Setting up a shower on board - how?

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peter2407

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Newbie question - I am thinking of doing the liveaboard thing in a marina in the UK where there will be shore power and water available. I have mains power and a calorifier with an immersion heater. I also have a 110 litre fresh water tank supported by an electric pump. So two questions please:

What are the normal arrangements for filling and heating the water for a shower.
What are the normal arrangements for emptying said shower.

There is what appears to ge a disconnected electric bilge pump in the heads - would that normally go to the main bilge and then out?

I am trying to avoid the dark o clock traipse to the shower facilities.

Thanks in advance.
 
Unless you have a fully enclosed, plastic walled shower compartment I seriously suggest that you forget the idea. It is virtually impossible to convert a wooden compartment into a watertight and cleanable shower stall. Waste water needs to drain into a sump to be pumped away, again not easy to arrange unless already there. Our boat has a sump and some slight provision for waterproofing lockers and bulkheads but the only time we used it was a disaster.

Our shower arrangements are relatively straightforward thanks to Greek summer temperatures. We stand on the stern platform and let water run into the sea. We also have a shower curtain modified so that the cockpit can be curtained off. But no way would we shower in the boat again.
 
Just about the biggest problem with living aboard in the UK in winter is condensation. You may find you have to work hard to keep moisture down to an acceptable level. Showering on board is going to make this 10 times harder.

The walk to the showers is never nice in winter but you get used to it!
 
Thanks both. Vyv - the original set up of the boat (swedish) included a shower arrangement. The heads has a wooden grill above a small "bilge" where the (inactive) electric bilge pump is situated. I take on board both yours and martini's comments as the other concern for me is the Wallace blown air (paraffin heated but electrically fan powered) heating system which is in these heads. That said, if connected to shore power I would be more inclined to use an oil filled electric radiator.
 
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You can freshen up surprisingly well using a kettle, a mug, a sink, and a packet of baby wipes.

Btw take care if your Wallas, they are excellent, but difficult/expensive to repair.
 
I've a shower compartment. A separate pump pumps the used water overboard. Only difference is a mesh filter protects the pump and has to be cleaned regularly. That said, it is rarely used.

Condensation can be dealt with if you have shorepower and a dehumidifier.
 
The luxury of two really good showers. Water is supplied by the calorifier that runs off the engine or immersion heater and supplies bags of hot water. The shower tray drains to an automatic pumps that purge the water through a strainer and through the hull. Run a dehumidifier 24/7 and there isnt a problem with condensation. You really have no need to visit the marina showers. However as others have said it will take time and effort to ensure the compartment is properly drained and water tight - the rest should be much more straight forward.
 
Need to know what sort of boat, where it is to be used and how many people you need to cater for. We rarely use ashore facilities for showering. Don't want to catch nasty pedal infections!
 
drain in floor of shower room goes to shower pump which pumps it overboard
http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/Shower-and-Drain-Sump-Pump-System

mixer tap and shower head something like this
http://www.scandvik.com/index.cfm/method/Shopping_Products/CatId/200/ID/702.htm
alternatively a trigger spray shower head is very economical on water

shower curtain to pull across door inside the room and keep water from exiting door.

open window when done to help dry out the room

We only use showers ashore if they are better than on the boat (which is rare) - or of we have no shore power to heat the water.

Must admit our facilities are as built in the boat so walls,floor etc are designed accordingly .

.
 
I think you'll find the trudge to showers is preferable to the disadvantages of on-board showering during a UK winter.
My boat has a purpose designed shower, the heads lockers have been waterproofed, it's used in Greece during the summer but marina showers are infinitely more satisfying, the 2/3 times I use one.
Some pointers - a thermostat is a must, you really can't have a fixed, high-output shower head (your pump and plumbing are probably inadequate), always have a through draught (in my case from saloon through Lewmar hatch in compartment), regularly clean shower-tray and filter (fortnightly).
At anchor, I shower daily, not suffering the built-in disadvantages of Vyv's boat - but I agree with him, unless a designed, all-grp unit you can't use a shower regularly in a wooden heads compartment.
 
If you have shorepower then an electric immersion element, a purpose made shower compartment, and a pump to drain straight overboard makes sense to me. I would use a fan heater in the day and evening to ventilate and dry, then switch to quiet oil filled at night. Lots of warm air will pick up moisture and with an open hatch/ventilator will take that moisture outside.
 
