Living Onboard Part5

Once a source of inconvenience and irritation, the shower is now all sweetness and light thanks to the modifications we carried out in last month's instalment. But as one problem is solved, it sometimes only serves to highlight another - and this one is all about washing as well.

Anyone who has stayed onboard for any extended period will be able to guess this one easily. That's right, it's the weekly clothes wash. On some marinas it's not a big hassle because a laundromat is handy, but even these can have their drawbacks - not the least of which is sitting around waiting for a machine to become available, then further waiting until a dryer is vacant.

Not long ago I spent over two hours on a wet day at the laundromat and left in a filthy mood, vowing to find some way to put a laundry station aboard. A laundry station, by definition, is a washer/dryer combination, and these are becoming much more common - especially on larger boats of 40ft and up. If I were in the market for a new ship this size I would insist on one, even if I weren't going to live aboard.

Think of the difference this facility contributes to boating enjoyment. A couple of days away on the boat no longer means packing heaps of clothing for all possible weather conditions and then returning with 10 dirty wash loads. Instead, all the clothes and linen can remain onboard, washed and dried on the last day and ready for the next visit.

If you live onboard the advantages are even greater. No time is wasted at the laundromat; washing can be done on a much more regular basis through the week; and, perhaps most importantly, the clothes seem a lot cleaner.

From a personal point of view, if you are living onboard in a marina, I don't think there is all that much advantage in having a washing machine without a dryer. Hanging the washing from the rigging is generally a pretty good way to get asked to leave and most marinas are paranoid about it. I'm on their side, as it does promote the 'Hong Kong' look and absolutely nothing is more guaranteed to get shore-based neighbours' noses out of joint!

Okay, so the well-designed laundry station should be able to wash and dry the clothes discreetly. Anything else? Obviously it must be as small as possible, and its power consumption needs to be within the capacity of the onboard generator for those times away from the marina. Finally, it should be located in such a place that it does not detract from the look of the boat. This last requirement is quite important to me, as I'm firmly of the opinion that living onboard should not mean converting the boat into a floating caravan. I go to a lot of trouble to avoid this.

POSITION, POSITION
When I decided to see whether the exercise was feasible, the first decision was where a laundry station could be fitted. Remember, my boat is only 32ft in length. I didn't want to sacrifice any of the interior space, so there were really only two places that it could be installed - the flybridge or the after deck.

At first the flybridge looked an attractive proposition, as there is an enormous amount of unused space up there. However, the fact that the unit would be out in the weather meant the construction of the cabinet would be expensive, and the plumbing and the wiring installation difficult. But the thing that really turned me off this location was the un-handiness of it all. Up and down the ladder with the washing did not appear to be much of a quantum leap from the laundromat, so it was back to the drawing board - or in this case, the after deck cockpit.

Sedan style cruisers such as mine often have a freezer or fishing tackle locker fitted against the after bulkhead. This is the case in many aft cockpit boats, regardless of whether they are planing or displacement craft. On my boat there was a small locker that was fairly useless, so this was the place I settled on as step one on the long path to a laundry station.

MARKET SURVEY
Next it was off to see what was available on the market. Ideally I wanted a combination washer/dryer unit. These are becoming popular for home use, as they are front-loading machines and don't use much water - but unfortunately they are big and, surprisingly, extremely heavy. I was staggered to learn that all of those that I looked at were over 80kg!

The reason is that the counter balance for the spin is usually a great lump of cast concrete; its purpose being to stop the machine from 'walking' during the spin cycle. I wasn't prepared to put all that weight on one side of the boat; after all, it's pretty much the same as having an average sized person standing there permanently and would only promote the problem of a list. Scratch combination units.

Small washing machines are not all that common. Sanyo has a little twin tub, but when coupled with a dryer the overall size was too much. I had almost given up on the project when I came across what appeared to be just the right thing. The washer is a Lemair and goes by the model number XQBM20-C - I guess the smaller the machine the bigger the number! Its dimensions are 425mm wide by 416mm in depth, and a height of 698mm. It has a plastic exterior and weighs just 17.5kg. Furthermore it is fully automatic, has a choice of three cycles and draws only 260W.

Of course the downside of all this is that the wash bowl is small - tiny, in fact. Two sheets and that's it, fully loaded. However I didn't think this would be a big problem; it just meant the weekly washing would now be spread over three or four loads. So I took the gamble and bought it. It retails for $299. Everything about the washer was a delight from an engineering point of view, and a high level of manufacturing quality was evident. The only jarring note was the instruction manual, which is about as bad as these things get. Here's one particularly hilarious tip: “The slantiong angle for the propping side can't exceed 2 at most”. But then I suppose everyone knows how to operate a washing machine - and who reads the instruction book anyway?

