Anyone ever add a transom shower?

[daschtick]

I currently have an 18 foot Bayliner and I am considering adding a simple transom shower. I'm looking to install a small flexible water tank, a small pump, and a transom shower fixture. I'd love to be able to rinse off after a day of swimming, and have it neatly integrated into the boat (not a sun shower, but an alternative).<br /><br />Has anyone else done anything similar? I have no experience with marine freshwater systems, but I don't see it as being at all difficult. One thing I was considering using was a white faucet sprayer from a kitchen sink, which is available for about 10% of the price of a true "transom shower" handle. Any other "creative" ideas on what components to use, or where to buy them inexpensively would be greatly appreciated. (I do not really want this to turn into a $500 shower system - it's just a Bayliner!)<br /><br />Thanks for any constructive input!<br /><br />-Nick

 

[roscoe]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

Use a small submersible bilge pump.<br />I got a sprayer from fleetfarm. It is made for hooking up to the shower in your bathroom, 6' hose.<br />About $14?

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

daschtick,<br /><br />You can do this but the costs might be a bit higher than you anticipate. roscoe's has a good way of using the water you are floating on, but if you want to use city/fresh water you will need to get a tank, pump, switch, and nozzel.<br /><br />Sailboats frequently use a bladder style tank which can be mounted in areas that may be easier to get at, and it will form up to the area that it is located. Pricy though. Tend to leave a bit of a smell of rubber in the water as well.<br /><br />Pressure pump can be bought here at I-boats or perhaps on e-bay used. 50-200 bucks. A switch to turn it on and off, 5 bucks, wire 7 bucks, fittings 15-20 bucks, and yes you can use a sprayer hose from a local hardware store. Most of these pressure pumps wont make much more than 45psi. Most of these pumps are self priming so location is not all that critical, making installation easier. **(Remember water is about 8lbs per gallon.)<br /><br />I really think you are looking at a minimum of $250 unless u can find used stuff. Setting it up shouldn't be difficult depending on space and access. Thats a lot of weight and space and money for a shower... <br /><br />If you have any additional questions, just post. <br /><br />FYI: There is a place in Franklin, WI that sells factory overstock Items called Kendor and they have items that would be useful for you depending on how your boat is set up.

 

[MFG197]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

My sea ray has a transom shower on the integrated platform...Kitchen sink type sprayer with hose plumbed to pvc piping that goes to a pump then to water tank. seems easy to fab if you have some imagination. Make sure the holes on the outside of the boat are covered or sealed when the handle is in place. my boat has a crummy design that has a hole that holds the sprayer without a waterproof seal. rain falls on the nozzle and goes right into the bilge. am trying to fix this before summer.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

I have added it to a few of my boats.I used a galley pump wired into the boat drawing water from a tank. and sending it through tubing to any type of hand held shower you want.You will have to wire the switch to the transom area so you can turn it on without entering the boat.Sandvik makes a very nice one that mounts flush and has a cap so sea water wont enter,but YES it is a little pricey compared to a kitchen sprayer.I have the sanvik set up now and it is very nice looking and is a totally different quality than a kitchen sprayer.The first one i installed was the galley pump method and a $15 shower messager.It worked fine.Something like this you would want to be able to hide it.Charlie

 

[salty87]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

i installed one on my boat. i found a kit on ebay for less than $125. it had the pump, hoses, wires, fittings....everything. there is no tank though. the water does have a smell to it but not that bad. its hot and that's what i was going for, to warm up ski vests and wet suits before jumping in.<br /><br />i have seen people modify with a tank though, especially in salt water. don't know if they figured out a way to get hot water without the smell. and, once your tank is empty your shower is over.<br /><br />i installed it in the rear ski locker, have to open the lid to get the nozzle. no one is back there underway so this is good and out of the way. i wired it to an old switch on the dash that wasn't being used, fused the power wire of course.<br /><br />good luck

 

[daschtick]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

Originally posted by POINTER94:<br /><br />FYI: There is a place in Franklin, WI that sells factory overstock Items called Kendor and they have items that would be useful for you depending on how your boat is set up.

