Hi- I feel a little silly still thinking potty thoughts-- sure seems as if I can hardly get my head out of the head. But here goes: (You're used to weird questions, right?)

I've read/heard that marine heads are so cantankerous that if space can be spared, a second one really is a very worthwhile investment for a tiny additional powder room, even if the usual two crewmembers think they could reasonably expect to take turns for a one-holer. What do you think? (I've got lots more fun places to spend that money, but I might be quick to change my mind if the only one tended to become out of service at the most inopportune times.)

Somewhere or other, you mentioned that five 'tickets' worth of toilet paper, the thin kind, was 'all anybody needs.' So, if we think we need considerably more than that on occasion to achieve the desired result, what happens? Do we risk plugging up the works and needing expensive and hard-to-find repairs? Do boaters rig up some sort of bidet-ish contraption for acceptable cleanliness, like a conveniently located kitchen sink sprayer, to help keep the paper problem within bounds? (My incorrigible spouse wisecracks that a large portion of the world does not feel the need for any TP. But I'm hopelessly lefthanded, which leaves me with a cultural dilemma in that regard.) Anyway, we hope to avoid mechanical difficulties-- and the time is approaching for us to figure on what sort of plumbing and water storage we'll want to make allowances for.

Also, we're planning on installing a shower only, no tub, either in a rigid enclosure, or with wraparound shower curtain. Leaning toward the former. We noticed that the campers' facilities at the famed Oshkosh airshow used a long-hosed version of the aforementioned kitchen sprayer, squeeze-lever-on-spray-head-for-warm-water gadget, which spouse thought worked brilliantly, a no-nagging way to cut his usual shower-'til the-hot-water's-gone to a bare 2 minutes. What do you think of that as a long-term houseboat-underway solution?

Thanks again!

A correctly installed and properly operated and maintained marine
toilet is not cantankerous...it's just not a household toilet and
shouldn't be considered to be one. That said, if you a powder
room on your boat, it's ok with me.



As for whether 5-6 sheets of TP is enough...have you ever tried it?
It's not nearly as skimpy as you think...plenty to accomplish the
purpose...much more is just "cushion" in your hand that serves no
useful purpose...it's not as if you're gonna fold it over and use it
again. If you feel the need for additional "cleanliness," use a wet
wipe...just don't flush it. What does being left-handed have to
do with it???



In the event you do manage to clog the loo, if you've flushed nothing
but what you've eaten and limited amounts of quick-dissolve TP, you
shouldn't need ANY repair...just a little patience while you wait for
the clog to dissolve on its own.



Or you could install a toilet that's capable of "swallowing" just about anything, even a tampon. Check out the Tecma:
Tecma, Marine Division



As for your shower...there's nothing wrong with a handheld sprayer if
that's what you want. Or you COULD learn to turn a normal faucet on and
off. (You were a sailor, and never learned how to take a "Navy
shower???") But
if it were my boat, I'd have a glass shower door, not a shower curtain.


peghall38750.8534490741

Thanks for the reassurance re: cantankerous vs. careful. I'm sure we can learn to deal with it appropriately... don't know why wetwipes never crossed my mind.

Yep, as a former backpacker and sailor, if need be, I can take a perfectly satisfactory shower with about two cups of water. My dear landlubber-boatwright didn't grow up with that philosophy, and gets to daydreaming as the hot water courses soothingly down his stiff old back. Of course, the first couple of times he finds himself miles from a dock, all over soapy, with no water left of any temperature, it might cure him.

Re: the problem with lefthandedness- It was just another dumb remark. It seems that in much of SE Asia and nearly all of the Middle East, the left hand is reserved for one non-plumbing-plugging purpose. That precludes a polite southpaw using her dominant hand for writing, eating, using tools, or waving to friends. The waste pipes in many areas are only about 2" in diameter, a military retiree noted, and Americans stationed in Muslim countries were forever clogging them with their wasteful western habits. Good thing this boat ain't headed in that direction.

Few people are aware that although the sewer pipes in the US are 4",
the discharge outlet in US household toilets is 2"...only 1/2" smaller
than the standard marine toilet discharge (Jabsco is the only mfr who
uses a 1" discharge, and even they finally began offering an "optional"
1.5" discharge fitting).



So the only REAL difference between household and marine toilets is the
way in which they flush...a domestic toilet relies on a siphoning
effect that PULLS bowl contents out of the toilet and into the sewer
pipe, where gravity then takes over. Marine toilets have pumps that
PUSH the bowl contents out of the bowl and through the piping. When the
pumping stops, whatever is in the piping stops moving. That's why it's
very important to flush long enough to move bowl contents ALL the way
to their ultimate destination (tank, treatment device, or thru-hull).



So I suspect it's not the SIZE of the piping in the Middle East that
clogs the toilets, but the DESIGN of both the toilets and the
plumbing...European toilets, which have a 4" discharge that reduces the
siphon "pull" (ever notice how much more slowly toilets in Europe
drain...that you often have to flush twice to clear the bowl?) coupled
with too little help from gravity.



Btw, contrary to popular belief, Sir Thomas Crapper did NOT invent the flush toilet.