil-may-care adventurer who is ready to sail over the horizon at a moment's notice, you begin to be a stinky broke-ass mofo who is a hobo on the water.

look at your girlfriend. Now look at your hand. NOW, look at your girlfriend. NOW, look at your hand. Who would you rather spend a Friday night in January with?

I'm on a horse.

hahaha I see you got my back covered...however no need to stress that much...shes 20 years younger then me...also shes filthy ritch its scary...I am flat broke and have nothing to show for...no phone, no computer, no adress...I work for minimum salery and enjoy doing so...her idea of sailing is a $1000.000 motor boat bigger and more comphy then her fathers wanabago...me I want the simple life, I love mature womans and cheep wine...have no will to get involved as I just got seperated from a 20years mariage... we been together 6 months and still trying find her a better half.

[noelex 77]

2L soft drink bottles are ideal. Tipped upside down the water flows out at a nice rate.
In summer leave them in the sun.
In winter add boiling water to suit. (use a plastic funnel so the boiling water doesn’t distort the plastic.)
Use a digital laser thermometer to check the temperature before use. 39C summer 42C winter is ideal for me.

Soap and shampoo up before use then use the bottles to rinse.

1 bottle is OK 2 or more is much nicer.

[bangkaboat]

jobi,
my wife & I did it for 3+ years. In winter, we'd fill the solar shower in the sink, putting cold from the sink tap & using a funnel for the hot water from a kettle. We had a plastic baby-bath & we'd tie the shower bag to a rope strung between 2 deckhead handrails. After the first winter, we installed a cockpit cover(full enclosure) & I used to shower in the cockpit. Over all, it was much like going camping for three years straight. But, I wouldn't do it today - in my late 40s - & I live in Vancouver. Winter, in Montreal? Not me!

Mike

[Whimsy]

Originally Posted by Minggat

...So how does one get a second garden sprayer head without the whole garden sprayer?

Recently bought a valve/nozzle assy that seems high quality at a Lowes building supply store. Had passed up several other models at other stores over a couple weeks due to seemingly lower quality and/or poor design. It has a metal wand and nozzle, which is one of my criteria (metal wand is easier to shorten and metal nozzle is easier and more precise to adjust and gives a better spray pattern). It was about $14? I avoid the plastic wands and nozzles and cheaper versions that can't be restored with o-rings and silicone grease.

Going to the boat today. If I can find more info from the package I'll let you know.

Edited to add: Here's some http://www.toolboxsupply.com/Product...ategoryID=2115

[David M]

Solar shower bags are fine if the sun is out, you have time for it to heat up and have a reasonable amount of privacy..or don't care if people watch.

The research boat I run has no shower or hot water heater. What I do when I have to spend the night onboard is to fill the head sink with clear water that I just ran through the coffee pot and then take a hand towel and go for it. Hey, it gets rid of the body odor.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by bljones

look at your girlfriend. Now look at your hand. NOW, look at your girlfriend. NOW, look at your hand. Who would you rather spend a Friday night in January with?

I'm on a horse.

:flow ers:

Best part of this thread so far.

Be real now, who really wants to wash without a shower? But if you are going to, whatever happened to the old fashioned hand held washcloth?

[Lovelyr3ta]

I live on my 25 foot sailboat, and work 6 days a week in a hot, greasy kitchen, so staying clean is pretty important. I have access to showers at the marina but I only use them about twice a week. Mostly so I can wash my hair which is down to my waist. Baby wipes are good for feet, armpits and extremities. For the ladies, I really recommend using feminine wipes for everything "below deck" if you catch my drift. Summers Eve has a good product that comes in a plastic container so they stay fresh. For good measure, I use perfume oils or tea tree oil in my hair to keep from smelling sweaty. I've never been much of a girly girl so living without access to instant running water hasn't been too much of a sacrifice. And if I was really hard up, a little plastic tub filled with boiling water from the electric teapot, a little cold water and tea tree oil with a washcloth does the trick as well.

[Aussiesuede]

Since most seem surprised when I offer them a rinseless shampoo in the middle of a weeks hike in the wilderness, this is likely a line of products which might have some interest here. I've been using the stuff for years and it's fantastic.

No Rinse® Products