RupertW said:
If you have shorepower then an electric immersion element, a purpose made shower compartment, and a pump to drain straight overboard makes sense to me. I would use a fan heater in the day and evening to ventilate and dry, then switch to quiet oil filled at night. Lots of warm air will pick up moisture and with an open hatch/ventilator will take that moisture outside.
Click to expand...

Are you theorising or have you experience?
I have all those things but can assure you that where adequate showers are available I always use them, that preference would be strongly reinforced in the UK and in winter.
 
Are you theorising or have you experience?
I have all those things but can assure you that where adequate showers are available I always use them, that preference would be strongly reinforced in the UK and in winter.
Click to expand...

It is quite possible. Having a reasonable sized shower cubicle helps, but on a 50 foot yacht (with two) and "proper" standing shower cubicles, generator, immersion, fresh water pump and dehumidifier it is perfectly realistic to shower in comfort where ever you are (even sailing, but not ideal in too much of a sea!) to the extent that it is preferable to using the shore facilities.

I run the dehumidifier pretty much 24/7 so "excess" mositure is not an issue, and it is entirely possible to keep the accomodation as warm as you wish. Without doubt the key is a good dehumidifier.
 
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Main problem with our heads/shower set-up is that, despite having a curtain that pulls 3/4, water invariably escapes from the heads and onto our lovely floorboards in the cabin. Over time water seeps in between the veneer and ply and went black (we now have 6mm teak veneer with polyurethane so hope not to have this problem again). This happened whether the heads door was open or closed. Condensation will run down the door whilst showering so it's almost unavoidable.

Like you we used to have a wooden grate with a sump underneath. A pump took the waste via a filter to a seacock below the waterline. With our refit we've used 8mm thick Wilson Art composite laminate to put over the top of the grate when not showering as walking on it was a pita.

We've also replaced the tap with a combined jobbie and pull-out hose. It's a tap when not extended, and a shower when extended. It's one of the most expensive fittings in our refit project since it's a Franke with ceramic fittings. It was difficult to find here in Thailand but we're really happy with it.

I've also installed a deck shower that is located in a box at the back of the boat. The idea is you can hose yourself down whilst standing on the swim platform. Not necessarily a solution for you in the UK in the winter though.

I like Charles' idea of a thermostat. Trying to get the temperature right with a mixer can invariably mean wasting water and/or burning yourself. I have no experience of installing one of these though, so I'd be interested in the practicality of this.

Our water is heated by a calorifier, about 20-odd litres in capacity. When plugged in 10 minutes is all that's needed to get it hot. When at anchor it's heated by the engine. When heated by the engine it is really hot and easy to scald yourself. It stays warm for 24 hours.

Our heads is completely laminated bar some trim around the sink.

Finally, I know you didn't ask but since others have mentioned it: when in a marina we tend to use the marina facilities or shower on the pontoon. We live in the tropics but I have spent many a morning slipping my way on an icy pontoon to get to the toilet block. With all that condensation and water leakage on the boat the hassle of the walk is less than trying to save your interior. We tend only to use the heads shower in emergencies i.e. when wifey is running late before going out for the evening ;)
 
The OP has not told us the size of his boat but since his fresh water tank capacity is only 110 litres I assumed it to be fairly small. Showering and its facilities on a 50 ft boat are a world away from the equivalent on one of less than 30 ft.

To illustrate the problems - Our Sadler 34 was provided with a combined tap/shower in the heads, plus a teak grating with sump and pump beneath. However, every bulkhead and door in the compartment is wood. Water that runs down the aft door misses the grating and runs into the bilge under the saloon sole. For a long time we coild not understand why the keel bolt washers here were rusty. Hanging lockers on the starboard side are protected by zipped heavy curtains, but the zips become soaked and have always been seized solid in our ownership. Lockers on the port side are not protected at all. Cleaning down the wood, toilet, floor, sink etc. took longer than the walk to any facilities. So our first shower on board was also our last, although the resulting damage shows previous owners to have used it several times at least.
 
charles_reed said:
Are you theorising or have you experience?
I have all those things but can assure you that where adequate showers are available I always use them, that preference would be strongly reinforced in the UK and in winter.
Click to expand...

In the Med (Croatia winter visits) then all the above worked fine and was certainly preferable to marina shower blocks. But the lessons were learnt over many years in the UK and France. The only Med addition was inheriting an immersion heater, so in the UK we used to run the engine for 30 mins if we hadn't been out that day.
 
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