I didn't like the aft bathroom layout when I bought the boat. It was very nice to have a private en-suite bathroom but for some inexplicable reason the washbasin had been built into the bedroom not the bathroom? There were other things I didn't like as well, like the small wedge-shaped bathtub and the old-fashioned manual pump-out head, that always leaked.
The boat had a ridiculously small built-in bathtub. It was only a short tub with a tapered end, so for anyone over about four feet tall it was an uncomfortably tight squeeze and for me at six feet it was practically useless. I could never even get my knees wet.
I decided to undertake a complete remodeling.
My first thought was to rip the bath out and install a shower cubicle, that could have been quite large and modern looking with a nice plexiglass door engraved with some nautical scene. That would have been a relatively easy and inexpensive modification. However, in the process of taking measurements I could see that if I encroached, just a bit, into the adjacent engine room I might be able to install an actual full size bathtub into the space. This would of course serve as a shower tub as well.
Then I really started thinking out-of-square.
I have a hot-tub at my home, where I always enjoy a good hot soak especially after a day of back-aching work on the boat. The therapeutic benefits of a hot soak have been known ever since man first discovered hot springs. If you suffer aches and pains after physical work there is nothing finer than to immerse yourself in a nice hot bath, and if this happens to also have invigorating massaging jets so much the better.
Power boats of Britannia’s size and big catamarans often have full size bathtubs, but on a 50-foot monohull, not so much?
First I needed to find a bath that would fit that had to have a sloping back to conform to the shape of the hull. I went to see a local spa manufacturer and asked the salesman if they had ever fitted a hot-tub in a boat? His blank expression gave me my answer, but after explaining what I wanted he saw no reason why they couldn't fit jets into one of their regular household baths. He showed me a beautiful dark blue acrylic molding with a sloping back that could be fitted with any number of massaging jets. I made a detailed drawing of this bath, then, back at the boat I started working out how much room would be available after removal of the existing tub. But there was really only one way to properly find out... Since I was going to pull the old bath out anyway I might as well do that first then I would have an open area to measure accurately and consider what to do next, shower or hot-tub.
Like many jobs on boats, removing the old tub turned out to be very much easier-said-than-done. I thought it would just be a simple matter of cutting the bath moulding out, but au contraire! It was an unbelievable monolithic structure with two thicknesses of 3/4” inch marine plywood all round, sandwiched between layers of glassfibre and resin, all moulded into the side of the hull and bulkheads! I named it “Stonehenge,” and like the original structure it was not meant to be removed. It had to be hacked and levered out, bit by bit, using a reciprocating saw, a die grinder, a large pry-bar and an even bigger hammer! The whole lot must have weighed something like 150 Lbs.and I imagined the boat coming up three inches on her marks! I wore out five heavy duty saw blades - and myself. After three days of struggle and sweat the last piece finally went through the hatch and the whole area was laid bare down to the floorboards
I bought the bathtub, after having it fitted with ten adjustable jets and a pressure pump that converted it into a real Jacuzzi type hot tub.
I had some strange looks from people in our marina as a friend and I wheeled a full size bathtub with all sorts of pipes sticking out of it, down the dock and humped it on to Britannia’s deck. I told one inquisitive fellow that I planned to cut a big hole in the deck, and he didn't blink an eyelid! Evidently people had become used to some of my more extream projects.
After I had pinched 4” inches out of the engine room the bath plonked down exactly where I had planned it, and I couldn't resist finding out what my new creation felt like. I even found a lovely oval-painted glass picture of a square-rigger, which I inset into the alcove, with a light behind it.
The next question was how to heat 55 gallons of water to about 102F (38.8C) to fill the bath. I had an 11-gallon water tank with an immersion heater coil, but that would never give enough hot water for the bath. I therefore installed another 11-gallon tank in series with the first, and connected the immersion heaters to each of the boats two shore power inlets. Both tanks had calorifier coils inside which were connected to the engine fresh-water circulation pump. When the engine was warmed up it ran at 180F (82.2C) and these two heat sources produced enough hot water to fill the bath.
Next, I removed the old head, (toilet), and pipes and threw it in a dumpster. After a lot of thought about "electric or manual" I installed a full size Raritan “Elegance” electric toilet next to the bath. Whether electric or manually operated, flushing a marine toilet with seawater always caused an appalling stink from the dead microbes in the pipes. I therefore plumbed my loo into the boats freshwater supply and used none-return valves to ensure it remained completely isolated from the freshwater tanks. Freshwater flushing completely eliminates odor and keeps the bowl cleaner. When at sea the toilets can be switched to seawater flush to save water in the tanks. I even found a patriotic British seat.
Installing the toilet pipeswas the usual struggle using thick 1½" inch pipes, but also because I did not want any of the pipework showing in the bathroom. I hate to see marine heads with exposed pipes and valves, when, with a bit more effort they can usually be enclosed. They are also much easier to clean.
Direct toilet discharge is illegal anywhere in American waters, so most boats have holding tanks. I hate them though, because they nearly always smell, especially if they have as many holes in them as mine had - it had been made of aluminium and had more holes than a colander. I chopped it out and installed a Raritan Purisan waste treatment system that injects chlorine into a tank and neutralizes the waste before it is discharged, and is US Coast Guard approved. This was quite easy to install and I now use the space where the holding tank was for storage of spare mooring lines.
Previously, I had dismantled the cupboard and washbasin in the bedroom. I had also relocated the door it at an angle, allowing room for a washbasin to be built in the bathroom, like any normal bathroom.
With the toilet in position and working, the next job was to install a new washbasin and taps. The original stainless' basin was stained and old-fashioned so I bought a basin called a vessel-bowl from my local hardware store. This sits on top of a counter-top, not recessed into it, and allows for a larger bowl than one that is recessed. I bought a beautiful blue and black bowl and found some polished brass handles and a spout. I rebuilt the pedestal on a split level configuration using two shaped pieces of blue/black granite counter-tops.
It actually took longer to 'trim' the bathroom than to fit the new equipment. I used a fascia of blue vinyl tiles and installed a shower head and a new plastic headliner. I also wired in two 120 volt sconce lights and two extra 12-volt ceiling lights. The whole room was then re-clad with clean white plastic sheet and caulked to make it waterproof. All this took the best part of two months to finish, but the result is a beautiful bathroom, reminiscent of some elegant Victorian yacht.
It is absolutely marvelous to be able to soak in the bath after a hard day's work on the boat, especially with a pint of Boddington's pub ale that sits in the folding holder on the wall. I haven't yet used the bath anywhere other than in our marina berth, where the boat hardly moves. Trying the have a bath at anchor could be interesting, when a passing motorboat causes their usual massive wake.