I'm actually there at least once a year. I was considering rifling through the piles of stuff there to see what I could come up with first, but I often find that their "used" prices aren't any better than new.<br /><br />I've seen new 13 gallon bladder tanks for $75 at West marine, and self priming pumps for about the same. I figure it to be about a $175-$200 project when all is said and done.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

Hey daschtick,<br /><br />I am putting a fresh water washdown system on my boat right now. I was at Kendor last weekend and they have these little flush mount compartments complete with a built in on-off switch and hose. 80 bucks seemed a little high for a moulded piece of plastic and a hose with a $3 switch. I took a pass. I do alot of boating on Lake Michigan and Lake Geneva and the water is very clean. I am using a through hull fitting to a gate valve to the pump and to a flush mount hose bib on the swim platform. <br /><br />FYI I could have actually saved a few bucks going to BoatUS in Milwaukee for the fittings and they (BoatUS) were of higher quality. Wire and switches can't be beat though.<br /><br />Good Luck and maybe we can knock a few cold ones together this summer.....

 

[daschtick]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

pointer94,<br /><br />I do most of my boating on Lakes Winnebago/Butte des Mortes, and occasionally in the Milwaukee harbor of Michigan.<br /><br />What I am actually trying to accomplish is to give myself a way of rinsing everything off after an afternoon in the water. The trouble is that since many people use these areas, and some of which are near shorelines, the water is easily churned up, so it would be nice to be able to rinse off ourselves, the toys, the dog, etc before leaving for the day.<br /><br />I've actually been considering doing a "lake-water" system myself. With just a pump, I could drive the boat out into the middle of the lake, drop in a pick-up tube (I like your hull fitting idea though), and pump the clear lake water to rinse everything and everyone off. This way, I would have an unlimited supply of fresh water, plus I would not need to carry any water aboard for this purpose.<br /><br />Now, I'm down to a pump, a sprayer, and some hose for a pick-up tube - That's a cheap transom shower! I actually got this idea, because right now, we often drive to the middle of the lake just for a quick swim to rinse ourselves off. But yet, everything else, including the dog (who is too heavy to lift into a boat when no solid botttom is available), misses out.

 

[Luna Sea]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

Have you seen these solar sun showers?<br /><br /> web page<br /><br />Oops, I reread your post. You have...

 

[DJ]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

If your Bayliner is an I/O, the sun shower bags heat up well, in the engine compartment.<br /><br />With that, you just have to figure out a way to pump the water out of them.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

Most of the sureflo and flojet style washdown/water system pumps are self priming to at least 8 ft of elevation. Get yourself a piece of vaccum hose and hook a weight on the end and drop it in the water and flip the switch. You could in theory put the entire system in a 5 gallon bucket and plug it into a cigarette lighter type fixture. That way all your hoses and the like can be coiled and stored in the bucket.<br /><br />These pumps are like 3.5gpm at 45psi. You won't clean rocks with it but, you can sure wash a dog!!! <br /><br />If you haven't had the pleasure to go to Jim and Linda's sportsmans club in Pipe, WI on the eastern shore of Winnebago for prime rib you should make a point of it. The king cut prime rib could feed a family of five. And you can tie up at the municipal dock for free and walk across the park to eat. Very good eats!!!!! And the prices will leave you with enough cash to buy gas to get home.<br /><br />Good luck, post any question you may have...

 

[MajBach]

Re: Anyone ever add a transom shower?

I actually installed a similiar device for showering and cleaning. Turns out the exhaust port in my live well tanks are just slightly smaller than a garden hose - makes a good snug fit. I chopped of 10 feet of hose and stuck on a regular sprayer. Surprisingly, the live well pumps provide comparable pressure to a shower at home.