CD-22 Anyone ever add a hot shower or marine head

roydawn

New member
Hi all, Been in the market for a CD-25 for a while here in SW Fl. none under $65K are close bye. [ ie 1,500 mi.] Like the C-25 in Ca. for 40K, but would have to buy a truck & trailer. So wondering if anyone has added a hot shower to a CD-22? or a marine head with a holding tank? looked at a CD-22 & it could fit the need with a few mod's. Just thinking, is it possible? Roy
 
If you see a boat that you want on the other coast you should look into having it shipped. Cory is a guy that does all the shipping for c-dory and others. I cant remember his company name but if you search this site you will find it. he has shipped a lot of used c-dorys for Brats over the years.
 
I had a coleman propane water heater with shower attachment in my last boat. It worked pretty well and was around $150, and was portable so I could take it out for more storage when I didnt need it.
 
Someone on the forum did that a few years ago: removed the dinette to allow room for an enclosed head. It seemed kinda drastic to me. The head is the "room" in the boat where we spend the least amount of time in any given day... but, when you need a potty or want a shower, nothing else will do.

What would you give up to have an enclosed head/shower in a 22? Dinette? Galley? Both of those are very important to the way we use the boat. Put up walls and remove either the dinette or galley, and you have really changed the functionality of the 22. Bye-bye all around visibility in the cabin. No place to cook or eat? You have to be realistic: there is only so much square footage in a 22' boat.

We decided on a 25, not just for the enclosed head... the extra foot of beam is part of what makes it work: room for the water heater, fridge, and more storage. Room to pass each other in the aisle. The design of the 25, with covers for the windows in the head, allows you to have visibility and privacy.

Lots of people spend extended time cruising on a 22... with a porta-potty and sponge bathing. You just have to understand and accept what the space will allow. I would like to have an island bed, and room in the salon for a couch and a couple comfortable chairs... that's not going to happen in a 25' trailerable boat. So, we accept the dinette as our inside seating - one of the compromises we all make on a boat. For us, the 25 is the minimum we feel we can comfortably spend extended time on.

If you buy a boat that is a long ways away, you can always have it trucked/delivered to your destination... you don't have to buy a truck and trailer if they don't figure into the way you will actually use the boat. There is a reason, though, why most folks with a 25 DO have a trailer. I think it is one of the best features of the boat.

Decisions, decisions. I first started looking at C-Dorys, thinking the 22 would be adequate for us. No doubt we could have made it work, but our usage would have certainly been different... I don't see how we would be doing extended time on the boat - neither of us are enamored with schlepping our stuff to marina showers. Certainly, Bill & El did it for a decade; others are still doing it. Realistically, it isn't going to be for everyone; we all have different minimum requirements. I don't think I would be interested in renting a motel room for a night without a bathroom in it.

Good luck with the decisions. I am absolutely NOT trying to talk anyone out of a 22. Many people buy boats for the way they think they will use it... boats with two cabins because "family, friends, and neighbors will probably want to cruise with us." If having an enclosed head with a shower, more storage, hot & cold pressure water, a fridge, and some elbow room (don't discount "the shuffle" of getting around each other in the aisle) sound like what you'd need to be comfortable onboard, you might want to figure out a way to get a 25 instead of trying to redesign a 22.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
PaulNBriannaLynn":2ywhrooc said:
I had a coleman propane water heater with shower attachment in my last boat. It worked pretty well and was around $150, and was portable so I could take it out for more storage when I didnt need it.

We did that with a Zodi portable water heater on a sailboat (trimaran). It worked fine to shower on the nets or in the cockpit (self draining) when the weather was warm and the neighbors weren't too close. :wink: Couldn't use it IN the boat because there was no place for the shower water to drain. We did use it on occasion to to wash dishes, since the water could run out the sink drain.

Not really a place to use a shower like that in a 22, other than the cockpit... and let the bilge pump take care of the shower water. Still, there is that "privacy" situation.
 
The owner of DORYME, a 22 Cruiser, constructed a head (room) in the port after corner of the cabin. It looks like the forward co-pilot seat was retained, and the dinette table and after seat removed. If I remember correctly the owner of DORYME said that they ate in the cockpit with a table and chairs there (even before the conversion). There are photos in DORYME's album here:

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

Here is one image from the linked album:

DSCN0292.jpg
 
When the factory was in Auburn, I remember seeing a new 22' that the factory was custom installing the head on the starboard rear corner of the cabin. Personally, I wouldn't choose to have a designated head in lieu of the standard features of a 22' (ie: galley, dinette, etc.) and am satisfied with a porta potty.

I have to admit that the install shown in the picture of the head installed in the previous post looks good.

