Hello again,

How easy would it be to move an existing bathroom on a narrowboat to a different place?

Do you have to make new holes in the side for the water to go out or would a pump of some sort be sufficient to pump it to the original hole?

Asking in all ignorance!! - Hubby always says - "tut - blonde"!!

Regards, Karen.

If not moving far, then routing drain pipes to an existing pump might be an option. But if you are talking a serious distance, then you would have to start thinking about fall in the drain pipes, increasing diameters perhaps. I would suggest that if the bathroom is being moved a goodly distance, then you consider moving the drain pump, and making a new hole in the boat, remembering to keep the reqiured distance above the waterline (10 inches I think.)

Without more info of the pump type and distances involved, it is hard to advise, but if I was going to do this on my boat, and moving the bath etc more than a few feet,I would resite the pump to suit.

Hi Caweasel,

Thank you.

This is really a hypothetical question as we have looked at lots of boats, but the layout is never "quite right". Saying that, we have decided that we are not going to buy our "dream boat" this time, as we are beginners and all the options are very very confusing ...... what electrics do you have? .... what toilet do you have? ....what layout do you have???

So... we have decided that the best route for us at this stage would be a second hand boat so that we could use it as a learning curve!

We have looked at loads, and all the technical stuff aside, there are a few we have seen that seem to be ok structually (can you say that about boats??) but the layout is wrong - ie bathrooms!. So no figures on pipe size or pumps but wondered if it was possible - I know it is a nightmare in a house to move a bathroom!!

Regards, Karen

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You are generally dealing with smaller drain pipes in a boat, and you have the luxury of being able to make the drain overboard wherever suitable. Not too huge a job if you are DIY minded.

May I ask why you feel the bathrooms are in the wrong place?

As I say - we are new to this,

We may not want to - but just wondered if it was possible.

We are house dwellers, and in a house moving the bathroom is a real no no. Just exploring all possibilities.

This will be our boat MK1 - from the advice I have seen on this forum you need one of those first before you get boat MK2!!!

Want to practice on boat MK 1 first!!

Regards, Karen

Must admit we are on MK2 narrowboat. We never thought we would sell our first narrowboat, but after two years, sold the old girl (boat not SWMBO) and bought a shell which we fitted out to our needs.
As you suggest, you learn a lot on MK1, but we are still learning a lot on mK2.

I know what an old girl is ..... not too sure about a SWMBO .......

"She Was My Baby Only"

"Simple Women Move Boxes Only"

"So We Must Barbeque Often"

???????

Sorry being flippant now.

Seriously - do not know what it means - boating jargon???

Karen.

She
Who
Must
Be
Obeyed

eg the wife!

I think the term was first used in a TV programme (Rumpole of the ???).

It has been abbreviated to "SWMBO" on t'internet.

He He He

Just got hubby up to see the result!!

As you can see, have as much knowledge of T'internet as I do of N'arrowboats!!

He He

Seriously, Thanks for all the advice - not just in responses to specific questions, but to looking through the forums too - very informative. Have lost many hours looking when I should be ironing or something!

Regards, Karen.

swmbo. often used by arthur daley in minder

We did our "Mk 1" learning with a share boat, then once we had decided what worked or not for us, got a boat that matched these ideas. Now after 6 years with our boating ideas, there are still tweaks going on & fresh ideas as we see other peoples ideas & solutions. There seems to be endless "improvements" availiable, (upgrading lights, extra sockets etc.) So start off with an open mind & see what works for you.

Our ex-hire widebeam had two en suite 'cupboards' but as the rest of the boat layout suited us we decided to knock them into just one larger shower/toilet room, without too much fuss.

We'd been quoted £3000 to do the work but with help from friends and fellow boaters we spent about £500.