Dishes: Wash on board or disposable?

[Beam's Reach]

We've been washing dishes and cultery on board but I've noticed other boaters just using paper plates and plastic cutlery. We've only been doing 2-3 day trips so far and since I still haven't decided on a barbecue, we've been doing mostly sandwiches and other cold foods so it hasn't been much of a problem yet. I hate the idea of more trash going to the landfill, but I also hate doing dishes on board and dumping soapy water overboard. What do others do?

[Beam's Reach]

The spray bottles are a great idea, Moe. We've never even filled the bladders under the sinks...can't stand the thought of drinking water out of one of those. Should probably just get rid of the to free up space or maybe just use them for rinse water.

We just use a large picnic jug with a spigot. I think I'll buy a few spray bottles and keep then handy in the galley and the head. That reminds me that I read on another thread a while back about using one to help flush the porta pottie using less water than pumping. Thanks.

[mike]

We use a mix of both... mostly disposible (donning flame-proof suit now), but sometimes regular dishes/cups too.

When we do use the non-disposible stuff, my wife likes to use "Dawn Wash & Toss" wipes. These come in a little plastic tub like baby wipes, and can be used to get the dishes mostly clean so that the material discharged into the water is kept to a minimum.

--Mike

[Tom Spohn]

We are using regular dishes and cutlery. First we wipe the plates with a paper towel to get as much residue off and into the trash as possible. Then we wash with a handled sponge in a very small amount of water and biodegradable soap we get from REI. After heating some water in the teakettle we pour a small amount over the dishes in the sink to remove the soap and dry with a chamois.

Don't know about your end of Canada, but in the Gulf Islands trash disposal is sometimes a bit challenging as the marinas don't all offer trash receptacles, or limit the amount you can dump, or charge for it. Aside from that we are backpacking tree-huggers and try to limit the amount of paper we use.

[Gerald Gordon]

Wash dishes...Good God! Paper plates and everything. Dat be da way, matee.

[Sloop John B]

Most we can get out is two or three nights.

Get the nice thick 'paper' plates that don't 'bend' and spill beans all over your crotch. Get regular knives and forks, we bring our own to ding bat neighbor's places that provide the white plastic for their outdoor 'picnics'. Can't stand them.

Have a big black plastic bag to stash this stuff. And if you can't finish your beef stew, cole slaw and beans, scrape it off into the salt water while out at sea, and screw the environment. But no Styrofoam or aluminum cans and other stuff that wont absolutely disappear. Okay?

[Chip Hindes]

We wash our regular dishes and utensils with water dipped out of the lake or ocean and a few drops of lemon Joy in the bucket, or one of those disposable dishcloths with bult in soap. When we use the disposable dish cloth, we put it in a plastic bag and save to use again. One of these will last two or three meals. We then rinse once with sea/ lake water, rinse again with a small amount of fresh water and dry with a real dish towel. Usually cold water works fine.

We believe if it's clean enough to swim in, it's clean enough to wash dishes, as long as it's followed by the clean water rinse.

[Idle Time]

We keep both on board. We found out early on that paper plates and cups just created more trash to stash. We use Corelle plates that wont break. Plastic seems to hang on to the grease. I used the spray bottle in the truck, guess I need to put one in the boat. Oh...my husband also washes dishes. We share the chores.

[richandlori]

While on our Channel Island trip in July, we used our Wal-Mart cheap plates and utinsels. I can also attest to the LARGE amount of trash that can be generated in two night and three days out at the island. I thought we needed to pull along a dingy just as a trash barge

We also use some biodegradable dish soap and a small scrubber brush.

We also had plenty of water in our 33gal tank for all the dish washing and warm water rinsing of the kids that we wanted. The Zodi Hot water heater is a must for sandy kids!!!!

Rich

[McSkipper]

FYI,
According to oldest child who majored in Rest. & Hotel Mgt., cold water is needed to rinse off soapy water, not hot water.

[Scott]

Everything that can be disposable is disposable on our boat. plates bowls cups knifes forks spoons lighters diapers (kids r grown so I dont really have these.) we even pre cook and reheat in tin foil as opposed to using pots and pans

For the eco croud, we do wash our spatula and tongs

[kmclemore]

The Zodi Hot water heater is a must for sandy kids!!!!
Rich

Hey, I'll go you one better on the sandy bodies issue... try using baby powder. Really - it works superbly! If you have sand on you, or your kids do, just puff a little baby powder on the area, give it a brush with your hand, and the sand will literally just drop off you. I know nobody will believe me till they try it... and once you do, you'll never rinse again... leaves you nice and dry and your Admiral will like how you smell, too. Saves oodles of water, too.

[Mark Prouty]

Washing dishes? Aint that what dog tongues are for?

[RandyMoon]

I agree with Admiral Prouty. But Moe is going to get after me for not posting this as a mod... we we have installed an automatic dish washer on Rhapsody to handle our plates and utensils. Plus the same mod provides a security warning system and provides an alert if JetSkis and other obnoxious loud distractions are approaching. If a bird approaches the boat with the intent of depositing waste materials, this mod will drive the offending bird away. If it is a cold night, this mod will keep you warm. We have two of these devices installed on Rhapsody. You gotta love a face like this.

[Moe]