Even with a water maker, fresh water is a limited resource on a boat. If you have had hot water on demand your entire life, showering on a boat requires an adjustment. Cruiser Patrick Marlowe has given some thought to the best way of showering on a boat without wasting water, and ending up clean and lookin good. He shares his wisdom in a guest post.
If you’re showering on a boat, you’re dealing with limited resources. This is not for an emergency water rationing situation but for everyday use.
Make the Most of Limited Hot Water
The first thing you need to do is be sure you have hot (or at least warm) water available. You will waste a lot of water waiting for hot water that never comes. Don’t wait outside the shower for the warm water; get in there and do the nearly unthinkable. Stick your head in the cold water. It’s not as bad as you think. In fact, it’s the rest of the body that revolts when confronted with a shock of cold. By starting headfirst, your hair follicles can begin absorbing the water.
Get Wet
As soon as the warm temps start showing up, jump in and get everything wet. This is where the wand helps. Use it to wet all your bits quickly.
Turn Water Off to Clean Yourself
Now, turn off the water. It’s going to stay off for a while. The main secret? Start from the bottom up.
Using a scrunchie or puff, apply just enough body wash to do the job. Too much takes longer to rinse. If you have bars of soap, throw them away; they will just clog your gray water system.
The next step is to squeeze just enough shampoo to smear on your head. Leave it there while you grab the face soap. Clean your face and then get right to shampooing. This minimizes the time you need to keep your eyes closed and from rinsing just to keep you from fumbling around to find the face soap. Sometimes, a quick squirt of water on the head for shampooing is necessary. That’s fine.
Rinse and Shave
Finally, you can start to rinse, but not so fast. Just rinse the head and face, and don’t even do that thoroughly. Now is the time to shave and pee; in that order is best. Shave all the places you like, and for men, if you don’t shave in the shower, you need to learn how. I have been doing this for 40 years and never needed a mirror. Besides, you live on a boat, and nobody really cares if it’s perfect.
Peeing is the shower is a double win. No extra water is used, and nothing goes into the black water tank.
Final Rinse
Next, do the final rinse. First, douse the scrunchie with the water coming off your face and head. You do not need to rinse it thoroughly; just give it a good shake, and it will not sour and will be fresh and ready for the next time. This is the second time the wand comes into play. Don’t just stand there waiting for water to run down into all the cracks. Use the wand to get into everything. Job well done. You are thoroughly clean with minimal water used.
Leaving the Shower Clean
The final step is to try to push as much water as you can down the drain. Push water off your body and squeeze out your hair if you have enough to do that. Squeegee the whole shower, not just the doors. Push everything toward the drain. The less water that’s left to evaporate into the boat, the better. If you don’t have a 12-volt fan in your bathroom, install one. This will help dry up the bathroom much quicker and prevent the dreaded mold monster from setting up camp.
I hope this helps keep you clean and fresh while using as little of that precious water as possible. Next time, we can talk about towels, washing your face, and the transom shower.
Patrick Marlowe and his wife of 42 years, Carmen, spend 6-8 months each year living aboard their 44-foot power catamaran, Pura Vida III. They keep a dirt home in St Petersburg, Florida, where their two children and four grandchildren live. They are currently in the Bahamas, slowly headed back to Florida after spending three seasons in the Eastern Caribbean.
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