Polishicebreaker Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 The time has come to think about taking a shower. I'm planning shower arrangements in my widebeam shell. is it normal practice to sink the shower tray between ribs. I have keelsons then ribs on top so would aim to go between top cross members and on top of keelsons. This would give me 70 mm between bottom of shower tray and baseplate. This would mean getting a waste trap to fit? I've seen it done with a standard waste trap and a whale gulper pump in another spot taking the water out. Anyone have any ideas or experience of this? Merci Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fizz Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 I guess it depends on available headroom. The waste connection will be easier if the tray is sat on the floor rather than setting between the ribs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deckhand Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 don't make the mistake that our boat builder made. ensure that whichever way the water runs is where you have the plug hole otherwise you will be swishing the water toward the hole with your feet !!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
system 4-50 Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 The gulper does not have to be below the level of the tray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Looking to the future when seals may degrade/fail I would position the shower tray in such a way that you have easy access to the fittings underneath so that you can see if they are leaking and replace stuff if necessary. Down between the ribs might give you extra headroom and look neat but it's going to be a pig to work on in future years 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Richmond Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 On my boat you open up a hatch in the outside wall from the bathroom, and get full access to the drain on the bath and the pump. It is all above floor level, but no reason why same arrangement shouldn't work if dropped down a bit. It's really good access, and definitely one of the things that said to me that it was going to be a well thought out boat, and made me want to buy her! If only it had've been sunk below floor level, then maybe I'd have glimpsed some of the water in the bilges and the underside of the floor turning to mulch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polishicebreaker Posted February 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Yes I was also thinking access underneath the outside wall could be good as I then I won't need to disrupt floor covering is in the bathroom which will probably be tiles. Also, can I use a standard waste trap with whale gulper or do I need something more specialist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Richmond Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 I lived on a boat where the waste trap was a plastic underbed storage box. Kind of gong show, but it's worked fine for at least three years (which is the extend of my knowledge) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springer Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Perhaps you don't need a trap.... If you use the hull for trapping the water in a welded open box with slats above for the shower base and automatically pumped via a 12v pump system..... Just a thought.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicknorman Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Don't do what a friend of ours did and fit a shallow shower tray designed for a fancy designer bathroom. It was so shallow that when anyone walked around and rocked the boat, the water sloshed over the side! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Why use a trap, just take the waste outlet to the pump inlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Ambrose Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 My vote is for having the shower tray on the floor, room underneath to get at trap/waste, had a underfloor tray on my previous boat and this is not as good an option as one sitting on the floor. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEngo Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 As said, you don't need a trap, just a waste connected to the pump. That is easier said than done sometimes. However, B&Q do a reasonably shallow combined waste and trap for big-hole modern shower trays, and which can be fitted from above. It's a fiddle, but basically you put the trap under the tray, lift it up to the tray with a bit of hooked wire and screw the waste down into the trap, then fit the grid bit into the waste. You can get the water grid out and most of the trap's "works" without any more dismantling so it's cleanable from above if needed and it could also be given the Bizzard Scotchbrite filter treatment if wanted. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Dave Hull has a fantastic shower installation on his boat with a 900mm tray and preformed sides. Perhaps he will post some images Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Mack Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 is it normal practice to sink the shower tray between ribs. Are the ribs far enough apart to get a sensible sized shower tray between them? On most boats the ribs are about 2 ft apart, so it wouldn't be possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polishicebreaker Posted February 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I have 550mm between ribs, I'm pretty skinny but that might be pushing it for a tray that narrow! This may have answered my initial question but its still good to get some info regarding waste and access, thanks! That's the ribs in my boat not my own ribs !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEngo Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Standard shower trays tend to be about 760/780mm square. Even the resin stone ones need a pretty well continuous support under them and most of the installation instructions suggest they should be bedded in sand-and-cement mixture, which is not helpful in a boat. If your supports are 550 mm apart then I would expect trouble unless you can get more coverage. Maybe sacrifice 18 mm of headroom and use some well treated marine or WBP ply under the tray. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul G2 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Most buildings are connected to either a sewer system or a septic tank. Both of those are sources of some pretty noxious gasses. To keep those gasses from entering the building, a "trap" is used to trap water in the drain line to block the gasses from passing. Your shower is not connected to any source of noxious gas, so you do not need a trap. Most shower trays are built to be installed on a floor. If you want to install the tray on framing, you'll need to find one with a reinforced floor. (Maybe that's the norm for the kind of trays you're looking at, IDK - but it's best to make sure.) Do yourself a favor and make sure that all of your plumbing connections have good accessibility. In the case of your shower, the only thing that might ever leak is the seal where the drain passes through the floor. It's a simple task to replace that seal (gasket/ washer) from the top, so it's worth your while to fiddle with the drain pipe and do whatever it takes to make sure that it is real secure directly under the hole in the shower tray. Good luck with your project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehull Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 A few photos of the shower pod we had made to fit to the shape of the side of our narrowboat. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEngo Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Looks good- who made it for you please? Was it essential to have colour-coordinated G-clamps? N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 It looks very good in the - er - flesh too Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalky Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 I used a shower drain intended for a caravan shower tray which I bought from CAK tanks in Kenilworth. It has no trap but exits sideways at 90 degrees. I attached this to a length of flexible pipe which goes straight to the drain pump and then from the pump to the skin fitting. never had a problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehull Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) We had it made by Wesley marine windows (Newark) There are many different coloured panels to choose from, they also supplied the whale gulpher pump and 90deg waste which comes with a non return valve that fits underneath the shower tray. The waste is self sensing so no need for a switch. This waste system only needs about 4" underneath the shower tray. The pump fits in the bottom of the pod under a removable panel and is very easy to fit once you plan out the pipe work. The shower trays come in different sizes and the cubicles in different heights (ours is 1600 high) If you need any more info feel free to ask. Dave ps the g clamps are an added extra, but only come in red and orange :-) Edited February 13, 2014 by davehull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileypete Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Some chandlers do an adapter to connect shower tray direct to pump, or the koi suppliers on Ebay have stepped hose tails with a plain 40mm end which will go into a normal shower trap. cheers, Pete. ~smpt~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peugeot 106 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Hi I'm thinking of installing shower tray and whale gulper pump (at the moment it discharges into bilge and uses bilge pump) . What stops the water from the outlet which is higher than the tray from draining back into the shower tray. I'm assuming the pump should be sited next to the tray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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