Heads / Sauna

[Owly055]

     It's feeling like winter here now, and I often come in well chilled, and wish I had a small room set up like a sauna to "cook the chill" out of my body.  I've considered doing this for years and I tend to work outdoors in all weather.    One thinks of a sauna as a recreational item, but it can have real value in raising your core temp when chilled.  I often resort to a hot bath for the purpose.
     I've  been thinking about the inevitable chill one gets sailing in less than nice conditions.... chill winds and spray, and even with the best foulies, it is inevitable that you will get chilled if you spend a lot of time at the tiller / wheel or on deck reefing, untangling lines, or whatever.  Not all sailing is in Florida and parts south.   Canada, Alaska, Norway, Southern Chile, etc, offer some of the most spectacular destinations in the world, but they are not warm.  Most of the cruising community tends toward the sunny isles, and warm waters, but I've even been chilled to the bone in Florida in winter.
     I've been around ranching a great deal, and calving is usually in the coldest part of the winter........ Everybody has a "calf oven" of some sort, for when they pick up a chilled newborn.   It's a life saver.

      It seems reasonable to me to have a "hot box" on a voyaging boat, especially one sailing in temperate (and intemperate) climes.   The logical space for this would be the heads compartment.   Small, so it could easily be heated to 100F or so with little fuel.... a mere 10 minutes of this is often enough.  Insulating the space, and providing a suitable heat source for the purpose seems like a worthwhile proposition.   Keeping the boat to a comfortable temp in the saloon and berths is great........ but not enough when you are badly chilled.   A berth might be another possibility........ small space is ideal for this sort of thing........ Perhaps just having an insulated curtain that can encircle the heating stove in the saloon could work well.
      Anybody have a strategy for this that they actively use??

                                                                                H.W.

           

[jotruk]

I am going to have to replace my head.  I have a porta pottey now and it is shot. I was planning on just replacing it but I think I will replace it with a msd version. does any one here have any experience with one of these? I so what brand and how hard was it to install and how well do you like it?

[CharlieJ]

I've got a Dometic MSD, plumbed for pump out. Had it since 2009. Zero problems

Edited-

when single hand I usually get 14-15 days between pumpouts. With two aboard probably 7. It is NEVER used for urine other than incidentally with other functions Also, it CAN be used as a regular porta potty, although I've never had to do so, other than in the Bahamas, where there don't seem to be any pumpout facilities

[Phantom Jim]

The only way to go simpler and cheaper would be a sawdust toilet in a 5 gallon bucket.  The Dometic Charlie uses is a nice setup.