Building Logs

Bathroom floor down (finally)

Posted by Paul

With the bathroom floor finally glassed down and the sump lid on I finally have the last sole glassed into the boat. I have been stepping gingerly over the dry fit bathroom floor and it squeaked and groaned as it moved around because it was not glassed down. Visitors who have stepped on it and thought they broke it will know what I am talking about. But its finally down. Very satisfying. It also means I can finally get started on making the bathroom furniture. In keeping with the theme of the rest of the boat furniture, of course these cabinets will be curved. (I wish I had thought of this when I set out the sump position because now it is off centre of the realigned walkway into the shower but so is the shower door and the sump is going to be under a floor covering of some kind so its no big deal). The idea of the particular curves came about because I have the need for depth in the cabinets on opposite sides of the bathroom at opposite ends of it and deep cabinets rob the room of size and makes the room feel too small, so the solution was no cupboard depth where I didnt need it and the way to take it out was to curve the cupboards in exactly mirror image of each other.

bathroom furniture mock 1bathroom furniture mock

The best way to start any idea like this is with cardboard cut outs. The starting point is the kickboard. Everything is based on the kickboards. Cupboards rise at right angles to the floor directly over the kickboard. Remember the walls are not plumb they are the angles of the hull, but the cupboards must be. So the cardboard cutouts are often deceptive, the depth of the cupboards at the kickboards is often near nothing but as the cupboard rises they become a quite usable depth. My goal is to maximise floor space and get the cupboard depth I need, where I need it. I need depth on the aft end of the inboard side for all of the various pipes and cocks through the cupboard including the vanity sink S bend, the faucet supply of hot and cold water and all of the other water and power that travels through the cupboard. And I need depth of cupboard at the forward end of the outboard side to house the toilet and its associated plumbing including a cistern to supply the toilet with fresh water (and a Y valve to change it to salt water if needed). Another idea has come to mind courtesy of Tom on Scrumble and one that is being adopted by other builders I know, and that is to divert the grey water through the cistern for use in the toilet. I like the idea and am looking into ways to use this idea. I will need to ensure the cistern can overflow back into the path it was taking on its way overboard through the through hull in the sump, because I have a number of waste water sources being collected in the sump so may overfill a cistern, and because the cistern is very near the waterline I will need to ensure it cannot siphon back and flood the boat, and also the reverse may be true, I may need to still supply the cistern in case there isnt enough waste water going through the gray tank to supply enough flushing water. When I figure these out I will build the cistern and report on that later.

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Paul