Space under a NB floor.??

[W+T]

I am fitting a wetroom in a NB and instead of cutting a test hole thought I would first ask here. 

It is a 38 foot NB and was wondering what the height would be if it is a standard under the ply floor ?

?

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, W+T said:

I am fitting a wetroom in a NB and instead of cutting a test hole thought I would first ask here. 

It is a 38 foot NB and was wondering what the height would be if it is a standard under the ply floor ?

?

I suspect the answer is "depends upon the builder ad customer specification".  Often base plate to underside of floor is 3 to 4 inches so bricks can be laid face down. A tall person may specify a lower floor level to give a greater head room. This often links to a 12mm or more base plate.

 

If you remove ballast how will you retrim the boat?

[W+T]

2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I suspect the answer is "depends upon the builder ad customer specification".  Often base plate to underside of floor is 3 to 4 inches so bricks can be laid face down. A tall person may specify a lower floor level to give a greater head room. This often links to a 12mm or more base plate.

 

If you remove ballast how will you retrim the boat?

Ah well that's what I waa expecting. 

 

I was thinking on using o e of these 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F402309488370

Mite just have to go with a gulper. 

The ballast i need to remove is very little and you couldn't tell. 

 

Thanks kida ?

 

[Tony Brooks]

7 minutes ago, W+T said:

Ah well that's what I waa expecting. 

 

I was thinking on using o e of these 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F402309488370

Mite just have to go with a gulper. 

The ballast i need to remove is very little and you couldn't tell. 

 

Thanks kida ?

 

 

You have had a lucky escape. We must have hundreds of topics on here saying how unreliable, leak prone and high maintenance those bilge pumps in a box are. Fit one and you will wish you had not until you ft a gulper. Fit a gulper and frget about it.

[koukouvagia]

49 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

You have had a lucky escape. We must have hundreds of topics on here saying how unreliable, leak prone and high maintenance those bilge pumps in a box are. Fit one and you will wish you had not until you ft a gulper. Fit a gulper and frget about it.

I agree that the pump on these boxes is pretty dire - prone to clogging etc.  However, I've used, with no problems whatsoever, a sump box with just a float switch.  The waste water is pumped from the box via a Gulper.  This means that the shower, the sink and the washhand basin need only one hole in the hull. 

 

Long before these boxes were on sale I made my own .

[Sea Dog]

On 09/12/2020 at 14:39, koukouvagia said:

This means that the shower, the sink and the washhand basin need only one hole in the hull. 

Each to his own, but in a narrowboat where the through hull fittings are always 10" or more above the waterline, a hole for each doesn't phase me. However, a difficult to access sump box with 3 inputs and one output which fills with water and could well sit with a level of stagnant water in it between uses does make me uneasy. I'd prefer the shower straight into a gulper. As I say though, each to his own.

[Tony Brooks]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Each to his own, but in a narrowboat where the through hull fittings are always 10" or more above the waterline, a hole for each doesn't phase me. However, a difficult to access sump box with 3 inputs and one output which fills with water and could well sit with a level of stagnant water in it between uses does make me uneasy. I'd prefer the shower straight into a gulper. As I say though, each to his own.

Its the propensity for small centrifugal (bilge) pump impellers to block with hair and scum that bothers me as well as the stagnant water.

[Slim]

On 09/12/2020 at 14:39, koukouvagia said:

I agree that the pump on these boxes is pretty dire - prone to clogging etc.  However, I've used, with no problems whatsoever, a sump box with just a float switch.  The waste water is pumped from the box via a Gulper.  This means that the shower, the sink and the washhand basin need only one hole in the hull. 

 

Long before these boxes were on sale I made my own .

That's just what I was going to say, apart from the fact that my sump was made by Whale.

[Captain Pegg]

I’ve just removed a sump box that was prone to failing and over-flowing. It’s really not been good for the state of my baseplate. Whale now make one piece moulded grey water waste tanks with a sealed-in (but removable) electronic sensor linked to a Gulper that can be fixed to the outside of the tank.

 

The whole lot is more expensive than the basic float switch sump and pump models at  upwards of £250 for an 8 litre tank and pump but for me that’s well worth it if it doesn’t leak.

 

The problem I’ve got is that all three of my grey waste outlets go via one sump to a single outlet and to drill more skin fittings would mean removing things that don’t need removing in the galley.

Edited December 10, 2020 by Captain Pegg

[matty40s]

....and you really don't have much gunnel height to play with do you.

[Captain Pegg]

8 minutes ago, matty40s said:

....and you really don't have much gunnel height to play with do you.

No, which is probably why it was done like it was in the first place. 
 

And it’s another thing that’s under the rear bunk. It can also add to the smells when it fails. ?

Edited December 10, 2020 by Captain Pegg

[BWM]

On 09/12/2020 at 13:18, W+T said:

I am fitting a wetroom in a NB and instead of cutting a test hole thought I would first ask here. 

It is a 38 foot NB and was wondering what the height would be if it is a standard under the ply floor ?

?

Depending on the age of the boat it could be worth investigating the thickness of the flooring, if only to gain extra headroom. I've seen more than one which had a floor akin to a timber lasagne, at a cost of inches which would be useful to a shower installation. 

10 hours ago, Slim said:

That's just what I was going to say, apart from the fact that my sump was made by Whale.

Do you have to clean the solid state swich periodically? Mine gets a soapy film every so often and the pump starts running continuously. 

9 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

I’ve just removed a sump box that was prone to failing and over-flowing. It’s really not been good for the state of my baseplate. Whale now make one piece moulded grey water waste tanks with a sealed-in (but removable) electronic sensor linked to a Gulper that can be fixed to the outside of the tank.

 

The whole lot is more expensive than the basic float switch sump and pump models at  upwards of £250 for an 8 litre tank and pump but for me that’s well worth it if it doesn’t leak.

 

The problem I’ve got is that all three of my grey waste outlets go via one sump to a single outlet and to drill more skin fittings would mean removing things that don’t need removing in the galley.

See above, worth ensuring easy access. 

[Slim]

2 hours ago, BWM said:

Depending on the age of the boat it could be worth investigating the thickness of the flooring, if only to gain extra headroom. I've seen more than one which had a floor akin to a timber lasagne, at a cost of inches which would be useful to a shower installation. 

Do you have to clean the solid state swich periodically? Mine gets a soapy film every so often and the pump starts running continuously. 

See above, worth ensuring easy access. 

I picked mine up, new, at a boat jumble for about £40 a good 10 years ago. It came with a normal float switch and a small Whale pump. I took the pump out and used an external Gulper controlled by the float switch. That used gum up with hair, soap etc. Replaced it with a solid state switch  which was worse. (it still had a float to sense water level)  Now reverted to a bog standard float switch which I routinely clean. My set up has a 2 way switch in circuit , Auto/Manual, as a fall back. The sump also serves the hand basin so is essential. 

[koukouvagia]

As has been said, easy access essential.  I've made this little trapdoor in the bathroom.  I've also got a manual override switch in case the float gets stuck but it never has yet.

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by koukouvagia