Shower

We have two showers on board, the lower shower in the cabin areas, and another shower on the aft deck. We decided to use tile for the lower shower and I finished that job this week.

There are three ladies in our family and all of them were firm in that they wanted a shelf to rest their feet for shaving their legs. The shelf will probably serve double duty as a place to rest shower things as we did not install any ceramic things like a towel bar or soap dish.

The shower is kind of an odd shape, but rather roomy once your inside. Our last boat had a totally inadequate shower, and while we used it, it was one kind of a pain in the ass to use.

There is a sump under the bathroom floor to pump the shower water either overboard or to a holding tank under the kids starboard berth. I tested the pump when I first installed it, and was disappointed that the rule mechanical float switch was not reliable. I have the pump switched for manual or automatic but I think I might install one of the sensor type float switch's and do away with the old style mechanical switch.

Now that the tile work is finished, I think I'll stick with the bathroom work and finish the room. The ceiling can now be installed along with the four inch ventilation fan and the fan's access panel. I still have to build the trim ring for the port light and I'm thinking I might also install the light. I've finished laminating all the rails and styles for the five passage doors I need to build, so I can also get the bathroom doors installed. We are planning on a shower door, but I'm in no hurry for that to be installed.

I spoke with a few steel trawler owners regarding tile in the showers and they have not had any problems with it. I framed the shower stall in a way that minimized it's connection to the hull so I'm hoping that the tile does not crack. If this decision turns out to be a bad one, I'll make sure to tear in to the tile guy and make him fix it with another system. I guess one of the good things about doing your own work is you know who to be pissed at when things don't go so well. Once I get some off shore hours on the boat, I'll let all know how the tile holds up.

For some reason, these pictures are not so great. I should have re positioned the light I have in the shower room to let the flash do it's thing. These pictures make the tile look more yellow than it is in case your wondering. I could be seeing the demise of the cheap boat camera.... I'll keep you posted.