Bilge Pump hits neighbor

[jbox84126]

Hi Folks!

We bought a Hunter 33.5 last summer with the fun feature of our shower draining to the bilge. This creates an issue in marina's without showers (or if we're too lazy to walk to the shore bathroom), where if the bilge float switch goes off, our pump evacuates the bilge at the beam and it often sprays onto a neighbors topsides. I know the right long term solution here is to reroute the shower to its own through hull but are there any other adjustments i can make to the bilge system to prevent the spray from hitting our neighbors?

Thanks!
J

[Rumrace]

A little deflector or charge the neighbour for the boat wash.
Congrats on the Hunter 33 it’s a well respected model with great room. As I recall it won a few awards.
Want me to print you one no worries. Satin Blue, white and black ASA marine grade plastic in stock.
Most of the cast one are nylon which in most cases better. Some throughhulls had a optional eyelid and you can grab one on Amazon and glue it on with Lexel.
I had a boat which sprayed the dock.and just avoided using it if docked on starboard.

[Sailor Sailor]

You should have a sump under a grate in the head with strainer and a pump. On my Sabre, the shower sump pump drain connects with a T (above the waterline) to the sink drain in the head compartment.

Even with a strainer, shower water should not go in the bilge. That sounds like a bad design. It could likely diminish the functioning of your bilge pump and foster unwanted odors in the cabin and the bilge pump hoses. Shower drain water has hair, skin cells, oils, soap, shampoo and conditioner residues, in addition to dirt.

[Knotical]

Apart from the dirty shower waste ending up in the bilge another concern is that some soaps can damage the finish on your and your neighbor’s boat if they are waxed or polished.

As the above poster said, it is just a bad design.

[chrisr]

sorry but there are a host of reason why draining shower water into the bilge is poor arrangement

rather than dick around with the present system, do it right and fit something like this

https://www.whitworths.com.au/rule-s...ain-kit-800gph

cheers,

[BlueH2Obound]

Or you can purchase something like THIS one, for about 1/10th the price of the the one from Whitworths.

https://www.amazon.com/Amarine-Made-...a-420981097094

Or just Google Marine shower sump, and you'll see a bunch, from about $20 and up. No need to spend $300 on one. Most of the pumps come from the same company anyway. The key is to install it correctly.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by BlueH2Obound

Or you can purchase something like THIS one, for about 1/10th the price of the the one from Whitworths.

https://www.amazon.com/Amarine-Made-...a-420981097094

Or just Google Marine shower sump, and you'll see a bunch, from about $20 and up. No need to spend $300 on one. Most of the pumps come from the same company anyway. The key is to install it correctly.

Either of the two mentioned are the way to go, have one of the more expensive versions fitted to mine and there is no smell and more importantly no hair or soap scum in the bilge. Mine is discharged just below the waterline.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by BlueH2Obound

Or you can purchase something like THIS one, for about 1/10th the price of the the one from Whitworths.

https://www.amazon.com/Amarine-Made-...a-420981097094

Or just Google Marine shower sump, and you'll see a bunch, from about $20 and up. No need to spend $300 on one. Most of the pumps come from the same company anyway. The key is to install it correctly.

true...although the amazon one is listed as
"Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."
cheers,

[NYSail]

As was stated above very poor design…… but also sounds like a misplaced bilge discharge if it sprays the topside of your neighbors boat. My shower discharges just below water line with no sump to have to deal with…. Bilge discharges above waterline however comes out in a generally gentle stream……
Good luck

[CaptTom]

The sump kit on Amazon shows in stock and ready for delivery here Wednesday.

Anyway, I'd recommend going with a diaphragm pump. I made the mistake of replacing an "old fashioned" shower drain pump with one of those sump kits with the bilge pump like the linked one above. It works, but the old one worked much better, never clogs or overflows and never needs cleaning.

[Bill O]

Don't like the top design on the Amazon unit. The top clips will eventually break and an optional screw down would be better.

As noted in the Amazon question/comment section for this item, the pump wouldn't stay in place once the top clips broke. Guess it's relatively cheap enough to change the top/units out, but a pita none the less if it kept breaking.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by jbox84126

Hi Folks!

We bought a Hunter 33.5 last summer with the fun feature of our shower draining to the bilge. This creates an issue in marina's without showers (or if we're too lazy to walk to the shore bathroom), where if the bilge float switch goes off, our pump evacuates the bilge at the beam and it often sprays onto a neighbors topsides. I know the right long term solution here is to reroute the shower to its own through hull but are there any other adjustments i can make to the bilge system to prevent the spray from hitting our neighbors?

Thanks!
J

Short term fix, square of canvas, ballasted at the bottom, small bridle at the top, hung over the discharge. The way it was done for years on ships to stop blind mullet landing on the quayside.
Longer term, re-route the discharge so it comes out just above the waterline.
Longer longer built a separate shower sump.

[Madehn]

ok so i am in the minority here but i really despise those little boxes with a bilge pump type pump in them for showers. they are nasty to clean out and i had a bad experience with one- my own fault i suppose but my drain went to a vented loop then down to the box then out the thru hull-- i was walking back to my boat one day when i saw the bilge pump discharge throwing water out-- unusual because my bilges are normally pretty dry. Upon investigation i found that the box was leaking out of the top gasket and into the bilge- a fairly good stream. I guess it could have been avoided by having the box on the other side of the vented loop- my own DUMB *** fault when i was new to boating-- i replaced it with a whale gulper pump on the correct side of the loop and have never looked back. also no more cleaning out that nasty box. jmho best of luck with your project whatever you decide

[wrwakefield]

We hang a flat fender in front of bilge, etc. pump discharges- mainly to keep from forming ice on the dock in winter. [Our washing machine empties into the bilge...] It works well and is heavy enough to stay in place in boiserous conditions.

Here is a brief video of it in action...

For future consideration- as also mentioned by Madehn, above- do yourself a favor and divert the shower waste away from the bilge. [It will become a mess- based upon personal experience in a past vessel rigged the same way...]

Those mini shower sumps are also a mess, requiring routine mucking and investment in float switches every couple of years. We replaced both of our sumps with Whale IC pumps to drain our showers [and primary bilge pump too...]


FWIW

Cheers! Bill

[NYSail]

Myself I don’t fully understand the use of sump for the shower as well. Having a float switch in a sump just won’t get all the soapy water out, then you periodically have to clean it or it will start to stink. While in the shower I turn my pump on intermittently to drain it out of the boat…… no other middle men to add to maintenance.
I guess a lot has to do with the boat shower pan design and access to space. Am I missing something?