Dry bilge??? Raise your hand.....

[Cold Duck]

I hear a lot of responses of "dry bilges". I've found it's dry..... until it's not. Leaky hose, stuffing, a leaky freeze plug, any of a bunch of things that happen then it's not dry. You know, "It worked yesterday" syndrome, been there and seen that. That's why we have auto bilge pumps for when that dry bilge suddenly becomes wet. Then breather oil film can create that pesky sheen. So, you may have a dry bilge today, tomorrow, a week from Tuesday. When you least expect it, you become a wet bilge just like that. So all of us are subject to the issue of possibly having someone reporting or boarding to keep your boat from sinking and thus the possible situation described with the particular Boat US franchise.

 

[Frank60]

Dry and clean. If anything shows up in the bilge, it's because of a problem.

Ditto. Dry and clean.

 

[Owen Christensen]

I had coolant leak I couldn’t find. With the help of a pressure test I found a small crack here the filler neck on the expansion tank. Now fixed.

 

[26permacraft]

Totally get what you mean about the clean bilge! It's a bit of an obsession for some boaters. I'd say it's hard to put a number on it, but a lot of folks aim for a dry bilge. With a 36-footer and good access, you're in a good spot to keep it clean.

 

[ssteakley]

Almost always dry

If it’s wet I find out why and fix it. Boat smells better and I always know if there is a leak somewhere!

 

[EricH]

I've got a container under the stuffing box that's connected to its own bilge pump. Bilge stays dry except for a pesky rainwater leak.

 

[MVDarlin]

Stuffing boxes are expected to leak some, so a totally dry bilge is counter indicated to proper packing. But it should only be a small amount of clean seawater.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. MV. That's my thought as well. I was never tempted to go with a dripless system due to potential catastrophic failure, however slim. My stuffing boxes DID drip while underway but only about one drip every 5 or 10 seconds.

 

[grandbanksbayfield]

Dry or wet is one thing, oily is another

Recent thread on a boat with DDs that spilled a slight sheen with TowBoat US asking for an astronomical cleanup fee got me thinking.

What percentage of boats run a dry bilge? As in not a drop of anything? It's been an expensive and hard fought goal for me. But I have a small engine with decent access (at least for a 36 footer).

How many dry bilges out there? Thoughts?

Peter

My 87 GB32 has a nice, deep drip pan under the whole engine and transmission. I would not be without it. I spread absorbent pads fore to aft under it to observe any oil or antifreeze leaks from the engine. Also pack a few pads under major junctions in the fuel supply system. Yet, my packing gland always leaks a bit and I do not worry about it -- better than burning up the prop shaft. All glass boats collect a little dew on the insides of their hulls which eventually pools in the bottom. It is good to lay a few pads around the bilge pump just in case there are small oil or fuel leaks you did not see. Yearly I spray the whole engine compartment with a strong solution of boat soap and let it sit for 15 minutes and then rinse it out with a hose and spray nozzle and the bilge pump throws it overboard. Then I pump out the very bottom sump with the built-in hand pump. The bottom line is good boatkeeping and observation and prevention. A little WATER in your bilge is hard to avoid.

 

[Comodave]

Stuffing boxes are expected to leak some, so a totally dry bilge is counter indicated to proper packing. But it should only be a small amount of clean seawater.

If you use modern packing in the shaft log they won’t drip. In our last boat there were traditional stuffing boxes. We used Duramax packing and they can be adjusted so they don’t drip at all, sitting or underway. You do have to break the packing in so it drips during the breakin period but then it doesn’t drip.

 

[catalinajack]

really useful discussion on Cruisers Forum of this issue. Time to get an accumulator tank I guess.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f115/leaking-relief-valve-on-water-heater-200050.html

It worked for my leaky T&P valve. And there is nothing wrong with using an existing accumulator (for the pump) on the hot water side rather than the cold water side such that it does double duty.

 

[Hydraulicjump]

I know we are drifting off topic, but does it matter where in the hot water line you put the accumulator? I just assume closer to the pump (in this case the water heater) is better, but reflecting on it I am not sure that the frictional pressure loss is all that great given the short distances and low flow rates? There are more convenient and less convenient places to cut into the hot water lines.

Just emptied the bucket that catches discharge from the P&T valve, so motivated to come up with a fix to keep that bilge dry.

 

[rslifkin]

I put the expansion tank on mine just before the water heater input (after the check valve that prevents back flow to the cold side). I figure before the water heater is better than after as the water getting pushed into it should be a little less hot.

 

[ranger58sb]

I think I shouldn't have answered, above.

Turns out our normally "dry" bilge isn't, today. Looks like the shower sump overflowed, so probably either the float switch or the bilge pump in there -- or both -- have crapped out.

Could have done without this distraction...

-Chris

 

[OldDan1943]

What do you use to determine if the water salty or fresh?

 

[Serene]

What do you use to determine if the water salty or fresh?

Taste it.

 

[Derek]

Checked last weekend. The clean out of the Fwd AC condensation drain tube did its job. Bone dry under there. Other three bilges also bone dry. Had to vac some water out of aft sump pump which sees daily use. Will tighten clamps to see if that solves it or if I have a slow leak from cracked box. Moving to Dripless shafts was huge in terms of removing water from below.

 

[Derek]

What @sunchaser says makes good sense. Many boats leak from various places. However regarding to "... no shower or condensate sumps excepting the bilge pumps" that really grosses me out. The shower pump gets disgusting with hair, jelly, bacteria and soap scum. There's no way that should be allowed to run loose. Zero.

Good ole captain Chris taught me in 2017 to only use liquid soap in shower and not bar soap. Never saw the scum issue. Also dumping vinegar in the drain every time we leave the boat sitting seems to help. Finally, we have little screens on each drain and empty after each shower. Amazing improvement in hair in sump. These statements have not been approved by the FDA [emoji3]