Sailing and incontinence... My dream is to eventually sail away...but I wonder how deal with diapers while doing it.

[Raven801]

Just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this situation...granted I think the only option would be cloth diapers..... But my concerns go a bit further than that as a swim suit hides nothing and you would have to hang stuff up to dry which could be....not good LoL just thinking aloud.

 

[Edgewater]

My family and now just my dear wife and I have been sailing and dealing with my IC for well over 30 years onboard. Being in Port (harbor) is a bit difficult, but not impossible as most male shorts can be large enough to cover, add a baggy shirt and it all works.

Have used cloth diapers the vast majority of time. Washing while underway, the name escapes me at the movement, but it is a can of size with openings and fins that causes it to spin. Attach it to a dock line and drag it behind the sailboat works great. Drying under way is fast and also easy as one simply attach the diapers to the out-haul line that runs along the boom. The combination of being underway, natural wind and a fast drying time. Most all marines have a laundry and that handles things while in port.

Enjoying life onboard a sailboat is commonly 15 to 25 miles out in the Great Lakes where the powerboats are very near the shoreline to maybe 5 miles out.

 

[OnePiece]

It would depend on wether you are alone on the boat or family or a whole crew and where you are sailing.

 

[fleckothefennec]

I have owned and lived aboard sailboats my whole life, I currently have a truant 33 pilot house. I wear diapers during long trips. I just double bag them and stow them in a deck locker until I get to a place I can dispose of them.

 

[Edgewater]

Nice looking sailboat you have there fleckothefennec
Your wood looks great, clearly you keep on top of the natural weathering, which implies you are like the majority of the rest of use sailers, constantly busy! Also like you have a heater and your wind based power generator. Great tool for offshore sailing. Also appears that you are pre-rigged to shorten your main on demand.

We are Great Lakes (freshwater) sailors and do not shift between the Gulf and Great Lakes, but pull-out in the Winter. When the honey-do-list needs a rest, visiting the storage barn is a joy during the dark, cold winter in the Great White North.

 

[ParaRomeo]

Though I haven't been on a "sailing trip" or for longer than a day I really enjoyed it more so after doing it with the right equipment. Thought I think learned how to sail as a kid but honestly I forgot. Fortunately I was blessed I had opportunity to take a sailing class though and most sucked I learned a lot. It only sucked because one it was in NYC harbor & water ways & the boats were supposed to be modified for people like myself with disabilities and they weren't. I don't want to sound like a wimp and others have probably been rougher seas but compared to when I sailed in a slightly bigger boat but with proper equipment there is a huge difference when your not being tossed around ha. The issue is there aren't many adaptive boats.

As for diapers as long as you stay on board and don't fall in both could work ha. Jokes aside depending on your planning and vessel size I could honestly see using both. Like I remember watching something about sailing on utube few years ago and they were able to get somethings shipped to a Marina but because I plan for the worse I would just use cloth because I have a permanent black cloud(probably why I stay on land) but it would suck if you had bad weather & couldn't get into a port & needed diapers almost like a shipping delay/misplacement on land.

Follow your dreams, though I would start off small and work up to the big trip like a few shake down cruises to work out bugs it's sort of like going off grid camping I rather find out now I need......& Town is down the way vs being hrs away

 

[nappybaby]

i have a croatian boat drivers license and its great

 

[schooner]

As my avatar may suggest, I am a sailor too. Years ago I worked in experiential education at a school for gifted children with learning disabilities. I ran an active sail training program, teaching the kids to sail in sloops, and then once they were ready take them on a tall ship, week-long expedition voyage through the Channel Islands off the coast of California. It was an amazing experience and developed the kids socially and intellectually. I probably have as much underway time in schooners and brigantines as I do in sloops. Day trips in sloops were did not pose any problems for my used diapers as I never needed to change on board. Fortunately, as the senior educator and expedition leader I shared a cabin with the sailing vessel's captain and had all of the privacy I needed...just bagged my diapers and stowed them with the rest of the vessel's trash.

 

[Edgewater]

My experience is 100 % modern sloops. My early experience was on board IOR I ton class, with the last 30 years on /owning ultralights with a combination of crew class racing and shorthanded cruising the Great Lakes. As a result of my business travels, I have sail on a number of European boats as part of a weekend race from the far North to the South. Also a few Wednesday night racing.

There are times I marvel at the vast distances I have crossed both as part of night and daytime passages. I consider myself as one very fortunate sailer!! Sounds like you have had an equally great life! Moderate winds and a following sea good friend!!

 

[schooner]

My experience is 100 % modern sloops. My early experience was on board IOR I ton class, with the last 30 years on /owning ultralights with a combination of crew class racing and shorthanded cruising the Great Lakes. As a result of my business travels, I have sail on a number of European boats as part of a weekend race from the far North to the South. Also a few Wednesday night racing.

There are times I marvel at the vast distances I have crossed both as part of night and daytime passages. I consider myself as one very fortunate sailer!! Sounds like you have had an equally great life! Moderate winds and a following sea good friend!!

Thanks. I do have very limited experience racing that I had forgotten about. There used to be an organization in San Diego called Challenged America that paired able bodied sailors with severely handicapped sailors, usually wounded vets. I remember the group did have a true racing sailing vessel (can't remember what kind) and I was paired up with a blind man. This guy was amazing...he put Vicks Vapo-Rub on his cheeks that helped him determine the direction of the relative wind. I spent most of the race as "rail bait", but it still was a lot of fun.

