The showers on Kuma Too were almost a deal-breaker for us when we bought the boat. Kuma Too has wet heads - that means the shower area is the bathroom. After we viewed a smaller (not as nice) boat with separate showers, I turned to Joe and scoffed, ‘are we seriously letting showers come between us and our dream.’ With that realization, we put in an offer (click here to read about when we bought Kuma Too) on our dream boat, Kuma Too.
Many are intimidated by wet heads and wonder how they actually work. So let’s shower together!
As not to waste any water, I plug the sink drain and wash my face. With the nozzle trigger depressed to sprayer mode, I quickly wet my hair allowing the rest of the water to run into the basin and drain hidden below my feet. I turn off the water and set the sprayer back in its cradle. I lather shampoo in my hair before again quickly rinsing it out. I apply conditioner and rinse my hands in the collected sink water.
With the sink basin full of the collected warm water, I wet my loofah and add soap. I suds myself with soap then shave my legs (in case you guys want to try it). No need to waste water or additional soap/shaving cream since you’re already soapy and have water in the sink to rinse the razor. The toilet makes the perfect pedestal for my foot, so there’s no contorting in the smaller space.
When I rinse, I spray the water on my hair to wash out the conditioner and allow gravity to rinse the rest of my body. There’s no point in wasting water to rinse my body since the soap gets washed away as I spray the conditioner out of my hair.
Now that I’m done showering, I need to drain the basin. A drain button behind the sink pumps the gray water out the bottom of the boat. This is another reason why it is so important to be conscious of the products we use on board.
I have turned the water on 4 times during my shower and used about 1.5 gallons. Whether I’m on a boat with wet heads or separate showers, I still use this method to save precious water. The only difference is the separation of the toilet and sink and a fixed sprayer. Wet heads encourage guests to conserve water by not giving them the opportunity to forget to turn off the water with a separate sprayer.
There is always the option to take a sailor's shower too - jump off the boat, climb out, lather soap, jump back in, then use the fresh water shower on the transom to rinse the saltwater off. Saves the most water and is fun!
The storage in the heads on Kuma Too is enclosed behind the sink, so toiletries stay dry. The towels hang behind the door and/or toilet, so the angle of the spray does not wet the bath towels either.
Although Kuma Too is not 5-star resort with rain-shower sprayers and a Jacuzzi tub, we do have a 5-star view! To learn about charters on board Kuma Too, visit www.SailingKumaToo.com
Until next week, Happy Sailing!
