Cleaning the Bilge, but what about the discharge regs?

[LWinters]

So my boat has the leaky 4-108 engine and a transmission that dumped most of its fluid into the bilge just before I had it rebuilt. Needless to say the soup brewing back there isn't the best. As tempted as I am to give it a good flush with bilge cleaner, soap, and fresh water I can't bring myself to hit the bilge pump switch. There is no place for all the oil to go but overboard and I can already see the sheen on the waters surface if I just let it go.

So what’s the best way to address this? I already have a drip pan under the engine so little oil is being added to the bilge, but there is almost always a some. Is this one of those things most people look the other way on or is there a simple solution? I suppose the only alternative is to either pump the fluids into a disposal container or find some rags that will soak up the oil and then discharge the water.

Any suggestions?

[JimHawkins]

Check this related thread

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/36269-purple-power-good-stuff.html

[TrueBlue]

Whenever I winterize the engine at end of season layup, the keel bilge is pumped of all fluid with my Moeller fluid extractor pump, which holds 5 litres. As with most keel bilges, the bilge pump never pumps the bilge dry and contains some nasty smelling soup by season's end.

I empty the pump at the marina's regulated substance station for proper disposal.

[imiloa]

By all means don't pump that slime overboard. I would first use a portable manual pump to collect the bulk of the liquids into a container for proper disposal. After that the bilge can be wiped out (at least the areas you can reach). I've had success using disposable diapers to absorb all kinds of slimy stuff they were never really intended to absorb. They are cheap, easy to handle and hold a lot of fluid. If there is remaining goop in unreachable places you can do repeated washes with bilge cleaner - collecting the liquid each time using the portable pump so all of this can be disposed of properly. It doesn't seem to me that there is any easy way to deal with this kind of thing (that is still legal and environmentally responsible).

[Ulladh]

Like the other posters wrote, pump the bilge water out to containers and dispose legaly.

Then place an oil absorbing pad under the offending engine, and an oil absorbing sock in the bilge, and for added comfort add a filter between the bigle pump and through hull.

All a lot cheaper than a USCG fine, and keeps the fish happy.

[Fstbttms]

Check with your marina, they may provide oil-absorbant pads and oil disposal free of charge.

[nolatom]

Generally that oil floats on top of the bilge water. In a pinch, I've used mass quantities of paper towels to blot it off the top, then disposed of them ashore. I found the water beneath this was clean enough to pump, or to blot dry if there isn't that much of it.

[NOLAsailing]

If it's fairly minor, go with Nolatom's recommendation (no, there is no relation ).

However, it sounds as though you've got more than just a bit of floating oil. I would suggest using a manual bilge pump, like this model from West Marine, and pump the contaminated water into a separate container. Gallon jugs work well. You can bring it Auto Zone or an oil change place for proper disposal. Once the bilge is dry, clean it with a degreaser and work towards keeping it clean.