We own a 1987 E34. Until a recent outing with seven people in the cockpit (some in the 250 lb + range), our bilges were realtively clean (at least you could see the bottom of the bilge when water was present). As we were motoring back from the sail, I noticed that the stern was very low with the exhaust burbling in the water. A week later, we returned to the boat and routinely checked the bilges to discover a black sooty substance throughout with an exhaust/sulfur odor. The sponges that we keep in the bilge were partially eaten away and were totally black. A quick check of the engine/trans and pan revealed no leaks or irregularities. A former E35 owner said he had once experienced a similar set of circumstances and here's what he discovered -- with a lot of weight in the cockpit, the stern was low and his rudder post stuffing leaked; the leaking water ran through the bilge (especially under the engine) and carried all the old crud into the bilge. This explanation seems reasonable enough; however, I'm not sure it accounts for the black sooty substance in the bilge. We haven't had any additional bilge goo since (however, we haven't taken her out in a few weeks). Long story short, I'd like to tap the combined wisdom of this forum to see if there are any other ideas about this problem.
Thanks,
Chris
Thanks,
Chris