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

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My bilge is bone dry under normal conditions. I don't have a drip pan, because I have not figured out how to get one under my engine that would be removable like I have had on previous boats. I am currently chasing an occasional drip of about a dime size spot of coolant if I run really hard. Also I am chasing some belt black dust that comes from one of my belts.
 
mgreen said:
My bilge is bone dry under normal conditions. I don't have a drip pan, because I have not figured out how to get one under my engine that would be removable like I have had on previous boats. I am currently chasing an occasional drip of about a dime size spot of coolant if I run really hard. Also I am chasing some belt black dust that comes from one of my belts.
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Drip trays are always more challenging with a single engine, as the engine then sits directly over the main bilge.
 
My steel Burger with twin Jimmies had a 100% dry bilge.

Painted white because even though I dislike the color, it shows stains really well. Pretty much any water drip that dries leaves a discolor or stain.

Oil drips from the engines were minor and well collected and controlled.

Two traditional packing glands dripped into trays which drained into a shower sump.

100% effective.
 
Have 4 bilge pumps in two compartments, each with a cycle counter. I don't dry the bilges as the pump areas are hard to get to. If a pump runs, it's either a freshwater plumping leak or horizontal rain leaking drops in an unknown area. It's not uncommon to go 4+ months without a pump cycling. Dry enough for me.

Ted
 
I had a fresh water leak and a plugged weeper hole. Fresh water leak cured so all my bilges are dry.
 
I definitely don't concern myself with having a completely dry bilge. I flush the main and generator with fresh water after each use and I always spill a little there. We have 2 conventional stuffing boxes that are supposed to weep a bit and it would be impossible to put a drip pan under the rudder vertical rudder packing gland anyway. I'm sure the 35 year-old boat has a minor rainwater leak or two, where the sealant has shrunk at the deck joint or rub railings.
Like I said earlier, I'll occasionally run the dry-bilge to get the water out if any has accumulated but as long as there's no odor issues, I don't care about a few quarts of water in the bilge.
 
Dry bilges are an indication of owner attentiveness and attention to the little things. As noted by many already any oil, coolant or water can be easily noted and dealt with.

But, some vessels are lacking good gutters around hatches, have screws through the teak decks and no shower or condensate sumps excepting the bilge pumps. Then comes the poor access to shaft or rudder logs for easy servicing. Thus anal owners get nicked by lesser build quality.

Perfection is wonderful but show me a “dry “ bilge and after a heavy rain or hard run I’ll show you some leaks - most perfectly harmless but not always
 
Just replaced the raw water pump on my Lehman 120 and intend to get to a dry bilge. It's been far from that but I've only owned her for a couple months.
 
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.
 
Mako said:
. The shower pump gets disgusting with hair, jelly, bacteria and soap scum. There's no way that should be allowed to run loose. Zero.
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Amen. Throw in anchor locker drainage into the bilge as a negative too.
 
sunchaser said:
Amen. Throw in anchor locker drainage into the bilge as a negative too.
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SeaLion said:
Yes! And A/C condensate as well. That always disappoints me.
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I plumbed my anchor locker drainage and stateroom air conditioning to drain in the shower and sink sump. Don't know why manufacturers don't plan that in their design.

Ted
 
O C Diver said:
I plumbed my anchor locker drainage and stateroom air conditioning to drain in the shower and sink sump. Don't know why manufacturers don't plan that in their design.
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Some do.

Last boat, anchor locker drained overboard, and bow AC condensate drained to shower sump. This one, anchor locker drain overboard, and all interior water sources (sinks, shower sumps, ACs) drain through a common PVC "gutter" system on each side of the boat.

-Chris
 
Our bilge is dry, as in never wet from unintended sources. The anchor locker drains directly overboard and not into the bilge. Strainer or raw water pump maintenance may occasionally result in a few ounces of water in the bilge, but that's not the point. Similarly, I may get lazy and not clean the strainer on the shower sump in time resulting in a gray water overflow, but that's on me as well.
 
Good points above about anchor locker and AC condensate. When I first got the boat it always had 4 inches of water in the bilge. The single bilge pump was on a switch. So unless the owner was around to drain the bilge, it just accumulated water. It had a secondary emergency bilge but the wiring was undone. The AC drained right into the bilge and the shower drain was broken. It had many fresh water leaks.

Luckily the shower sump was extra large for this boat. Probably 15 to 25 gallons. I added a pump and float into the shower sump and just started plumbing everything into it. I did the DIY dry bilge that goes into the shower sump, AC condensate shower sump, shower drain hooked back up to the shower sump, etc. Then cured or improved probably 5 out of 8 fresh water leaks.
I still have about 3 leaks, all fresh water and none of them do harm. There is one in the V berth that leaks during heavy rain, its likely from the previous teak deck and is a microscopic hole somewhere. But its narrowed down to a few square inches. I was planning on waiting to resurface and paint the topside which would cure that but it may be a few months until I tackle that. So I may as well find it and fix it. The rest are in the rail stanchions and door slides that leak down the inner sides of the hull. No harm and will be tackled at a later date

I rather enjoy tracking these things down and fixing them. It never ceases to amaze me when looking at some boats that give no care in this area. Especially when many of the low hanging issues are so easily fixable.
 
