LISTEN

We all know sanitary conditions are sometimes not the best on fishing boats, especially smaller independent vessels. With more pressure on fleets to stay cleaner amid the pandemic, the pressurized portable shower units from RinseKit are a good option for smaller boats without bathrooms.

RinseKit was originally designed by California surfer Chris Crawford, who wanted a portable post-surf shower to wash off the saltwater and sand before he got in his car to drive home. After an appearance on Shark Tank, the product took off with outdoor enthusiasts and sport fishermen, and provides a good alternative to solar showers for commercial fleets.

Two models, the RinseKit Pod and the RinseKit Plus, come with the same shower head with five settings, from the shower setting to a mist setting. The Pod holds 1.75 gallons of water and is a smaller, easily stowed unit for smaller vessels, while the Plus will hold up to 2 gallons of water and will run for five minutes on the center setting and mist for up to 10 minutes. The shower heads have a metal hook on the back to hang them, or act as a kickstand for hands-free use.

Adapters connect the RinseKit tank to a hose bib or sink faucet, and the tank takes on the water pressure from that hose or faucet up to 65 psi, pressuring in just 30 seconds. Fishermen, however, will likely want to fill the tank with still water and pressurize with it an accessory hand pump.

“With the Pressure Booster Pump, pressure will stay in the RinseKit Pro and Plus for up to a month. We have a lot of commercial fleet drivers who are on the road for five days or longer, and they use it to shower,” said Hailey Martinez, RinseKit’s director of sales and operations.

The tank can be filled with hot water, or the water can be heated with another RinseKit accessory, the Hot Rod Water Heater, a stainless immersion heater that plugs into a cigarette lighter and screws directly into both models.

Have you listened to this article via the audio player above?

If so, send us your feedback around what we can do to improve this feature or further develop it. If not, check it out and let us know what you think via email or on social media.

Brian Hagenbuch is National Fisherman's products editor, a contributing editor to SeafoodSource and a Bristol Bay fisherman. He is based in Seattle.

Join the Conversation