Boat Baths - Choosing and Fitting in Your Bathroom

What is a Boat Bath
A boat bath is a traditional bath without feet that goes straight down to the floor or more usually stands on a plinth that is either glued or bolted to the main part of the bath Boat baths have a plug and overflow in the middle of the bath lengthwise making it a double ended bath, occasionally boat baths may have a plug hole that is also in the center of the bath widthways but this is less usual. Boat baths usually rise up slightly at both ends of the bath and have an edge that curves downwards towards the middle (lengthwise). Boat baths are usually roll top baths, that means that the edge of the bath has a profile that approximates to a section from the circumference of a circle.

Fitting Taps to your Boat Bath
Boat bath are usually roll top baths and as such cannot have taps mounted on the edge of the bath unless they have a tap platform. A tap platform is an area on the edge of the bath that flattens out so that tap holes can be drilled in the bath and taps mounted on its edge. Because boat baths are always double ended baths the tap platform if there is one is invariably in the center of the bath above the overflow. Where there is no tap platform then you will have to fit either wall mounted or floor mounted taps. Floor mounted taps will be mounted on stand pipes, stand pipes cover the pipes carrying water to the taps usually with chromed piping and are robust enough to support the weight of the taps. Stand pipes stand in contrast to pipe shrouds (also called bath legs, but not to be confused with legs that support the bath, these are entirely different). Pipe shrouds are used when taps are mounted on the edge of the bath and are intended to provide an decorative cover to the water feeds but not to support the weight of the taps. Pipe shrouds are usually designed so that they are extendable and can fit on baths of a variety of heights. Boat baths are in general relatively high, and if you are fitting pipe shrouds or standing your taps on stand pipes you should check that they will be of sufficient height for your bath. As a general rule for standpipes you should aim to use standpipes that are as high or higher than the part of the bath against which they will stand. Usually this will mean using 700mm standpipes. You should also take care if fitting taps on standpipes to ensure that the reach of the spout will be sufficient to get over the roll top edge of the bath. If in doubt both with height and reach look for cranked leg taps, a cranked leg tap has a wiggle in the leg that both pushes the tap higher up and further forward giving both extra height and reach.

Choosing a Waste Kit to Your Boat Bath
Because boat baths are generally considered a traditional style of bath they are more often than not fitted with a traditional plug and chain waste kit. Usually pop-up or click-clack wastes can also be fitted but there are specific issues to do with some pop-up and click-clack wastes not being able to fit on baths beyond a certain thickness and you should check the thickness of the bath at the overflow and the plug hole and the maximum thickness the waste kit you are considering will accommodate, it is less usual to have this problem with chain wastes but the best advice is to source the bath and waste kit from the same supplier who should then accept responsibility for their compatibility. Also be aware that fitting waste/filler combinations that fill from the overflow can have there own issues especially concerning the size of the filler part of the waste on the outside of the bath which in extreme cases may be too wide and high to fit without clashing with the roll of the edge of the bath.

Exposed and Concealed Waste Kits
The main parts of the waste kit are the plug and overflow parts that are visible on the inside of the bath, the overflow pipe and associated fittings on the outside of the bath and the trap and waste pipe that are under the bath. Usually only the overflow pipe and associated fittings will be visible as the trap and outlet waste pipe will be hidden within the boat baths plinth. In fact if the bath is to be installed against a wall then none of the plumbing external to the bath will be visible and you can use a concealed waste kit, this is a waste kit where those external parts are plastic. On the other hand if the bath is away from the wall you will need an exposed overflow pipe, that is one that is expected to be seen and is therefore decorative, usually chrome, but again the trap and waste pipe can be plastic as they are usually hidden under the bath. There are two exceptions to consider about these general scenarios, firstly even if the bath is against a wall the overflow pipe may be visible, especially if the bath is against a long wall so that you could stand with your shoulder against the same wall and look down between the bath and the wall, this is a judgment you must make. Secondly even though the trap under the bath will not normally be visible you may find that if the clearance under the bath is 120mm or less the only trap you can find that will fit will be an exposed, i.e. chrome, trap that has been designed specifically for the freestanding bath market.

Extended Overflow Pipes
All boat baths are double ended, that is, the plug hole and overflow are in the middle of the bath lengthwise. In most cases the plug hole although central lengthwise will be over towards the back of the bath width wise, however in a small number of cases the plug hole may be found to be in the dead center of the bath, that is central both lengthwise and widthwise. If this is the case you may find that a standard sized overflow pipe will not reach far enough under the bath to join up with the waste pipe that extends down from the plug hole. In cases such as this you will need to fit an overflow extension pipe, such extensions connect to the overflow pipe with a compression fitting, that is, they just push on and are sealed by a rubber gasket already fitted on the extension. You will probably have to source this from a specialist in freestanding baths.

Placement of the Waste Pipe
If the clearance under your boat bath is such that you have to use an extra shallow trap then you will find that the waste pipe that connect to the trap will be at roughly the same height as the overflow pipe and you will not be able to lead the waste pipe out the same way as the overflow pipe comes in as they will want to occupy the same space. This is usually not a problem as the trap will connect to the waste pipe form the plug hole with a captive nut that allows the trap to be positioned coming out at any angle so that it can be positioned such that the outlet waste pipe will not interfere with the overflow pipe. Having said this your plumber should be made aware of this possibility to ensure that no work is done laying underfloor waste pipes that cannot connect up with the outlet waste pipe from the trap

Fixing your bath to the floor
It is advisable to fix your bath firmly to the floor, the most usual way to do this is with a boat bath is to glue the baths plinth to the floor using silicon resin or a proprietary product such as Unibond's No More Nails. If you think you may need to move the bath just put a six inch bead of it at each end so that if necessary you can cut through it and move the bath, if as more likely the bath won't be moved put a bead all around the base of the bath.

Special Considerations for Antique Boat Baths
There are special considerations if your bath is an antique, in particular the plug hole and/or overflow hole may be larger than in a contemporary bath ans this may mean that the normal fittings that fit into the inside of the bath will be too small so that they drop straight through the hole. Apart from salvaging antique waste kits (which are not guaranteed to fit anyway) or having parts remanufactured there may not be an easy answer. I general the best advice is to avoid baths that have outsized plug or overflow holes.

The Victoria and Albert Marlborough Bath
It is also worth noting that a popular and con temporarily manufactured boat bath that is very nice indeed the Victoria & Albert Marlborough has particular considerations when fitting a waste kit. The clearance under this bath from the waste hole to the floor is only 90mm and there is not combination of waste kit and trap that is shallow enough to fit straightforwardly under this bath. If you have a wooden floor you can cut a small hole in the floor (about the size of a tennis ball) and this will accommodate the lowest part of a shallow trap. If you have a solid floor however then you will have to raise the bath up on a plinth that you have made by at least 25mm in order to have space to fit the trap. My advice is don't let this put you off unless your floor is solid and you can't raise the bath up because the Victoria and Albert Marlborough is one of the best and most luxurious boat baths on the market today.

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