I’m looking for a solution (sorry if the title misled you into thinking I had one). Currently shower water drains into the bilge, where it collects and eventually stinks (bilge pump sits too high to completely drain the bilge). My wife and I like being able to shower onboard, as do my in-laws. Has anybody hacked this well? It seems if there were a pump that thoroughly drained my bilge, that would be good (in addition to addressing the shower grey water), but a sump solution at the shower drain might be more desirable, if possible. Seems both scenarios present pros and cons. Would love to hear others solutions, if any.
Shower Sump Solution - 1993 Hunter Legend 35.5
- Thread starter skunther
- Start date
Route the shower drain hose to a shower drain kit, which has a pump and float switch, then discharge through a hose to a thru hull above the waterline. Requires a dc power supply, preferably from a dedicated panel switch. There are many manufacturers of shower sump pump kits, like Rule, Attwood, Seaflo, etc. with different pumping capacity.
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Agree with Sail SF on the shower drain kit so the shower water never gets into the bilge. Alternatively, getting the last bit of water out of the bilge is difficult with a bilge pump and a long length of hose - here's an interesting solution: Build Your Own DIY Arid Bilge or Dry Bilge System
The self-contained sump and pump is commonly used on many boats. On the other hand, many European-designed boats including Beneteau, directly connect a pump to the shower drain and pump overboard via thru-hull. In both cases, you need a new thru-hull. Both systems will work as long as you have 12v, and the space for either the sump/pump combo or the pump alone method.
Seems I could fit one in the bilge, where the shower hose currently exits, then route the output into a t-connector on the galley sink drain (seacock below the waterline) with a vented loop above the waterline to avoid siphoning my boat to the ocean bottom. Any reason this isn't a good plan?
Thank you so much for posting this! It's exactly what I need and want. Yea, yet another project!
But, seriously, I have a chronically wet bilge because the automatic bilge pump just can't dry it out, and I have a chronically spitting vented loop for the engine raw water, and a leaking shower sump box. Yes, I should fix the box, too. But I would so love to have one of those clean, dry bilges I see in pics on here and elsewhere online. There are also a couple of spots aft in the boat where there are "valleys" where water collects and can't drain to the bilge, I could run tubes to those spots, too. (I think - I may be remembering a detail about my Catalina 36 and confusing it with the Tartan.)Brilliant, thanks!
Sorry, I don't - I just ran into one day and saved the link. It is an ingenious solution, I believe the author was able to get a dry bilge. I hope to try it out on my boat but there's a couple of other projects ahead of it.
"Thank you so much for posting this! It's exactly what I need and want. Yea, yet another project! "
I know what you mean, I keep running into new things to implement that I never knew existed
Is there any reason I shouldn't route the sump output into a t-connector on the galley sink drain (seacock below the waterline) with a vented loop above the waterline? Or is this a viable setup?
The shower floor is likely below the waterline, so you need some kind of pump to get the water out, not just gravity.
On my O’Day 322, there is no room under the shower floor for a box or a pump. The builder put a hose off the shower drain fitting, to a diagram pump under the vanity, and it pumps the water out of an above-the-water thruhull under the vanity.
The pump is loud, and it needs to run while showering, but it effectively keeps shower water out of the bilge. Maybe I need a new pump, but I don’t shower (on the boat) that often.
Greg
The pump is loud, and it needs to run while showering, but it effectively keeps shower water out of the bilge. Maybe I need a new pump, but I don’t shower (on the boat) that often.
Greg
Thanks for the replies. As the shower drains into the bilge, and it will be difficult to route it to the head sink seacock, I will install the sump pump in the bilge and run the output up to a vented loop under the galley sink, then T it into the galley sink drain, where it will drain below the waterline. Seems the only way.