Selecting a dryer was much easier, simply because they are all pretty much the same size and quality. In the end I settled for a Hoover and went for the stainless steel bowl, which was an extra $30 on the $317 purchase price -but I felt it was worth it.

BUILDING THE CABINET
The first thing I did to both appliances was replace any exterior screws with stainless steel; then I removed the covers and applied a liberal spray of heavy-duty electrical anti-corrosive spray over the electrical connections. I wasn't overly concerned with corrosion, as I intended to make a cabinet for both these items that would totally enclose them from the elements.

I wanted the cabinet to have a flat surface on the top, as it would be used for the barbeque and as a serving area when eating on the after deck - but this top would have to be hinged to allow access to the washing machine, as it is a top loader. The dryer is front loading, so this would require a door in the front as well. The resulting design is shown in the photographs.

To make the cabinet, I purchased exterior grade 10mm plywood, as it has waterproof glue. Marine grade is only necessary if the plywood is to be immersed. After measuring both items I drew a plan of the parts, and these were cut out on a panel saw. If you are thinking of doing the same but don't have access to a panel saw, buy the plywood from a cut-to-size specialist, as the accuracy of the pieces will make a big difference to the finished product.

The plywood was joined using epoxy glue applied to the end grain, and held in place with 6 gauge (3.5mm) countersunk stainless steel screws. I drilled a 2.5mm pilot hole into the end grain of the timber to prevent splitting. This method of joinery produces a cabinet of sufficient strength and has the added advantage that none of the interior space is taken up with cleats or grounds, which is important when trying to keep the cabinet as small as possible.

When the glue had cured, the whole of the exterior was sanded to produce a smooth surface, which was necessary as I intended to laminex the outside. The interior surfaces were coated with a thick coat of polyester resin to prevent any problems that may arise from rot.

As I've mentioned before, rot is caused by a fungus that thrives in damp conditions - but that damp must have been caused by fresh water, because saltwater kills the rot fungus. By painting the interior with resin, the timber would be well protected.

Two feet made from treated pine, which had been dressed, were screwed to the base and these, with the base, were given a coat of resin.

For the exterior surfaces, I used a good-quality matte laminex and cut each piece to approximate size. Contact cement was sprayed onto the exterior surface as well as the laminex and allowed to touch dry. Sticks were placed on the glued surface and the laminex lowered onto these. Because the glue is touch dry, the sticks will not bind to the glued surface. When the laminex was accurately positioned, the sticks were removed and the two glued surfaces contacted each other for a permanent bond.

The laminex was trimmed to the exact size of the plywood using a trimming router. The end grain of the plywood was covered with thin strips of teak trim, epoxy glued and held in place with small stainless steel panel pins.

The teak and white laminex matches the style of the exterior of my boat and blends in nicely. In fact, when the cabinet was installed, many people were surprised to learn that it contained a washer/dryer combination - most assumed that it was a fishing tackle cabinet.

INSTALLATION AND OPERATION
The inlet water plumbing was connected in a similar manner to that used in a house. I already had a freshwater tap in the cockpit, and the drain runs to the holding tank. I installed a power outlet nearby, with an earth leakage detector as a safety precaution - and that just about completed the installation.

I have not screwed the cabinet's feet to the deck because it has not shown any inclination to move as yet, even after several trips across Moreton Bay. However, for offshore cruising I think this would be necessary.

In operation, the washer is extremely quiet.

In fact, it is necessary to lift the lid to make sure it is still working. Water usage is moderate; the instruction book claims a maximum usage of 60lt when high level normal procedure is selected, and I think this is correct. You must remember that it's an automatic washing machine, and it will make an impact on the water storage. If cruising around, I would only use it when there was plenty of water available.

It does a fine job of cleaning clothes - and that, after all, was the purpose of the whole exercise. Power consumption is miserly; it will operate quite happily off my inverter - which surprised me, as inverters are not generally good at starting inductive motor loads.

The dryer is also a runaway success, although it has to be used with an eye on what else is operating onboard - circuit breakers tend to pop, otherwise. But this is a minor nuisance all boaties put up with, as the modern equipped boat really needs power far in excess of what the average marina can supply. I suppose this will be addressed one day - meanwhile I have overcome the problem by waiting until I go to bed to switch on the dryer. When morning comes, all the clothes are dry and ready to be put away.

Total cost of the project was nearly $800, and I think that's reasonable. Remember, if you're paying $10 a week to wash and dry your clothes and linen in a laundromat, the capital outlay will be recouped in a year and a half.

More important to me is the sheer convenience. The laundry station makes living on board just that much more enjoyable, and isn't that what it's all about?