I had never heard of a dry bilge until coming to TF. Never thought it was a problem. Then I read that some people have bilges that stink. Not sure what that is all about (leaking blackwater tank or shower drain?). I get saltwater from the packing gland, maybe some fresh water from rain, a little saltwater from hauling anchor, I don't think any fresh water from my potable system.

I have been curious about how often my bilge might pump when I'm away, but not enough to put a counter on the electrical circuit. I pump the bilge using the manual override when starting up, then it might pump automatically later that week if I'm cruising for a week. I have an alarm on the automatic and if it went off twice a day I would know something isn't right.

The engine and transmission have a big pan under them, so I can see if a drop falls from the engine/tranny. I put diapers in the actual bilge to catch any other oils, which are never present (except the time my fuel tank sprung a pinhole).

Water in the bilge is a non-issue. Stink or gators has not been a problem.
 
Marco Flamingo said:
I had never heard of a dry bilge until coming to TF. Never thought it was a problem. Then I read that some people have bilges that stink. Not sure what that is all about (leaking blackwater tank or shower drain?). I get saltwater from the packing gland, maybe some fresh water from rain, a little saltwater from hauling anchor, I don't think any fresh water from my potable system.

I have been curious about how often my bilge might pump when I'm away, but not enough to put a counter on the electrical circuit. I pump the bilge using the manual override when starting up, then it might pump automatically later that week if I'm cruising for a week. I have an alarm on the automatic and if it went off twice a day I would know something isn't right.

The engine and transmission have a big pan under them, so I can see if a drop falls from the engine/tranny. I put diapers in the actual bilge to catch any other oils, which are never present (except the time my fuel tank sprung a pinhole).

Water in the bilge is a non-issue. Stink or gators has not been a problem.
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For me, the issue with a "normal" leak that you don't know the source, is when it's not acceptable. An example would be the stuffing box. You see a drip and assume it's the packing. Maybe it is. Maybe it's the hose failing between the stuffing box and the shaft housing. Maybe the shaft housing is cracked and getting ready to fail.

For a new boat that rarely leaves the dock it may be an unnecessary concern. For those of us who cruise significantly and those of us with older boats, things wear out or deteriorate over time. If you have leaks you consider normal, how would you know if they weren't?

Ted
 
Puffin is dry. Dripless shaft seal, anchor locker discharges overboard, no A/C, shower sump and a drip pan under the engine and transmission. Quite a change from all of our previous wooden hull boats!
 
O C Diver said:
If you have leaks you consider normal, how would you know if they weren't? Ted
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By the frequency of the bilge alarm on the little pump. When my boat was last put in the water after engine service, the mechanic had not tightened the wet exhaust hose properly. The alarm went off once an hour (only when underway). Not normal. Fixed the leak and now it's less than once in two weeks. I can live with that and call it normal. If my big pump goes off, that's never normal.

If my bilge was dry, that's not normal. In fact, it would freak me out. What caused that!?
 
With Stainless pans under both engines, my bilgewater consists only of rainwater that sometimes intrudes via the lazarette hatches and saltwater that dribbles in small quantities from the stuffing boxes.
The bilge being continuous and perfectly flat, with Rule 2000 bilge pumps both at the stern end and at the forward end of the ER, an inch or so remains at all times. I have occasionally vacuumed the last bit out, but as it rarely has on odor, not often.
The showers fore and aft and the aft head sink drain into a small sump that has its own Rule 2000 with a float switch, so those sources of soapy water never mingle in the main bilge. The anchor locker does contribute a little saltwater, but using a spray on the chain as it rises keeps the mud out.
 
Because of this thread, I am putting in an effort this (dry, rain free, rare in October) week to find the small pesky rainwater leaks. Most likely the Freeman lazarette hatch and a stanchion or two.

I have also ordered the materials to make the dry bilge diaphragm pump though the sponge kit.

Thanks for the ideas and motivation!
 
100% dry Bilge. You could probably eat out of our bilges.

That way if anything is in the bilge you know you have an issue that needs to be remediated!
 
Northern Spy said:
Because of this thread, I am putting in an effort this (dry, rain free, rare in October) week to find the small pesky rainwater leaks. Most likely the Freeman lazarette hatch and a stanchion or two.

I have also ordered the materials to make the dry bilge diaphragm pump though the sponge kit.

Thanks for the ideas and motivation!
Click to expand...
Would like to see a report of that sponge installation, need to get motivated to do same.
 
Pilitak had a dry bilge over 95% of the time. Occasionally there was a very small amount of fresh water that leaked from the hot water tank OPV into the bilge, but not a regular occurence. The PSS dripless was dry, and I placed oil pads (kept clean if any small leaks were detected so as to notice any "new" leaks) under the engine to capture any drips. Any engine leaks were dealt with as soon as noticed. We never had a serious leak or an expensive to repair leak, so didn't develop a strategy there.
Rarely after a "rough ride" there would be a small amount of salt water in the forward bilge (under the master bed) that enter via the chain locker. After these "rides" I would just check and clean up as needed.
Being as dry as possible reduces any odours from building up!
 
Dry except when running one of my AC condenser units that appears to drain into the bilge rather than its own vent. I am still trying to find the source. Must be in the hose as best I can tell.
 
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