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I have always maintained that one can (must) live as well on a cruising yacht as he can onshore.
That ethic includes HOT SHOWERS.
There is nothing much better after a big day's sailing when one has been frazzled by the sun or encrusted with salt from sea spray than to have a hot shower.
Many think that is a luxury reserved for Fancy Forty Footers and bigger. Not so.
Hot Showers are a luxury that is affordable to even the most common of folk and 5 litres of warm to hot water is all that is needed to achieve it.
It is the delivery system that counts and this is one of the best I have seen.
I use an Aqueous 5L 12v Water heater on my fancy forty footer. 
Plumbs straight into the existing pressured water line. Takes 30 min to heat 5 litres. That works out about 7.5AH. 
Im with you Cisco
Ive been thinking along the lines of using the warmed water from the fridge compressor( which I don't own yet) and storing that in an insulated container when its shower time . Maybe adding to it ,via a pipe in the back of the stove like the old wood combustion stoves. If I was in cold climates' running though the back of the oven. There is lots of room behind the engine bay as long as its not to much weight.
That was one idea the other was roughly what you have there. There is a couple of camping solutions one was transfer heat from the engine it just had a quick coupler and basically used you bucket pumping it through the heat exchanger then to your shower head.
Whitworths also have a engine heat exchanger not sure what there results are like.
I do have a small 12 volt water pump for PC water cooling here, this spring and summer Ill experiment running it through some small black poly pipe coiled on deck see how much water temp I can get
I have a Glind heat exchanger under the bonnet of my 4Wd and while it can heat water at a continuous lower flow rate its kind of nice to circulate water into the likes of the 5 litre container to get it nice and hot :-) Its a simple system that is a heat exchanger hooked into the cooling system of the engine and a 12 volt pump - it makes my wife happy to go camping - just need to get the power point on the gum tree to cover the hair dryer needs !! LOL
I've got hot water plumbed to all fixtures on my 32 footer including the deck shower.
Hot water comes from the fresh water heat exchange connected to a 40lt holding tank, 20 mins running the motor and I've got very hot water
If you have gas on the boat and want something portable this would probably work 4x4equip.com.au/lighting/light-shower-pole/
Regards Don
Or for something a bit simpler heat some water up, put it in this, hang it off the boom, stand under it and let it flow out of the cockpit drains
Regards Don
I have a 20 litre heat exchanger off the engine fresh water cooling. 15 minutes on the engine and heaps of fresh hot water.
There used to be a gizmo which had a foot operated pump in a large bowl of warm water with a tube leading up to a perforated collar around your neck. You stand in the bowl of hot water and pump with your foot, the hot water flows out of the perforated collar back into the bowl, Very conservative use of water.
I used to eye my two devilishly bulbous, breast-like and lovely solar bladders at midday as they jiggled and harnessed the very nuclear power that flows through the universe. Mmm....hot water swinging from my very own boom like an ethiopian mother craft class. Alas....it was not to be. The water was fresh, warm n lovely, but the shower was of the cockpit variety, external, and fast.
just a friendly heads up,
generally, all gas water heaters need to be flued to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide into the cabin and potential 
.
if in doubt best to get it sussed
I like the type seabird has, as you do not have to wire up, provide gas or have the engine running to enjoy some hot water.
Are these still available from a manufacturer anywhere?
thanks
I dont mind it on my feet but i am not sure i want to shower in it again
Regards Don
HG02,
The problem with the Glind heat exchange it doesn't have a storage tank, meaning you have the run the motor for quite a while to get enough heat in the engine to heat the water.
They do work well a friends got one on his 4x4, they can make the water too hot so you need to be able to mix with cold water for a shower.
With the storage tank it continuously circulates water meaning by the time you anchor after a day sailing with some motoring in the am & pm you have enough hot water for a few showers and to wash up after dinner.
Nothing better than a hot shower after a swim at the end of a day.
If you search around you might be able to find a similar unit I found this unit from a Google search; www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=cyber-bridge-marine&e=com
Looking at the welds on my unit it looks to be custom made rather than a off the shelf item.
The two red hoses on the picture of mine circulate the coolant from the motor thru the HWS then back into the heat exchange on the motor. The other two hoses are cold water in hot water out.
I was thinking of the with worths glind unit plus a insulated tank but sea bird link looks good just add some insulation I have a space behind the engine bay which will fit a nice size tank just like that one and it would use far less hose connections and clamps with it all built it.
Just wondering which water pump works OK with hot water or does the pump push the water through the insulated tank water