 

[Teddy02]

As my avatar may suggest, I am a sailor too. Years ago I worked in experiential education at a school for gifted children with learning disabilities. I ran an active sail training program, teaching the kids to sail in sloops, and then once they were ready take them on a tall ship, week-long expedition voyage through the Channel Islands off the coast of California. It was an amazing experience and developed the kids socially and intellectually. I probably have as much underway time in schooners and brigantines as I do in sloops. Day trips in sloops were did not pose any problems for my used diapers as I never needed to change on board. Fortunately, as the senior educator and expedition leader I shared a cabin with the sailing vessel's captain and had all of the privacy I needed...just bagged my diapers and stowed them with the rest of the vessel's trash.

That’s wonderful. I have just been to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Tasmania, Hobart. 11 tall ships turned up and gave trips around the harbour in full sail, marvellous to see. Personally I have just built a 6 metre runabout (Chris Craft design from 1938/9). Difficult to change on that, but I have a 6 metre ’fizz’ boat and I change frequently on that especially after a swim.

 

[Raven801]

Wow just wow guys amazing stories....I feel extremely jealous..thanks for all the stories and input... sounds like if I had half The experience and knowledge as some of you id still be a hell of sailor.

 

[FLsolarSparky02]

I've done it before just provision plenty of supplies

 

[Joeysms]

Just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this situation...granted I think the only option would be cloth diapers..... But my concerns go a bit further than that as a swim suit hides nothing and you would have to hang stuff up to dry which could be....not good LoL just thinking aloud.

sailing cruising any travel just requires up front planning. knowing how long you will be gone and what your needs will be and what access you will have. the beauty of cruising you are not limited to what you bring on board. it is best to speak with the staff ahead of time about your special needs so they can assist and advise you. disposables are best for travel because it is not practical to laundry cloth diapers. all used diapers should be individually wrapped for disposable. if there is staff whether on a boat or hotel tip them well for the extra work. be respectful. if you are using air travel to get where you are going to sail check into drop shipping the supplies you need to your destination. keep in mind everything is doable when planned out.
when it comes to swimming that depends on the type of incontinences urinary or bowel or both. swim diapers are only truly need for bowel and you would have to find what works best over top. there are both washable swim diapers and disposable ones. it is easier for guys to throw trunks over top but i see nothing wrong with a woman wearing shorts and top to swim. if you are only urinary incontinence a swim diaper isn't needed.
have a great trip

 

[Raven801]

Well I'm still dreaming about it and I found a pretty cool boat that just might work out..... 3 years ago I was looking at 42 to 48 foot cats...then my health went to shit now I found a 36 foot mono hull with a trailer ....it has a swing keel and honestly it's the biggest trailerable sailboat I've ever seen ....you do have to get a over width permit to tow it but who cares there not expensive...the boat needs a lot of work but it's extremely cheap it's located in Houston Texas which is fantastic as my brother lives there and has a piece of property less than 30 miles from the ocean we might go in on it together and fix it up....I'm very hopeful even though the biggest boat I have sailed was a 22 foot and I'm very inexperienced.....but I figured there are a few places on the boat big enough for a washer dryer combo and if we were going out for extended trips I could always switch to cloth diapers...even if I washed them in salt water and final rinsed with fresh water....the boat does have a water maker and lots of solar ...I know it will take a lot of work but .....

 

[newt]

One time it was my stepfathers dream to sail around the world after he met my mother. But me and my stepbrother, Dale, accidentally crashed his sailboat while we were filming a music video for our company we wanted to form, Prestige Worldwide. It caused a huge problem and our parents eventually divorced and didn’t talk to each other until we fixed things at the Catalina Wine Mixer.

 

[Joeysms]

Well I'm still dreaming about it and I found a pretty cool boat that just might work out..... 3 years ago I was looking at 42 to 48 foot cats...then my health went to shit now I found a 36 foot mono hull with a trailer ....it has a swing keel and honestly it's the biggest trailerable sailboat I've ever seen ....you do have to get a over width permit to tow it but who cares there not expensive...the boat needs a lot of work but it's extremely cheap it's located in Houston Texas which is fantastic as my brother lives there and has a piece of property less than 30 miles from the ocean we might go in on it together and fix it up....I'm very hopeful even though the biggest boat I have sailed was a 22 foot and I'm very inexperienced.....but I figured there are a few places on the boat big enough for a washer dryer combo and if we were going out for extended trips I could always switch to cloth diapers...even if I washed them in salt water and final rinsed with fresh water....the boat does have a water maker and lots of solar ...I know it will take a lot of work but .....

sounds like a great project with a goal of wonderful adventures on the water. i am a strong believer everything is doable. salt water might may for a great washing agent. i hope to read about how it goes once to set sail

 

[Raven801]

I am now the owner of a 27 ft masthead sloop...its a older Watkins and needs some love but it's simple sail plan and very basic setup will make a fantastic boat to learn on
And the price was too good to pass up. The inside is in pretty good shape.... The outside well ... Needs a bottom job and has one small soft spot in the deck but a recore and some fiberglass work isn't a big deal and once that's done I'll paint the top deck and it will be a sharp looking little boat worth way more than I paid for it .... Going to change the through hulls and some other things and then I'm setting sail for the keys.... It's all very exciting doing the work in my condition will probably take way longer than it should but .... Any advice on anything boat or incon and sailing is always appreciated will be posting better pics of her soon

 

[Edgewater]

Looks like you have completed a ton of work!
Want is the name of the Manufacturer?

Nice Vang and Main Sail systems!

Enjoy!

 

[chamberpot]

I cheat and use diesel