Carver Owners Forum

Anyone have any idea where they hid the shower sump/pump for the Carver 26? It has the integral head/shower compartment and what looks like the exit thru hull just outside the shower on the starboard hull, and an electrical switch for the shower pump on the main breaker console. I have pulled up all the floorboards in the boat and have had no luck finding it. Would rather not start pouring water down the drain and listen for the pump in case it was omitted from the boat early on. BTW: I've owner her since new and have never used the shower. looking new to plumb the HVAC condensate drain into the sump for auto-purging rather than as it was originally designed for draining directly into the bilge. HATE water in the engine room! Thanks all!

JBC/Seattle

If you have one and I assume you do, most likely it will be within 2’ of the drain, no more than 3’. You said you pulled up all the floor boards…do you mean bilge access openings or the actual floor. Only thing I can tell you, Carver is famous for putting bilge openings in hidden out of sight areas, even under carpeting.
Do you have a breaker on your electrical panel marked shower pump or something similar?

So pour some water down there and watch......has your boat been winterized in the last 30 years ? I commend you for keeping the same boat for that length of time ,,,,KUdos.

Thanks all, and Happy 2022.

I have owned the boat the entire time and have never used the shower sump pump. It has a dedicated shower pump switch on the electrical panel. I have removed the floorboard panels inside the cabin and also looked in the engine room for the shower pump, all to no avail. The shower itself is a 'uni-body' plastic shell construction, so I dont know how you get to the sump pump if its located in such close proximity to the drain itself without cutting into the shell. I would guess it would be located at or below the surface of the sump flooring...

Any other ideas? I guess I may have to pour some water down the drain and hope for the telltale humming to locate it....

Appreciate the help greatly! Jack

A recent pic of my 1991 Carver 26, The 'Cabezon' on Lake Washington.

Carver 26

Nice looking boat!!

I am sure you don't have to cut the shell of the shower surround to get access to the pump. There would be very little clearance under the shower... probably just enough for the drain and right angle fitting for the hose to attach.

On the floorboards inside the cabin that you removed... did they give access to the center of the bilge? That area between the closest stringers would be the lowest place and best place to put the sump. (and that's where my fwd sump was on my boat). Did you locate the through-hull discharge where the water should be coming out? Perhaps by the process of elimination you can determine which one it is, then follow THAT hose back to the source.

I had a boat that had the shower sump pump mounted in the back of a cabinet more than 5' from the drain in the shower floor.....it worked fine, it was a PD style pump...it was probably relocated when the flooring was installed.....have a real good look.....

There should be a small hatch on the floor just outside the head door. If the hatch hasn't been removed for a while, the carpeting may have matted over the seam and you can't see it. The AC condensate is running into the sump box already. There is a chance a previous owner could have removed the box, electing to have the water just run into the bilge. Should be a white plastic box with a clear cover, about 10" X 10". Let us know when you find it. er

On my 1992 26 command bridge / 280 Sedan, same as yours:

there is a pump in the engine room that you need to switch on. Switch under the window next to the wash basin. Drain tube from shower to the engine room to the pump and there directly overboard.

It has a different overboard discharge then the wash basin so perhaps that's causing confusion: no exit directly next to the shower afaik.


Good looking boat! looks original, would like to see more pics. Inside (electrics, layout, fittings) too!