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Cleaning the bilgey bits...

jmcelwee

Member I
Hi all,


I just bought a 1984 Ericson 28+, and am having a devil of a time trying to get the bilge as clean as I can. I know the best advice is to powerwash the bilge to clean it, but for this particular boat it's impossible. Ericson built the boat with a laid-in fiberglass grid under the sole, which is notorious for trapping bilge water (almost all boats built with this "tri-force axial grid" always have some standing water in the bilge, which gradually leaks out or is released after sailing). Even worse, there are only a few small access holes cut into the sole, which contain shallow fiberglass pans with a few limber holes in them (which is the only access the boat has to the bilge water....there isn't any direct access to the actual bilge at all). So, there's no way to actually get into the bilge to clean/vacuum/dry it.


Given that, my question is what is the next best approach? I've got some hardcore anaerobic bacterial growth in there right now stinking up the boat, so I want to try adding some kind of cleaner (borax? starbrite? liquid tide?) to kill what's in there and clean it as best as possible (lots of sailing to swish it around), then vacuum out as much of it as i can from the access pans. Is there any particular additive/cleaner that would be best to act as a long-term bacteriostat?


Thanks for any help!
 

Vincent

Member II
bilge cleaning

I also have an e 28 + with the same difficulty. Rinse the bulge first. Use a heavy-duty water pump to pump the water out each time you fill it up . Add a quatenary disinfectant fill it up let it soak 5 min . Then pump it out. Air flow is key to drying it out, so a fan pointed across the openings will help.I have enjoyed sailing my 28 + for 6 years now. Vince
 

jmcelwee

Member I
bilge cleaning

Thanks Vincent!

For a pump, would a wet/dry vac be sufficient, if I could somehow manage to cram it into a limber hole or somesuch?

Also, for the disinfectant, most quaternary disinfectants are for use on non-porous materials. I'm worried that the bottom of the sole is likely pretty saturated (and I doubt it was sealed well when it was installed). Should I use something that has the possibility of penetrating that? From looking at forums, borax has been suggested in those cases....
 

mherrcat

Contributing Partner
I use an oil change pump like the one below to get the water out of mine. The thin, hard tube from the pump can be snaked into the bilge through the limber holes in those fiberglass pans you describe or around bilge pump hoses and the holes cut in those same pans for routing them. You have to wiggle the tube and move it around to try to find where the water is collecting, but once you've done it a couple of times you'll know the areas to shoot for.

On my 30+ there is one large access hole cut in the floor inside the aft facing port settee next to the compression post. This is where the majority of the water ends up in my bilge and is easy to get to there with the pump.

As for cleaning out the bilge, the best way I found was to buy some commercial bilge cleaner product, mix up a gallon or gallon and a half of it, pour it into the bilge and go sailing on a bumpy day. Afterwards use the pump to suck as much as possible out. Did this a few times and it really helped the smell. I also leave all the covers to those pans off and the settee lid and cushion off to allow air to circulate in the bilge when I leave the boat. Seems to work.
 

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u079721

Contributing Partner
Let me second the suggestion to use a quat disinfectant in the bilge to keep bug growth down. Just go to the hardware store and buy a bottle of humidifier disinfectant or preservative, which is usually just a water solution of about 5% soluble quat. Then just add a cap full or two every time after pumping out the bilge. I used this stuff for over 10 years and it did a great job of keeping anything from growing in the bilge water. I also wouldn't worry about the absorption to the underside of the cabin sole. True it would be best if that surface were sealed, but the quat won't have any more effect than the water would.
 

Vincent

Member II
shop vac

When at the hardware store for the disinfectant get 2 ft of clear hose a little smaller than the holes .tape it to the van hose . Cut the hose at an angle and use it to suck out water.
 

jonparkins

New Member
I can second the wet vac with clear hose, I just got a step down adapter from Home Depot for a $1 or so and duct taped it to the vac's hose, then duct taped about 3 feet of clear 3/4" hose to the stepped down end and use that to get the water out of my E26's bilge, it's the same as yours, with a few shallow pans, with limited access. After a very very wet BC winter and a leak I couldn't find (think it's found now!) I had to do a lot of vacuuming this winter, but it did work like a charm.
 

jmcelwee

Member I
Great advice!

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice! I got myself some lysol I.C. disinfectant, and have put some of that with a gallon of water down into the bilge a few times now, and the difference is amazing. That nasty funk like something had crawled in there and died a few years ago is now gone! Worked a treat, and I'll definitely give it that treatment now and then through the season.

I got myself a handpump and have been doing the clear hose pumpout the last few times, and it's been doing a good job of getting most of the water out. A few hot and dry days, and I'm hopeful the bilge might actually dry out someday (not holding my breath though).
 
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