Shower draining to bilges?

[Minerva]

I have had an idea, and I fear it may be a good one! What am I overlooking?

One of the jobs for this winter is replace the through hulls and seacocks. Accordingly, I’ve just measured and counted how many I have. Before now, I assumed the rarely used shower teed in to the toilet or sink outlet and that was that. However I’ve realised that it has its very own outlet at the water line.

Now one of my minor irks of this boat is the bilge pumps exit high up on the hull and over the course of the season create a grubby section of the hull.

But I’ve had an idea. I could leave the existing automatic bilge pump as is but raise the float switch for that pump up 6” or so to be a high level assist bilge pump.

This offers the opportunity to allow the shower to drain to the bilges. This can then be drained by a low level float switch that becomes the duty bilge pump and drains to the water line through the current shower drain sea cock.

I expect the shower pump will really be the only pump to ever activate and in doing so I should have a cleaner hull throughout the season.

Other than the obvious need for a non return valve and an anti siphon valve - what am I over looking to stop this being a stupendous idea?

Ta

 

[Poignard]

Think what you are washing off your body. Do you want bits of skin, excrement, urine, sweat, soap, hair, ointments, nails, earwax, &c. swishing around in your bilge.

 

[thinwater]

Think what you are washing off your body. Do you want bits of skin, excrement, urine, swishing around in your bilge.

Cleaner topsides, stinky bilge. This has been done many times buy builders looking to save a bock. Not a good answer.

Your goal should be a dry bilge.

 

[billskip]

Your goal should be a dry bilge.

^^^^^

 

[Dockhead]

If you want a fetid, stinking bilge, then by all means.

This was common on boats in the 60's and 70's, and most people converted them the other way around to cut down the unbearable stench.

In summary -- converting a shower which already drains the correct way -- that is, straight overboard -- to draining into your bilges? A spectacularly bad idea.

 

[Tranona]

As suggested first thing is to aim for a dry bilge - replacing the stuffing box with a Volvo type seal would be sensible if you have not done so already.

Last thing you want is to drain your dirty waste into the bilge.

 

[NormanS]

The simplest, and by far the cheapest cure is to fit a gargoyle to the outlet fitting. Simply a small bit of sticky tape, stuck down onto the bottom of the skin fitting, and left slightly protruding, will keep the water being pumped out, clear of the hull. The tape will have to be replaced occasionally, but it's not a big deal.

 

[Boater Sam]

Filthy fetid bilge in days, non return valves with waste or bilge water will fail as fast. Thoroughly bad idea.

 

[thinwater]

The simplest, and by far the cheapest cure is to fit a gargoyle to the outlet fitting. Simply a small bit of sticky tape, stuck down onto the bottom of the skin fitting, and left slightly protruding, will keep the water being pumped out, clear of the hull. The tape will have to be replaced occasionally, but it's not a big deal.

If you want a purchased option ... dripper guard

Or just go all-in and install one of these

 

[pandos]

Think what you are washing off your body. Do you want bits of skin, excrement, urine, sweat, soap, hair, ointments, nails, earwax, &c. swishing around in your bilge.

This is how Halberg Rassy built my boat, of course they may have expected to have more refined customers, in reality my bilge is cleaner because I tend to hose down the heads with the last of the hot water when leaving the boat if I have deposited skin, excrement, urine, sweat, soap, hair, ointments, nails, earwax into the shower tray..

 

[Poignard]

This is how Halberg Rassy built my boat, of course they may have expected to have more refined customers, in reality my bilge is cleaner because I tend to hose down the heads with the last of the hot water when leaving the boat if I have deposited skin, excrement, urine, sweat, soap, hair, ointments, nails, earwax into the shower tray..

I always thought Halberd Rassy owners were a cut above the rest of us but I never knew their bodies never shed skin, excrement, urine, sweat, and earwax.

 

[pandos]

I always thought Halberd Rassy owners were a cut above the rest of us but I never knew their bodies never shed skin, excrement, urine, sweat, and earwax.

I think that is what HR may have thought...I assure you that I shed at least some of those substances,

 

[Stemar]

The simplest, and by far the cheapest cure is to fit a gargoyle to the outlet fitting. Simply a small bit of sticky tape, stuck down onto the bottom of the skin fitting, and left slightly protruding, will keep the water being pumped out, clear of the hull. The tape will have to be replaced occasionally, but it's not a big deal.

The sink outlet on our old boat left a streak on the hull. An inch or so of plastic pipe and a bit of sealant was a cheap and effective solution.

 

[Dockhead]

I always thought Halberd Rassy owners were a cut above the rest of us but I never knew their bodies never shed skin, excrement, urine, sweat, and earwax.

Gross

 

[Momac]

Given the drain and from the shower and the shower sump pump box occasionally need a clean out I would prefer not to use the bilge as a shower waste reservour. If a sump box is not wanted then waste pumps that do not use a sump are available.

 

[Beneteau381]

I have had an idea, and I fear it may be a good one! What am I overlooking?

One of the jobs for this winter is replace the through hulls and seacocks. Accordingly, I’ve just measured and counted how many I have. Before now, I assumed the rarely used shower teed in to the toilet or sink outlet and that was that. However I’ve realised that it has its very own outlet at the water line.

Now one of my minor irks of this boat is the bilge pumps exit high up on the hull and over the course of the season create a grubby section of the hull.

But I’ve had an idea. I could leave the existing automatic bilge pump as is but raise the float switch for that pump up 6” or so to be a high level assist bilge pump.

This offers the opportunity to allow the shower to drain to the bilges. This can then be drained by a low level float switch that becomes the duty bilge pump and drains to the water line through the current shower drain sea cock.

I expect the shower pump will really be the only pump to ever activate and in doing so I should have a cleaner hull throughout the season.

Other than the obvious need for a non return valve and an anti siphon valve - what am I over looking to stop this being a stupendous idea?

Ta

Your boat will stink!

 

[Moodysailor]

We have just converted our boat from having the bilge as the shower drain to having a dedicated shower sump. Given the amount of horrible gunk and mess that was in the bilge, I'm very pleased and will not go back!

A clean bilge that is as dry as possible = a happy owner (me)

 

[Poignard]

Gross

I forgot to add toe jam.

 

[Supertramp]

Dont mix safety and domestic systems.

I access my engine via floorboards in the saloon and despite keeping things clean there is an amazing amount of dust, fluff and stuff that falls in. That "stuff" will collect in your shower. As its dry I vac it out regularily to stop blocking float switches/pumps. My showers drain to holding tanks with their own pumps.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

As many have already mentioned, go into your shower at home and inspect the plug hole and pipework leaving the shower drain, this is what your bilge will end up looking like, and it will most probably stink.