Access to shower drain, 53 MY

[mwert72655]

Has anyone ever tried to access the shower drain in the aft shower of a 53 MY - there's no bilge access anywhere near it and it's leaking into my stbd bilge - can it be pulled up from above, repaired and rebedded or do I need to create a new hatch somewhere close by??? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[hattitude]

Has anyone ever tried to access the shower drain in the aft shower of a 53 MY - there's no bilge access anywhere near it and it's leaking into my stbd bilge - can it be pulled up from above, repaired and rebedded or do I need to create a new hatch somewhere close by??? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I had that problem in my 46C. I ended up cutting a small hatch in the floor within arms reach of the drain. It was under carpet and I made sure there were no wires/piping where I cut. It was pretty easy after that, but all work was done one handed.

 

[first230sl]

Let me know what you end up doing. I believe I have the same access problem in the 58YF.

With similarly poor access is the mid and aft (shared) shower sump. Mine is under the queen bed in the master stateroom. There is an access hatch under the matteras, and then a hatch in the floor below that. I suspect it was better when the boat had its original two twin beds.

The access to the sump is so poor that I am considering putting a diaphragm pump in a more accessible location which feeds a tube into the sump area (whould still need a float switch down there). But as it is now when the pump clogs it is a huge pain to get in there and service it.

Anyone have the same problem and found a good fix?

Best regards - Murray

Has anyone ever tried to access the shower drain in the aft shower of a 53 MY - there's no bilge access anywhere near it and it's leaking into my stbd bilge - can it be pulled up from above, repaired and rebedded or do I need to create a new hatch somewhere close by??? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Get out the Sawzall! On the 53MY you have to cut a hatch under the carpet in the hall outside the shower drain. You can't pull up the drain from the shower stall because it's held on by two big threaded nuts on the drain elbow. The end of the elbow under the drain is a hose barb and the hose is clamped to that. The hose runs to a separate shower sump inside the aft bilge next to the bilge pump, but the shower sump has it's own bilge pump. If you want to feel what it's like, the mid-head shower has a hatch plate in the floor of the hall just aft of that shower drain. You can stick your arm in far enough to feel and work on the drain connection, if you're a contortionist.

BTW - How are you sure it's the shower drain getting water in your bilge. There are lots of other likely suspects that will run water in your aft starboard bilge including: the aft head pump, aft head sea strainer, aft head Y valve, starboard rudder packing gland, aft sink sea chest hose, aft bilge pumpout hose, and aft shower pumpout hose. The bilge and shower sump pump hoses run to the port sea chest but their hoses crack where they are bent too tight by the grommets and leak when the pump runs.

Good Luck,

Doug Shuman
1978 53MY

 

[Pascal]

my 1970 53my must have been modified because the sump is in the port ER with a rigid PVC pipe runin thru the aft bulkead, under the engine to the sump placed under the front of the engine.

easy to get to to clear the screen...

 

[mwert72655]

I know it's the shower leaking because I can see steaming water streaming into my bilge when I turn on the hot water in the shower, and none of the same into the sump, which in my boat is in the aft bilge. I might as well make a big hatch to access the whole area because I suspect I also have areas of the bilge over the tanks that could use a good scrubbing to get rid of that 70's hatteras smell we've talked about before... Any advice on how to create a hatch through plywood - is there a special saw, or do I just cut a section of the deck out and do stainless strips around the edges to hold the wood back in place?? Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Cutting a big hatch there won't help. The hose runs all the way to the middle of the stateroom floor where the shower sump box is inside the aft bilge. At the actual shower drain position the middle water tank will prevent you from accessing the bilge area that far forward. You can see and/or feel the aft end of the middle water tank at the forward end of the aft bilge, about a foot in front of the bilge pump. Forward of that there's just a very small clearance between the tank and the hull. Water can seep around it wherever the tank is not glassed in, but you can't get at it.
I just run hot Borax water down there and all along the starboard side of that aft bilge to get rid of any water/mold/mildew. Use the old "20 mule team borax" Boraxo. Get the rudder posts and that area under the lazarette between the rudder posts too. Then your smell will disappear. When that area stays dry, it won't come back. You can put hydrogen peroxide (not Clorox) bleach in the bilge and shower sump which will continue to be wet.

Doug

 

[mwert72655]

Just got back from the boat where the access to the shower drain turned out to be one of the easiest jobs I ever tried to tackle, at a cost of about $3.42 (can't remember if that's before or after taxes!). To access the drain, I cut a 6in long by 3 in wide hole in the plywood decking adjacent to the drain in the hallway. The elbow was made of galvinized aluminum and had oxidized to the point of disintegration of the nut that held the elbow on, so I replaced it with a PVC elbow that threaded directly on to the shower drain and reconnected the hose to the sump. That area of the bilge was filthy and worth accessing if for no other reason than to clean it (this bilge runs outboard of what becomes the inboard stringer to the stbd engine, and 30 years of engine oil droppings had collected back there outboard of the center keel tanks). To close the hole in the plywood, I just attached some one inch thick strips of wood around the hole with screws from above to hold the strips in place, then put the original plywood decking back in place - a real piece of cake!

 

[Nonchalant1]

VOILA! Nice job.

A marina would'a charged you hundreds to figure it out and do it, and you wouldn't know the work was done as well! Sometimes the biggest hassle is just understanding the problem. Once underestood, the fixing is kind'a fun.
When I really see the problem I was looking for, I have a little tune that pops into my head (like a 4 measure victory song). Like when you saw that drain tube corroded through.

Doug