Black Panther 1,568 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I don't want a full size washing machine on board, always looking for a reasonable alternative - anyone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin McCready 83 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Haven't tried these, but my notes say try 1. "Wonderwash pressure washing machines" 2. in Oz one could buy a round plastic wheel device a tad larger than a football, which comes apart. Once half filled with water , suds and garments, then gets lobbed off the back of a moving yacht with a line secured through a central hole.Serrated ridges made it tumble according to boat speed and inside 10 minutes or so - one could pull it back on board and recover perfectly clean (but unrinsed) garments.3. I use a large bayonet locking lid/mouth waterproof duffel, fill with soap, laundry, water, add some hot, seal, blow up thru valve, rock back and forth on knee a few minutes, hang upand drain thru valve, remove and wring, repeat for rinse, use less thanthree gallons of water, does a weeks worth, takes 15 min, works as well as a’sputnik’ type ( IE very well) but stows a lot better. 4. We have a five gallon plastic bucket with a lid and one of thosepink colored plumbers plungers (not black). Or get a special plunger for handwashingWe cut a hole to fit the handle in the center of the lid. Put theclothes and a small amount of detergent inside, fill the rest withwater, put the lid on with the handle sticking through the hole andagitate for a few minutes. Now I'm beginning to think I would use a dry bag, fill it with water, soap clothes and shake. The real trick for me is the drying line. I learned on the Spirit of NZ that a line with small loops all the way along is brilliant. You make a cowhitch out of the loops and stick the corner of your clothes into the cowhitch - the wind pulls it tight. No pegs. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Black Panther 1,568 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Nice reply Kevin!!!! Do you have a photo of the duffel thing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wheels 543 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Those wonder wash thingies work really well. Not sure if the pressure they naturally build up has anything to do with it or not, but you do not have to rotate the thing for long to get a good wash. They are often seen on Trademe. But we bought a little electric thing, mainly because it was cheap $79, there were none of the wonder wash things for sale at the time and you could leave it to do it's task and it spun dry as well. I see them now with RRP up toward the $400 mark which is plain stupid rediculous and no where near worth it.However, now seeing what they consist of, (and price) I would make sometyhing in a spare locker in the Pilot house. All you need is a water tight compartment, a small Bilge pump to surge the wash water and tumble the clothes around, a drain to the Bilge or Holding tank and bingo, you have a clothes washer. No real need to spin dry. Oh and solves the3 only disadvantage of any of those other units. Storage space. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erice 732 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 http://smallboatprojects.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/wonderwash.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin McCready 83 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Sorry no pic. I cut and paste the info from a website years ago when I first started dreaming of voyaging. My feeling is that any water tight container will do. But if you use hot water and shake it, it can generate quite a bit of pressure (I cracked a one litre EasyYo Yogurt screwtop plastic container that way when I was washing up in hot water). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ed 143 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 If space is an issue get a scrubba bag. It's the dry bag mentioned above, with a washboard like surface on the inside, and also doubles as a dry bag. $70 at burnsco http://www.burnsco.co.nz/shop/shop/scrubba-wash-bag Can,t see it being overly efficient with water though Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The big T 40 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I use a 10 litre paint bucket and lid - handy as it doubles as a bucket! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.