The Simpler Pleasures in Life
16 September 2014 | 36 57.59'N:122 00.95'W, Santa Cruz, CA
Mark
Just thinking about taking a shower fills me with anticipation! Early today I made the plan, and all through the day as we walked around Santa Cruz, I was bubbling with anticipation!
The suppressed city dweller in me realizes how ridiculous this is, but for the cruiser in me, it makes complete sense. At home, you drop your clothes and turn on the water.
On a boat, it is a little different. First, we need to plan ahead and make sure that we've made water so that there is enough water for a comfortable shower, without running out of water for other critical tasks like cooking and flushing our fresh-water heads. Since we make water at 12 gallons an hours and don't make water in a dirty or silty harbours, sometimes this thought needs to be a day or more in advance. Hot water would be nice, too, wouldn't it? That means either running an engine for an hour, or in our case, turning on the diesel hot water heater 30-60 minutes in advance.
Finally, after much preparation, it is time to shower. The delicate balance then begins between really enjoying the shower and not using too much water. Of course, if one of us showers then it is essential that the other showers as well! We need to take into account that a boat hot water heater is about one tenth the size of a home water heater.
Complicated, eh? That is exactly why the simple act of having a shower is so much more satisfying on our boat!
I could extend this train of thought to many other thingsÉ such as the ice cream in our freezer which needs to be in exactly the right position to not completely melt. Using up many valuable & scarce battery amps to make a piece of toast, Or, clean sheets. Even though we are spoiled with a combo washer-dryer on the boat, laundry is an incredibly slow process.