Fresh Water Shower!

So, you decided to get all the bell and whistles with the new boat, EXCEPT, the Hot/cold fresh water shower! Good for you cause I'm gonna show you how to build one for around $30 bucks, NOT the $300+ that the dealer wants to charge you!

Below you will find a write up and pictures of how I built the Fresh water shower for my MasterCraft. It is not the greatest thing in the world, (no poking fun) but this thing works better than any I have used yet! Got lots to talk about so let's get to it!!!

What are we talking about here?
My MC dealer offers a Hot/Cold fresh water shower for a huge amount of money. I would have loved to have this system, but there was a few problems in the way. First I didn't want to spend the money for a cheesy POS of a shower, I prefer the "Tim-the-toolman-taylor" approach, "MORE POWER". The original just would not have cut it.

Second, I board in Salt-Water. If your familiar with these these showers you know they get their water from the boats cooling system, basically under the boat. ...anyone interested in a Hot saltwater shower? So I knew that I needed a self contained system, one that could be controlled by a switch on the dash. Was easily accessible from the boat and the rider on the swim platform and able to be taken out of the boat for service work on the engine.

Parts:
Here are the basic parts that you will need:

Container to hold the water
Pump
Hose
Wire
Large Fitting for fill hole (plastic)
Tie Wraps (medium size)
Plastic fittings (various)
Glue or Epoxy (the waterproof type)

What I ultimately came up with was the following; 
18 gallon Rubbermaid Storage container with lid
A Rule 500GPH bilge pump w/bottom mount
10 feet of 5/8" clear flexible tubing
20ft of 16ga copper wire in Black and Red
1 1/2" PVC threaded End w/Cap
Right Angle plastic 5/8"
Spade terminal connections, and Ring connectors for the battery 

Construction:

I have a V-drive so the area on either side of the motor would soon become the new home for the water storage. This decision will be different for every boat, but seeing as this will be filled with fresh water, I didn't care if it sloshed around a bit and got the rear compartment a little wet now and then, it will ultimately end up in the bilge. With the decision of where the tank was going to be placed, I started to build.

I first placed the bilge in the Rubbermaid container. It is a regular bilge pump, so it can literally sit on the bottom of the container. To secure it, I used waterproof epoxy to mount it to the bottom of the tank, and left to dry for 24 hours. I was also sure to place the pump in the rear section of the tank for shorter wiring and also so that it can be drained more easily by lifting the tank a little.

I attached the hose temporarily to the pump, to see where it would be best to create an exit hole in the lid of the container. The opposite side from where the pump sat turned out to be best.

I cut a hole in the lid, just slightly smaller than the right angle hose fitting and screwed the fitting into the lid. The other end of the fitting will get a mate to facilitate the hose connection on the top of the lid. This is also designed to allow the lid to be removed and disconnected to service the pump.

Next I drilled a small hole in the upper section of the container, to pass the electrical wire from the pump out of the container. (This hole was just big enough to pass the wires, but I went ahead and threw a dab of caulk on it, to reduce any leaking water and reduce the electricity hazard) 

With the wires passed and the hose ready, I moved on to the filling contraption. To make it some-what neat and also functional, I used a 1.5" PVC threaded end with cap. I cut a hole in the lid of the container for the PVC end, and screwed it in. On the underside, I used a little more caulk just to seal and glue the piece into place.

With all the holes accounted for, and the wires pass taken care of, I dropped the lid down on the container and pressed it into place. The tank is now is starting to take shape, but we are not done yet.

If you have ever filled a Rubbermaid container with water before, you know that the sides bulge, and the lid either pops off, or just comes loose, not a good scenario if your trying to contain the water for later. To reduce this, I drilled holes thru the lid and tank. I used the zip ties to secure the lid to the tank to stop the lid from popping off. This also gave the container a little extra strength to hold the water as an entire unit. Plus the zip ties are plastic, so there is nothing to rust.

I placed the new contraption in the boat, and began to run the wires from the tank to the dash. I ran the wires thru the OEM hooks and passage ways along with the original wiring in the boat already, then just zip tied them to secure.

I was lucky, I have two extra accessory switches in my boat and I was able to tap into this switch. A quick change of the fuse and a connection to the ground terminal and everything was connected. You may be as lucky but if not and you don't know that much about electrical stuff, please consult your dealer.

With the wiring and container in place, I added the Spade terminal ends to the pump wires and the wires I had run from the dash and facilitated the connection. (I added these spade connectors to fulfill the purpose of being able to remove the tank and service the motor when needed, as well as other reasons such as cleaning)

Lastly I filled the container with fresh water from the hose on the dock and hit the switch. Life is Good!!!.

Photos:

Notes!

I originally built the shower with a 1000GPH pump, and thought it would have worked out great but it didn't. It was just to much for the little 18gal container that I am using so I dropped it down to a 500 and that worked much better.

This type of setup require almost no maintenance. Just make sure that the connectors do not get corroded. To keep the interior of the tank clean, I remove the unit from the boat, remove the top and wash out the inside of the container with soap/bleach solution and water every few weeks. add a little extra water and use the pump to remove it to cleanse the inside of the pump and hose. .

Before you get started!

Think about your boat, study the interior, and get a feel of what you are looking at and what is usable within the boat.  You may be able to find an area that is unused and a different tank or configuration will fit better for your needs. I spent about 1 hour and $40.00 in total. So far the unit has worked great, and I expect it to for years. 

Good luck - KG