However, as Jim B. alludes to...different strokes for different folks... :wink
 
Roy -
There are advantages and disadvantages of both a 22 and a 25, as discussed with many postings over the years on this site,
El and I originally were backpackers. So a port-potty worked just fine for us on our 22. As to showers, we were well-adjusted to a solar shower (hand held, backpacking type, rolls up to a small space). We would find a secluded cove, fill the solar shower with fresh water, and after warming in the sun, hand hold it overhead for each other in the cockpit. The soapy water drained out the drain hole of the cockpit, we'd rinse in fresh warm water (which would rinse the soap out of the cockpit) and we'd be fresh and clean and so would the cockpit. It was easy for us on the 22. However, maybe others not used to backpacking life, would find it too difficult. Just an idea -- we found no need to put up with the inconveniences of a boat larger than our 22' -- simply in order to have a shower or a marine head.
 
Roydawn
When we had the camperback canvas made for our 22 we had them make a 4 sided wrap around privicy curtain that hangs from the support bows in the cockpit area It goes from sole to the top and has a zipper up one side for a door. At night we move the porti pottie out there, and though we don't have one there is no reason a person could not rig up a solar water heater for a shower. The whole thing weighs 2-3 pounds and folds up tight for storage.
 
I wouldnt right off the other coast. buddy just shipped a 22' seasport from florida to washington took 4 days and cost about 4k driveway to driveway.
 
Roy,
As you see in our sig, we have owned a 22, 25, TC255, and now another 22. The head in the 25 (which we took to BC one summer and Alaska another summer) is slightly smaller than the Tom Cat, and we rarely used the shower. We find the porti potty to be easier to use than a pump out type of head (lack of pump out stations, or maintenance of the macerator)

If you are going to trailer, the C Dory 22 is far easier to trailer--and we have trailered both many thousands of miles--you really need a 3/4 ton truck for the 25.

There is also a 3' x 3' enclosure made for the sun shower. We have 3 different sun showers--from 2 quarts up to 2.5 gallons. Any one of them gives a great bath--as good as you will get in the "shower" of the 25. Just how much water you use!

In your part of the world (and ours) Air conditioning is more important than an inclosed head or shower, if you are going to sleep on the boat!

Good luck hunting.
 
We use our makeshift shower on our 22 quite often.

I mounted a hot water heating element in a 6 gallon Portable ice chest.

It will heat up off of marina power or the EU 1000 on the boat. takes about 10-15 minutes.

I use a small 12 volt compact pressure pump from Northern Tool with spring loaded battery clips and a trigger controlled spray head from Home Depot.

She likes the pressure for hair washing. If you don't have a generator, the ice chest holds the temp well enough that we can heat it up at the marina, head downriver and it is still hot enough for a shower the next morning.

We shower in the cockpit with a shower curtain and let the bilge pump pump it out. Out in the boondocks we shower on the shore or swim step.

I would guess that you could use the same pressure set up with a solar shower bag. I don't know how much water the solar shower bag holds, but the 6 gallons in our set up will do showers for both of us.

We like the simplicity, lighter weight, shallower draft of the 22 and would not trade it for a 25. I notice that you are in Florida, We do have a 5,000 BTU window unit mounted in the boat and it works well on the EU 1000.

Good Luck.
 
Thanks ALL, for the replies. Have another busy day today, boat lift installed yesterday, electricians today, boat soon! Will read/study replies asap. Roy
 
the large sun shower has an air pump, which puts pressure on the bag outer nylon bag, and thus puts pressure on the inner plastic water containing bladder. I'll check on the capacity--The standard sun showers can be put on the top of the boat (where we usually leave them) and then by gravity give enough pressure for swash down. The really small units can be squeezed, and rolled up as the water goes out, thus giving adequate pressure.

We have older sun showers, and I may post photos of them--3 liters and one probably 2.5 gallons and the other closer to 5 gallons "Basic Design by Sterns, with air pump".

Today the sun showers seem to be available from 2.5 to 6 gallons.

I like the cooler/heater idea--what heating element do you have which works on the 1000 EU? Wonder about safety issues with the 110 V and generator around the shower? Maybe heat before using, and then put the generator away?

Yes, the window units will work in both the 22 and 25. There is a Walmart unit for less than $100 which runs well on the EU 1000. BUT--it is a pain to put them in and out, plus store. There are other solutions with these small AC units. I do agree that the RV AC unit on the roof is an excellent idea--the roof needs to be re-enforced as in my Tom Cat album.
 
The AC is permanently mounted in the back window. Out of the way and no problem and there when we need it.

We heat the water to the desired temp and then unplug the 120 volt AC before use.

We use a 2500 watt 240 volt element, draws 625 watts at 120volts.
 
texasair":7kkfg6ur said:
The AC is permanently mounted in the back window. Out of the way and no problem and there when we need it.

We heat the water to the desired temp and then unplug the 120 volt AC before use.

We use a 2500 watt 240 volt element, draws 625 watts at 120volts.
Here's an image of his setup
c_dory_Aug_10_2010_006.sized.jpg
 
Keep it simple. Portapotties and solar showers work fine. If I were buying a trailer boat today I would have a potty rather that a marine head. My Monk Trawler had a full shower, it worked really well. The pain was cleaning the shower sump and replaceing the parts in the wonderful electric flushing head. And don't forget the twenty some feet of sewer hose to replace from time to time. I just love potties!
 
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