MacGyver strikes again!

[DesertAlbin736]

Been wrestling with the idea of how to add a shower to our boat. Sure there's solar showers, but how and where to set up a shower stall/curtains? The obvious place would be in the cockpit between the two bench seats & in front of the aft cabin. You can buy camping shower tents and various types of camp showers ranging from hanging solar bag showers to pressurized units, hand pumped or with 12V electric pump. But why not do a DIY MacGyver? that you could customize to fit the space between the bench seats.

Here's one idea, make an enclosure out of PVC tubing and fittings that could be taken down & stowed, that is not glue them together, and use either poly tarp or regular shower curtains. Height could also be made to fit under the hardtop or canvas cockpit enclosure (about 6 ft).

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/68728874452/?lp=true

And use a plastic storage bin as a drain pan

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/88805423879042316/

One could either add a drain with a hose to the bilge to it or just use the bin & dump the shower water overboard or into the bilge. And all the shower stall components could be sized to break down & stow in the bin.

For the shower itself, I'd lean toward something like this, a modified garden tank sprayer fitted with a shower head, preferably one that has a stop and go control button added. Could heat the water in a solar shower bag or on the galley stove & pour it into the spray tank.

harborfreightanksprayer.jpg

It's the one thing an Albin 25 lacks when one wants to stay anchored & not go to a marina for showers.

[WillieC]

Or black pvc tubes on the roof. It's on the goggle somewhere. Just add sunlight.

[OldDemps]

Here’s a package solution with year end sale now. https://rinsekit.com/

[DesertAlbin736]

Interesting if a little on the pricey side. For the boat the 1.75 gallon Pod-Pump kit seems like the best bet for $98 with the 30% discount. Wouldn't even need the electric heater accessory, just use the funnel to just pour a tea kettle of water into it that was heated on the galley stove and pump up pressure with the hand pump accessory. And, not only for a shower, but also hot water for doing dishes. They're supposed to be carried at Walmart according to RinseKit's 'find a store' list but I checked and they're not in stock at our local Walmart or even listed in their online catalog so I won't be able to look at one IRL before buying. Could easily take a shower on less than 2 gallons. We do it all the time when dry camping in the RV. Just take a "Navy" shower; wet down, soap up, scrub down, rinse off, with the water turned off in between. And of course to use on the swim platform to rinse off after swimming in salt water. Thanks for the tip!

On the other hand, Walmart also sells this hand pump pressurized 2 gallon camp shower for $33. It's essentially a garden tank sprayer already converted with a shower head spray wand with 6 foot hose. Could fill with water heated in a solar shower bag (we already have two of those), but don't have to hang up the shower bag & have it dribble out in a little trickle flow, not to mention worrying about water overheated to scalding hot.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reliance-Por ... /458933072

[tribologist]

I have been looking at those too. I'm also trying to find a shower stall that I could hang from the ceiling. I'm thinking it could be possible to use the area in front of the cabin door and just plug the drain and drop a bilge pump there that pumps up to the sink. Teh showers I seen are all designed to drain at the bottom. I like to find one with a sealed floor.

[DesertAlbin736]

I took some measurements in the boat the other day. The space I have in the cockpit between the driver seat and the aft cabin door is 32" X 24" with the long dimension crossways and the short dimension fore & aft. That's partly because I have the OEM style sloping canvas enclosure which limits how far back I can go. I would make it 70" tall & use regular shower curtains instead of poly tarp material. Also use 3/4" PVC tubing & make the uprights in smaller sections so it can be taken down & stowed more easily. Have to figure some sort of base that can drain into the bilge through the finger hole in the floorboard, or just a pan that can be dumped overboard or to the bilge. Setting up something in the main cabin is out. I have to hunch over a bit & can't fully stand up straight as it is being that I'm 5' 10"+ and head room is 5'9".

campshower.jpg

I'm thinking this type of garden tank sprayer would work well, and this Walmart job is cheap, doesn't have to be a DIY conversion from a weed killer spray tank to a shower head, and has a nifty insulated carry bag.

reliance tank shower.jpeg

Besides, it would be handy as a heated water source for doing dishes, or even just hair washing instead of a full shower and for after swim rinse offs while standing on the swim platform. Solar shower bags could also be used to heat the water & just pour into the tank sprayer.

In other DA news, I spent yesterday afternoon removing the fresh water tank up in the bow for repairs. It sprang a leak earlier this year on our PNW cruise. What a chore to remove! Besides removing plywood panels over the tank, also had to remove the vertical panel that separates the anchor locker from the rest of the cabin, which also entails removing the side shelving. Turns out the front end of the tank extends a few inches into that anchor locker space, and there's a plywood bulkhead right up against the back of the tank that's glassed in and can't be removed. So the tank has to be lifted up vertically instead of tipped up. In any case it's a good excuse to clean the forward bilge and the sides of the front cabin while everything is apart. The leak appears to be a small crack next to the outlet at the back of the tank which should be fairly easy to repair. Also a chance to sanitize the whole system. Still pretty warm in these parts, yesterday got up to 97* & was close to 100 inside the cabin even with everything opened up. Today looks to be cooler, only up to 83. But we'll still be in the 80s with a couple days brushing up against 90 over the next 10 days.