Add Raw Water Wash Down to Existing Boat?

[Ron in Atlanta]

Didn't think I'd want this option when I bought the boat last year, now it would come in handy to rinse the dog down on hot days rather than dunk him like a donut every 10 minutes.  He is a terrier, not much of a water dog but very cute and super friendly...

 

Is it a big deal to add this feature?

[JEM]

It would be a good little job!  It would probably take a good day to install by an experienced rigger.  You would add another thru hull and  ball valve to the water chest, plus a pressurized water pump, all the wiring, switch, hoses, and outlet fitting.  I would say you would be looking at $600 to $800 to do it right.   You could look to see how much it cost as an option from the factory, and probably increase it by a 25 to 35%, simply because it is a lot harder after the cap is installed to the hull.  That is my uneducated guess. 

[Miss Jazzy]

Should be able to do it much cheaper than $6-800. Look at your live well pump and see if it has a outlet that is plugged. Most are made so you can add a hose to add a raw water pump. If you have it then just by a wash down pump kit. Not that big of a deal to instal, I've done a couple with no problems.  The bottom outlet is for adding a pump.

[gambler1]

Google "Big Kahuna portable shower" I just bought one for my boat, used it this weekend after swimming in the salt and it works awesome. Comes in three sizes .12v and best of all portable so you can use it anywhere.

[Dawgfan]

Ron, the factory raw water wash down on my boat is taken from one of my live well pumps as mentioned above.  Raw water hose comes off of one of the pumps, runs to the pressurized water pump.  There is no additional through hull for the wash down pump.  

[Wanaflatsfish]

RAW water vs FRESH water washdown are two different animals (joke)...

 

RAW is easy to add as mentioned above...all you need to do is add the hose to the pump and then add the pump...simple fuse in line with a switch - Pump $200, switch $20, wire $10, fuses etc. $25....Total $300 and 2 hrs work.

 

FRESH requires the addition of a tank, pump, etc.  - more complicated, more $$$ - 10 gallon tanks, etc. are not cheap and require it to be installed in the console, etc.

 

I agree with Gambler...the portable showers are the way to go.....there are many on the market and will fit in your front hatch.......the other option I used to use was my livewells...

When we used to take out the kids during the summer for skiiing or tubing in the salt water, we'd fill the two livewells with fresh water when we'd leave for a day on the water - no fishing, etc. and I'd turn off the inlet valve to insure no water entry and use plugs to plug up everything tight....worked great..just grab a bucket and dump it on the kids...

 

DC

 

[Bamaskeet]

The older Pathfinders used to come with three outlets in the sea chest, the new ones only come with two.

You can take of one of the elbows and replace it with a tee fitting and that would give you three outlets out of your sea chest with no drilling.

[fin-addict]

pump spray canister 2gal. with hose and nozzle at garden supply store or portable shower bag. keep it simple. low cost. my boy likes it.  fin.

[smooth move]

i replaced my livewell pump with a 1100 gpm and tee'd off that line to a coiled hose and regular water hose nozzle that i keep stored in the bilge. when i want to use it to wash blood off or cool the dog down, i shut off the bait well valves and use the hose. not a ton of pressure, but enough to get the job done.

[JEM]

When I came up with the $600 - $800 figure, I was assuming he would not be installing it himself.  And I was talking a full pressurized system, that would shut off when you release the nozzle.  And notice I said, "do it right."  A 4.5 gpm Flojet deck wash pump is almost $200.  Add in another $100 in other parts, double it for the labor, and you are easily at $600.  Can you do it cheaper?  Absolutely.  But Ron doesn't appear to cut corners on his boats.  He could do it all himself, and cut out the expensive shop labor, and come in around $300, as wannaflatsfish said. 

[bernieNC]

15 minutes ago, JEM said:

When I came up with the $600 - $800 figure, I was assuming he would not be installing it himself.  And I was talking a full pressurized system, that would shut off when you release the nozzle.  And notice I said, "do it right."  A 4.5 gpm Flojet deck wash pump is almost $200.  Add in another $100 in other parts, double it for the labor, and you are easily at $600.  Can you do it cheaper.  Absolutely.  But Ron doesn't appear to cut corners on his boats.  He could do it all himself, and cut out the expensive shop labor, and come in around $300, as wannaflatsfish said. 

Well said. I would not own a boat without a "full pressurized system, that would shut off when you release the nozzle". I use mine almost every trip and flip the switch before I leave the dock.

[smilemaker]

A true wash down pump will be pressurized and shut off when the outlet is closed. The only value of a separate thruhull would be increased volume to get more pressure from a higher end pump.

I guess you just want to rinse the sand/mud and not take the fur off the dog. Go with the tee off the livewell. Easy and less expensive.

[fin-addict]

seldom use my aft livewell, I unscrew the spray head inside the well and attach a coil hose, flip the switch and done. use as RW washdown, not for puppy. puppy gets the fresh water.

[Joe A]

Fin-addict,

                 Could you send a picture of what this looks like. I would like to the same thing. Thanks.