WC Privacy

I had a westerly pageant. much better heads set up than my contessa 26 - solid door and enough room for a non contortionist human to use it without developing lumbargo or a hernia. The pageant is basically a mini centaur - I liked mine a lot, it was very spacious inside for its size. I'd rather have a fulmar though!
 
A bit of thread drift, but I agree with the OP that a toilet in the same area as the sleeping area is less than ideal, it put us off many boats. We found one with a seperate heads compartmnet, it's amazing how much a bit of plywood makes the difference when it comes to comfort and decency. We are doing a full refit and are rebuilding the heads completely, part of this will include sound insulation on the bulkheads. It maybe completely unecessary to many, but happy wife = happy life
:)
 
Peeing over the side seems to have gone out of fashion. It used to be common to see blokes leaning in the lee rigging with calls from the crew "is the water cold?" Rarely seen recently.
Regarding heads doors, I heard a tale of someone getting trapped when the crew wound on lots of backstay and the deck compressed, jambing the door.
 
My Spring 25 had an acceptably sized compartment. You did have to decide whether to go in forwards or to reverse in. Not enough headroom to stand and pee but what kind of antisocial psychopath would stand and pee in a small boat heads compartment. If you don't want to sit, then kneel. Only possible exemption is for the person who does the cleaning.
Re:- number 2s, I think the paper is more of an issue, so Greek loo rules at all times.. Also , transparent tubes so people pump until it's all gone
 
The distribution of faecal matter from a standard flushing toilet can be from 3m to 5m depending on the force of the flush, probably less on a small boat with a manual flush pump which would be reduced further by a vacuum type loos such as a Lavac. A small heads without any door is a health hazard, even more so if the user has to walk to a sink to wash hands. Imagine resting your weary head on a shared fore cabin cushion that has been sprayed with shit germs. :poop: boak city :sick:

Mind you as kids we used to bucket and chuck it on a Ruffian 22, and we all survived.

It could be worse

 
Halo said:
Be careful with solid toilet doors when single handed. The handle came off the inside of mine and I pushed the spindle out when trying to put it back. I was locked in until the crew rescued me. The previous week I was single handed and if it had happened then it could have been very serious!!
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No need to close the door when you are singlehanded! No one else there to offend or dissaprove.
 
We deliberately bought our 32' Comanche catamaran for use as a committee boat because it had the forward starboard hull devoted as bathroom and toilet. Lots of space to disrobe, heating, hot water and privacy with a solid door.

Not necessary when we cruised as a couple but with 6 women aboard when running racing - great advantage/requirement.

Small boats cannot provide the niceties of home living.
 
Wansworth said:
The Nicholson 26 had a separate looup forward also the 28 foot pheon yachts cutter……name escapes me one was owned by FHackett of these forums.The we in the Nicholson 32 was too cramped in vho……Vancouver 27
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The standard 27 with the sail locker and toilet in the bow / fore cabin had a door that separated them from the saloon. The 274 which I had had a berth in the forecabin, a door and a separate heads complete with shower and washbasin also with its own door, it was a mini Vancouver 32.
 
Any boat is a set of compromises, and if you value WC privacy no reason not to prioritise it in your search for a new boat.
Muddy32 said:
Small boats cannot provide the niceties of home living.
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But we go sailing in part to get away from a home environment. Also, a small boat can't provide all the niceties (and I;'ve been on big boats that were more luxuriously kitted out than any home I've had!), but can provide some selection of them, according to the builder and purchasers' preferences.

Obviously inclusion of a separate w.c. compartment in a smaller boat is more challenging due to limited space and head height, but even though it is unusual under about, say, 26 feet, there are some smaller boats that have them.

My Samphire 23 had a fully enclosed heads compartment, which is one of the many advantageous features that led us to buy it. (There were at least 3 different layouts of the Samphire 23 (among the reputed only 12 or 13 boats built!). Ours had its heads adjacent to the companionway, the first boat built had its enclosed head centrally in the bow, facing aft and with berths either side, and some examples didn't have an enclosed head, IIRC. (The much more numerous Samphire 26s (and also 29s) typically had an enclosed head in a compartment between the saloon and forecabin (though again, there were variations in internal layout.)

The 20' Pearn Seadrift (available as either sailing or motor boats) had separate heads (centrally in the bow, facing aft, berths either side).

Then there's the mighty 😁 19' Mirror Offshore! (Separate heads only in the Mk1 version.) As far as I am aware that is the smallest production boat with a separate head, but wouldn't be too surprised if there were something smaller I hadn't come across.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
The standard 27 with the sail locker and toilet in the bow / fore cabin had a door that separated them from the saloon. The 274 which I had had a berth in the forecabin, a door and a separate heads complete with shower and washbasin also with its own door, it was a mini Vancouver 32.
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I thought the Vancouver 27with the forward loo almost perfect for a couple ……my finances never coincided with the opportunity to get one!
 
Wansworth said:
I thought the Vancouver 27with the forward loo almost perfect for a couple ……my finances never coincided with the opportunity to get one!
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I always thought that the standard 27 with the loo right up forward would be a bit bouncy in a seaway, ok perhaps if one was constipated. I prefer the heads closer to midships.
 
PetiteFleur said:
Consider a Moody 33mk2 - I'm biased as I have one! Centre cockpit with a separate toilet area with door. Also Moody Mk1, different layout with a full width toilet area. Depends on your budget, usually under £19,000.
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Or from the same yard, a Sigma 33. Solid door to the heads, solid build and sub £20k typically (there's one near me for sub £10k!)

I'm bias too, for the same reason ;-)

M
 
How have we got three pages in to a heads thread without one reference to the captain's log?

I always liked layouts with the enclosed heads occupying the bow compartment - not only is it relatively private and spacious with a big overhead hatch for venting, but it gets rid of that comfortless triangular excuse for a double berth.

Assuming I'm likelier to find myself in a much cheaper sub-20ft design, and excluding any probability of sailing with anyone other than SWMBO, I reckon a made-to-fit boom tent is a great help. Kitchen or bathroom activities ideally belong in the cockpit on so small a boat, but a carefully proportioned and enclosed boom tent can give privacy and proper space whether cooking or crapping (or both at once) 🤢.

At night, the cabin need not be made intolerable by the miasma that accompanies relief; meanwhile, if sailing, the "lavatarian" can take the portapotty or whatever receptacle, to the cabin while the other person steers and enjoys fresh air and the sound of the sea on deck.

Abysmal ventilation of cooking and w/c facilities (by design) has long made yacht accommodation less attractive than it might have been. Considering how ancient many designs are, and how easily and quickly a retro-fitted ducted ventilation system allows a change of air, it surprises me how content most skippers are with their stinky chambers of ease.
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