H2O Shower Bags

[Jeanie P]

Is anyone familiar with the plastic water shower bags that you put in the sun for a few hours to heat the water? It seems like a perfect match with a C-Dory 22 .

What is the lowest average outside temperature that would still allow the water to warm up?

Taking a Navy shower - wet,lather, rinse - how many showers could you get from say a 4 gallon bag?

Thanks and have a Happy New Year.

Allan

 

[Dora~Jean]

That's what we use on our boat, didn't like the thought of cleaning up the bathroom particularly after a shower. Plus we would have had to put in a shower sump, mod the door to drip the water INSIDE our bathroom and add controls. I'm a member of the KISS club. We put up two 4 gal sunshowers for 4 people or 2 people when we scuba dive (to also rinse wet suit and equipment). 2 gals is sufficient for a good shower, it can be done with 1 gal. Although the gals with all their hair (a good thing :wink: ) tend to use 1 gal just for that!

As far as heating, I live in So Cal, even in the winter the sun heats the water to at least warm if it's only 55-60 deg out. Warms to very hot in the summer (~110+).

 

[RichardW]

Hello,

We have a sun shower and have found it useful. We usually stap it to the foredeck out of the way to heat the water and then move it to the rear of the pilot house for use. An extension hose routed into the cockpit through the a convenient area where the camperback zips onto the pilot house works well. For us, a 4 gallon sun shower is sufficient for 2 people.

I have installed SS snaps near the top of the pilot house door and in the corners of the camperback top so that we can quickly snap in an inexpensive shower curtain 45 degrees across the cockpit. With the side panels snapped in, you have complete privacy and plenty of space. We have Dri deck on the cockpit floor and just use bilge pumps to remove the water.

The water will cool quite rapidly once there is no sun exposure, so keep that in mind if you want a hot shower. An unexpected advantage of the sun shower is that it is often convenient to use to transport water to the boat if a water source is not available near a dock.

We use the boat often in colder weather and frequently use the Wallas to heat water for a nice Navy bath. I am experimenting with a scheme that uses a small garden sprayer pump half filled with boiling water and tap water to rig a convenient shower. The sprayer seems to last about 1 shower before needing repumping. I will report back on how this works at some time.

Another alternative is a Zodi propane hot water shower that uses a propane fired heater coil and a simple 12v pump to heat and pump water for a shower. These work well and are about 1 foot on a side. I saw one at Walmart recently for $100.

Richard
:xlol

 

[El and Bill]

Allan -
We used a solar shower for the 6 1/2 months we walked the Appalachian Trail, and for many of our showers living aboard boats -- you already have excellent answers from Dora~Jean and Richard about the details -- so we only add that it is an easy way to take a 'navy' shower. On our 22', we simply find a secluded cove and hold the shower bag for each other, while standing in the bow. We have heated water to comfy shower tempts when the sun is shining clear overhead and air tempts are below freezing. Keeping the black side (below the water) facing the sun is essential in those conditions.

 

[tpbrady]

Heat a gallon or so of water on the Wallas. Pour it and some cold water into the Sun Shower. Hang it off the radar arch and take a shower. Good enough for two people. It seems we never have enough sun to warm anything up except the beer.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Even on our boat with a water heater, we find that we use the solar shower more often. We hang it on top of the cabin and run the hose in through the window in the head - works great! We've used the garden sprayer (also works good, but the spray is a bit "thin") and the Zodi (especially good when it's cooler out and you have no other means to heat your water... recirculate the water into itself while heating and it heats up much faster... turn off the propane when you have the water hot enough and it works good for as long as the water lasts... we frequently used it for washing dishes on our tri). The garden sprayer also works good for cleaning off the deck of the boat (at the time, we had our tri in a marina that didn't have water at the slips).

You can make anything work. However, when it's easy (and toting water is rarely fun) you can stay out longer. That's why we opted for the water heater when we're plugged in (and it will keep the water hot for most of the day), and solar shower on Wild Blue when we aren't plugged in. For those who think the head is overkill in a 25' boat, it's nice to have a private place to shower. If you can't close off your cockpit with canvas, you can get one of those camp shower enclosures. On the other hand, if you're so close to neighbors that you might scare them when you shower, you are likely pretty close to shower facilities onshore. YMMV.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[Jeanie P]

Thanks people. I already have a plastic camper shower enclosure but might just attach a sheet or two to the camper top instead. It seems that the sheet would dry faster and be less cumbersome.
Thanks again for the replies.

Allan