Low profile shower tray

[plato]

Planning my new fit out and I have been looking at low profile shower trays. (30mm  deep)

I’ll be fitting a whale water pump which delivers 11litres per minute and a whale gulper waste pump which can extract 14 litres per minute. So on paper no problem. 
my question is has any body got a low profile shower tray on their boat ? 
And does it work satisfactorily? 
only thinking of it on aesthetic grounds. 
once it’s fitted it would be a nightmare if it didn’t work. 
any real world experiences please ? 
 

[GUMPY]

I wouldn't use a low profile shower tray in a boat. I have one at home but that has a 40mm waste that drops 8ft immediately after the trap so drains fast.

[pearley]

Ours is pretty low. Tapers from about 15mm depth at the high end to about 25mm at the drain hole in the opposite corner. The overall height of the tray is about 50mm. Once or twice I've forgotten to switch the pump on but soon realise when my toes get covered. 

 

We too have a Whale Gulper 

Edited November 17, 2023 by pearley

[GUMPY]

Luckily on Loddon we had a hip bath, went away for a couple of days or so  and when we got back there was 10 litres of water in the bottom of the bath where the shower had been dripping and the accumulator had emptied its contents.  The pump was off but the accumulator is big, it  takes 2 minutes of pump running to pressurise  😎

[booke23]

55 minutes ago, plato said:

Planning my new fit out and I have been looking at low profile shower trays. (30mm  deep)

I’ll be fitting a whale water pump which delivers 11litres per minute and a whale gulper waste pump which can extract 14 litres per minute. So on paper no problem. 
my question is has any body got a low profile shower tray on their boat ? 
And does it work satisfactorily? 
only thinking of it on aesthetic grounds. 
once it’s fitted it would be a nightmare if it didn’t work. 
any real world experiences please ? 
 

 

Yes, my boat has a low profile shower tray with a whale gulper. It was fitted by the original owners and wouldn't be my choice, but it works absolutely fine. I'd have to measure it's exact depth but it's certainly around the 30mm mark. 

 

The only issue is this - With a conventional shower tray in the event of a failure of the gulper pump, you could have a shower and allow the shower tray to fill and then bail it out afterwards. This would not be an option at all with a low profile shower tray....it would overflow very quickly with the pump not running. For this reason, if I was fitting out a boat I'd spec a deeper shower tray. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by booke23

[nicknorman]

A friend had a Hudson built with a low profile shower tray. I don't know what the depth was but I do know it was problematic with water spilling out when the boat tipped a bit. Maybe there was an installation issue, not sure, but I do know the owner regretted having it fitted.

[plato]

Ok, thanks for your swift replies. I’ll go for the deeper option. 
knew in my head it probably wasn’t the best but good to have it confirmed 

[Chewbacka]

I had a low profile tray because I could just fit the shower door between the low tray and the roof.  Never had a problem with it overflowing.

[blackrose]

On 18/11/2023 at 00:10, booke23 said:

 

Yes, my boat has a low profile shower tray with a whale gulper. It was fitted by the original owners and wouldn't be my choice, but it works absolutely fine. I'd have to measure it's exact depth but it's certainly around the 30mm mark. 

 

The only issue is this - With a conventional shower tray in the event of a failure of the gulper pump, you could have a shower and allow the shower tray to fill and then bail it out afterwards. This would not be an option at all with a low profile shower tray....it would overflow very quickly with the pump not running. For this reason, if I was fitting out a boat I'd spec a deeper shower tray. 

 

Yes that's the reason I wouldn't fit a low profile shower tray on a boat. The only advantage I can think of is that it gives you a few inches extra space to get a shower enclosure in if you need it. Otherwise a deeper shower tray is a better idea.

[MtB]

On 17/11/2023 at 17:12, nicknorman said:

A friend had a Hudson built with a low profile shower tray. I don't know what the depth was but I do know it was problematic with water spilling out when the boat tipped a bit. Maybe there was an installation issue, not sure, but I do know the owner regretted having it fitted.

 

I'd suggest he was using a shower curtain then, rather than a shower enclosure. An enclosure has a bottom rail (sealed to the shower tray) which would prevent water spilling if/when the boat heels a little. Or even a lot. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by MtB
Clarify.

[nicknorman]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

I'd suggest he was using a shower curtain then, rather than a shower enclosure. An enclosure has a bottom rail (sealed to the shower tray) which would prevent water spilling if/when the boat heels a little. Or even a lot. 

 

No it has a door, but I think the seals are only designed to prevent water drops falling from above getting out, not a wall of solid water trying to escape. The boat was sold recently and I found a pic online… hardwood floor probably makes it more critical.

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by nicknorman

[pearley]

Certainly the bottom rail of our enclosure is sealed to the top of the tray so gives an extra 45mm of depth.