Clean bilge porn for OCPD sailors...

[jameswilson29]

In order to test the automatic bilge pump in my newly purchased boat, I thoroughly cleaned the bilge (and the bilge pump intake strainer) over several weekly visits, using rubber gloves, paper towels and plastic bags, Simple Green, a bucket and sponge, fresh water, and a shop vac.

When I first bought the boat, it had cloudy dirty water in the bilge, as do most older Craigslist boats with an inboard engine and a keel stepped mast. On my test sail, I watched the PO (an otherwise decent fellow) use a coat hanger to clean out the drain holes between the bilge supports, which had become clogged with solid material. No surprisingly, there was a persistent diesel/oil/moldy odor in the cabin.

For the first time yesterday, when I opened the companionway hatches, there was no apparent diesel/oil/mold odor. I was greeted by clean, dry bilges with dry, intact 34 year old keel bolts, a beautiful sight...SailNet Community - jameswilson29's Album: Clean bilges are a beautiful thing - Picture

[Maine Sail]

Original 1979 factory gelcoat at 31 years old...

[olson34]

Nice work guys!
While I will not have our sole sections out for refinishing for a while yet (yeah, it needs it), here is a current picture of the aft section with access plate set aside.
Interesting that the mid section of Maine's vessel is constructed almost exactly like our Olson, even to having "hat" stringers glassed in with the keel bolts coming through the flanges on those overlapped stringers. Even our settee and interior moldings appear to be glassed in similarly.
Another reason why these particular model hulls have a long long life.

Seasons Greetings,
LB

[sawingknots]

when i first bought my boat on the gulf side of fla.sand was packed all the way up to the cabin floor and for a very long time everytime the bilge pump came on it would clog every few seconds,i have often dumped five gallons of water during choppy water just to clean out the sand eventually i did finally manage to have a clean bilge and i've learned any small bit of paper/trash will eventually haunt me now my worse problem is i sometimes take my doberman with me and believe me dobermans shed hair constantly,my boat a py26 doesn't have a proper sump area and one gallon of water will cover most of the bilge,when and if i have any bilge water i use a sponge and bucket

[arf145]

I'm jealous of you guys with gelcoated bilges. You've got a good shot at having a nice clean bilge. Pearson saw fit to leave the bilge areas raw fiberglass like a waffle-- perfect for holding dirt and filth forever. Confession: that MaineSail bilge picture appears in my dreams sometimes. :-)

[treilley]

Brings back fine memories of my P28.

[jameswilson29]

Yes, the P28 has a good bilge sump, about three quarters of a foot deep. I think the bilge can probably hold about 10 gallons or more.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by arf145

I'm jealous of you guys with gelcoated bilges. You've got a good shot at having a nice clean bilge. Pearson saw fit to leave the bilge areas raw fiberglass like a waffle-- perfect for holding dirt and filth forever. Confession: that MaineSail bilge picture appears in my dreams sometimes. :-)

I have a friend who has the same boat as ours. He cleaned his bilge and then painted it. Looks just great. No reason you can't. Find a reasonable paint material that will build up enough to cover the raw fiberglass. Good luck.

[MY36]

My biggest obstacle to completely clean bilges is that I can't even come
close to reaching the bottom of my bilge in the deep section. Best I can
do is poke at it with a sponge on the end of a stick. It is pretty icky down
there since it's so hard to get at.

I'm amazed at how shallow the bilges are in the the pictures attached
to this thread. I guess it's just another design trade-off.

[treilley]

The bilges on our Caliber 40LRC are deep(about 24") but only span one set of stringers because of the built in tankage. Ours stays very clean with the exception of dog hair which we regularly clean out.