Bilge water evaporation

Ok, I am a noob to boating/liveaboards. In my 3rd year of this life.

There is about an inch and a half of water down in the V of the hull. There is always water there. Leaks are coming in from scuppers that plug occasionally and then leak into the boat. When I hear the bilge pump run I know there is a plugged scupper. About once every 3 or 4 months.

Is there anything I can put in the bilge to keep water from evaporating? Just trying to reduce humidity levels in the boat. Fiberglass hull, 1987 Cheermen PT, 41' double cabin/double bathrooms, kitchen, etc... Boat lives in Southeast Alaska, humidity is continual. I run 2 dehumidifiers, one forward and one aft. They run about an hour a day but the cold water temps make the hull below the water line sweat. If I could reduce the evaporation of the bilge water I think it would help overall in the battle.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Do you live aboard? Do you vent the boat? Cooking, showers, and breathing put a lot of moisture in the cabin air. It's possible to have a higher humidity inside while it's raining outside. In the winter people close up the boat tight and don't change enough air.
I vent my bilges, even in the winter and they stay dry. And I have a wood boat.

I do live aboard. I try to keep the humidity below 40%. Just trying to do as much as I can for the few months in the fall and in the spring when the temps inside versus outside cause sweating on the hull in the engine room. Not sure if this is possible. Thanks.

The first and easiest thing would be to stop the water from getting inside the boat from the scuppers. Always best to stop the water from getting in than getting it out. Maybe fashion some S/S screens to go over the scuppers to keep the debris out and stopping the water flow out of the boats.

Is it possible to keep all the water out? A couple guys with a boat like mine say they always have an inch or 2 of water in their bilge.

Sorry if this is a ridiculous question.....I am learning as I go.
Thanks.

It takes some work to keep it out. Some shaft logs drip all the time. But with dripless logs it is possible to have dry bilges. But it does take some work. You will have to track down all the leaks. I use paper towels to help find the leaks, particularly the blue ones. Once they get wet the pattern changes so even if they dry by the time you check them you can tell that they have been wet.

Reducing water ingress, of course is a start.
I suppose getting all the water out will stop evaporation. There have been some clever DIY devices made with a sponge, cable outlet cover and a hose to a small pump to get rid of most standing water. some use a timer to run on a regular basis. Like THIS

You want to keep water FROM evaporating? I suggest the goal is to have your bilge as dry as possible. There are special bilge pumps with remote pick-ups that can be placed low in the bilge to remove almost all water. Additionally, some air conditioner systems (including mine for now) discharge their condensate in to the bilge. Condensation - That's a tough one and I battle that as well.

4dfishing said:

I do live aboard. I try to keep the humidity below 40%. Just trying to do as much as I can for the few months in the fall and in the spring when the temps inside versus outside cause sweating on the hull in the engine room. Not sure if this is possible. Thanks.

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I am fighting the same battle as you. My boat is steel, so condensation is the source. I have been suspecting all kind of leaks from different hoses, but it seems there is no leak, just condensation. PNW waters are cold and I have to heat at least at night. Lately, I am building up an airflow system, using quiet/nonquiet fans from a local business. The idea I had, the warm air in the salon can be directed down to the bilge on one end, and another duct with a fan will pull out air from the bilge on the other end. The reason I need this setup, because I cannot reach this section of the bilge. Airflow did help a lot with the condensation. Once I have all 3 ducts in place, I hope it will keep the bilge dry. The hull walls are already dry now.
It was also recommended to me to buy a commercial type dehumidifier, which I did. Some of them are expensive, but I found one for $440 and it is great. It has its own pump and automatic. I run this one during the day, because it is too loud to sleep close to it. I run another small dehumidifier in the PH. This runs pretty much all the time and drains into a bucket. A third one I have is a backup, or if I cook a lot in the galley, I turn this one on, too. I think dehumidifiers need to run all day/night, if you have so much condensation during the cold months. There is no other way.
My went/duct system works and it will get better, but might not be enough to dry out hidden corners. I built in very quiet fans to run them all day, and some more noisy, but larger air volume move fans, into the ducting. The loud ones run only when I am not sleeping. All these are 12V and my solar charges lithiums for 12V loads. This way, the fans can run practically forever, without plug in electricity.
There is a business in Kirkland, WA which sells cooling systems for computers, audio, cabinets, etc. (Coolerguys) Take a look at their web site and see, if you can assemble something for you airflow system. They are very affordable.