You can tell when you are on the cusp of becoming a long-term cruiser when we deal with laundry.   Anyone can pack for a week and then drag everything back home to the automatic washer and dryer.    When you go for a week however you may want to wash, or dry items.  There are a number of things you can do to make this sustainable. 

            Clothesline

Put a clothesline up before you need it. It should be rigged in a space that will be protected from the rain and has good air circulation. This could be inside the cabin or better yet within the bounds of your cockpit cover.  We rigged ours on the second day of the weeklong cruise this year and never took it down. Even without rain there were always towels and bathing suits that needed to be hung up.

            Laundry hamper

Having a place to put things that really do need more than just drying is essential. It could be a redundant sail bag or other container but should be in a ventilated area and not too large. When it is full there should not be too many articles of clothing. This way you can hang them all on your clothesline after a wash.

Stain Remover/detergent

The unofficial uniform of a cruising sailor is torn jean shorts and a dirty t-shirt! Boats can be dirty places. How many times have I had to jump into the engine room or had to take apart the holding tank system? You are going to get stains!  Always carry some stain remover that you can spray onto your hat or shirt or anything else that finds itself so befouled. At the very least do this, let it stand for a while and then rinse it off and toss it into the hamper. Tide pods are a really great way to carry detergent around so long as you can keep them from moisture.

Bucket and plunger/washboard

A trip to a laundromat is going to happen at some point. You do need to remember that when you do this you will be rowing your laundry ashore and then hiking to a place to do your washing. It is good to have a knapsack or a cart of some kind if you are going to transport anything more than a single load.   An alternative to this would be to have a bucket, plunger (not the same one you use in the head) and an old-fashioned washboard. With these implements you can do a reasonable job on a small load of laundry. Again, keeping the size of the load congruent with your drying lines!

Laundromats

Most marinas and yacht clubs have laundry facilities. These are often listed in the cruising guides for the area. It is always good to scope these out and find out if they do exist at the current time. The one in Douglas Harbour (at the gas station) is excellent and very decently priced. I am not sure that there is one in Gagetown nowadays. I know that there used to be. Something to check on since this is always a stop on the Martinon Cruise.