False bilge issue Hunter 34

Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Bethunter,

Depending on how much of that sludge accumulated over the years, it may take some time to remove it all.
Areas to try to flush from without ripping up the floors.
1. Ice box
2. Just under the stuffing box
3. Engine pan drain holes.
4. Under the settee water heater.

Try flushing the above areas with degreasers such as dawn dish soap and bleach mixture , the foamy mix really breaks up the mildew and sludge that gets between the hull liner.

Then flush with a 50/50 mix of white vinager and hydrogen peroxide, After flushing the areas with the 50/50 mix let it sit for a few days then flush with simple green. The 50/50 mix kills the mildew and helps prevent it from coming back.

I do mine this way approximately once a month and now have
gotten rid of 95% of the boat odors sense I did the mod.
 
Nov 26, 2014
51
HUNTER h31 Northport L.I.
I should think that while boat is in water, sludge water will slosh all around the boat. So starting at the bow and and working back use cleaning solution in every opening port and area that can be accessed .
I have done that with just holes drilled in the bilge, Defendant deference in odor.
Would like to remove false bottom, but have not pulled that trigger yet.
Good luck
 
Apr 14, 2010
248
Hunter 34 Slidell, La.
Ok thanks for the reply, I will give it another go this weekend with your suggestions.

Bub
 

SFS

.
Aug 18, 2015
2,065
Currently Boatless Okinawa
If your v-berth is like ours, open the access door under the bed and flush forward, up under the berth and holding tank. Then flush aft, into the space under the floor you would be standing on. On my 31, all those spaces connect to the areas under the salon settees, then spill over into the real bilge, below the false bilge.

There are lots of places for nastiness to collect, just keep at it.
 
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Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Unfortunately the h34 has a sealed forward impact bulkhead that does not connect to the main bilge.
I think that you can flush into the main bilge near the port water tank storage area.
 
Apr 14, 2010
248
Hunter 34 Slidell, La.
Bethunter,

Depending on how much of that sludge accumulated over the years, it may take some time to remove it all.
Areas to try to flush from without ripping up the floors.
1. Ice box
2. Just under the stuffing box
3. Engine pan drain holes.
4. Under the settee water heater.

Try flushing the above areas with degreasers such as dawn dish soap and bleach mixture , the foamy mix really breaks up the mildew and sludge that gets between the hull liner.

Then flush with a 50/50 mix of white vinager and hydrogen peroxide, After flushing the areas with the 50/50 mix let it sit for a few days then flush with simple green. The 50/50 mix kills the mildew and helps prevent it from coming back.

I do mine this way approximately once a month and now have
gotten rid of 95% of the boat odors sense I did the mod.

We did what you suggested and odor is gone. When I open the boat up this morning there was a small hint of a bleach smell. I can live with that for now.

Thanks again, Bub
 
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Jan 22, 2008
309
Hunter 34 Herrington South, MD
I am about to do a false bilge repair and replace the sole. Am I correct in understanding that once you cut the hole in current bilge, you just clean it out and then paint everything, leaving the new opening in place?
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Yes,
However you my find some old rotted plywood that was used as a spacers down there. Messy and disgusting job but, makes a huge difference with regards to bilge odors. You will also need to reinstall your pump float switch. Note I found that using a dremal tool with a right angle attachment and metal/cutting wheel worked the best in that tight space. Well worth the money to save time and effort.
Good luck
 
Jan 22, 2008
309
Hunter 34 Herrington South, MD
Thanks! I have a few dremel like tools including a FIEN multitool with some great blades. I'll bring all of them. Always thought that the smell came from the holding tank.
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
No, Mike
Just 35 plus years of the most disgusting smelly sludge you can ever image. I think that a rotting 35 year old corpse would smell better.
If the weather permits try to flush out the bildge area from the engine compartment and where ever you can with a 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and white vinager with about an 1 oz of dawn dish detergent. Make up a sudsy mixture and flush it thru.
The suds will help spread the 50/50 mixture deep into the crevices within the bildge liner and will kill any mildew, it will also help to break down the sludge. You might want to flush with water and bleach first, then flush well to get the majority of the crud out. Then flush with the 50/50 mix and let it sit in there for a day or two to really let it work.
After I did mine, WOW ! I was amazed by the diferance it made.
Hope this helps and good luck.
 
Jan 22, 2008
309
Hunter 34 Herrington South, MD
Is there a false bilge in the forward compartment where the bilge pump switch is located?
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Mike,
No false bilge in forward shower sump area. That area forward of the main bulkhead was constructed after the main cabin modular section is installed from the factory. In the early models the compartment under the v-birth was sealed as an optional collision compartment that was later used as storage. The upper section does drain into the main bilge provided that holes are drilled into the cross stringer.
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Mike,
I was curious, what year is your h34 ?
Mine is 1983 and I'm the original owner, not many of us original owners left. I still can remember watching the hull being released from the mold, watching it move down the production line, and that new boat smell.

Unfortunately now she has some old battle scars and old tattoo marks, and has that old boat smell just like a classic car does, but there is nothing like it. She still is holding her own on the water. Wouldn't trade her for anything.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
309
Hunter 34 Herrington South, MD
I believe that it is an 84 which we bought in 87. It was orignally from Boston area and so it had a deep keel. But I think they thought it was too light for off shore sailing so they brought it down to Annapolis where people like shallow keels. It sat in a boat yard for quite a while when we bought it. Now that I'm retired, I'm trying to restore all the systems.
 
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Sep 11, 2015
147
Hunter 31 Marina del Rey
I have a H31. I have been regularly flushing the area around the false bilge and now I get mostly clear water and very little stale smell. My suggestion would be not to cut out the entire false floor but just a 2.5" round hole where you can drop a small bilge pump (in my case, Shoreline Marine 800 gph). This allows the pump to go lower than the false bilge, so you can drain most of the water out in manual operation of the pump. In general, you do not want to remove the false bilge because it traps the odors below.

There is always going to be a little bit of water left. You can manually drain it and keep the bilge dry but I realized water does seep into the hull from the hull deck joint seal. It is not very much and some people have resealed it but it looks like a big project to me.

Other suggested modifications include to wire the bilge switch to the unused fourth light on the Yanmar engine panel (normally used for the saildrive light and we do not have that), to serve as a high bilge alarm. If you want a bigger pump you can put a second pump there.
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Mike, you are almost an ordinal owner
Anyway good like with systems restore.
I have to agree to disagree with pizzazz after you cut away the false bilge area and clear out 35 years of crud then flush out with the cleaning solution that I had said previously 95% of the bilge smell will be gone forever. I have flushed out the bilge for 30 plus years only to have the smells return from the weep holes. I'm going on my third season now and have no more bilge odors.

He does have a great idea to use the yanmar panel.
I simply wired a buzzer to my float switch to let me know whenever the pump come on same idea I just did mine to the switch panel because it was easy access.
 
Jan 22, 2008
309
Hunter 34 Herrington South, MD

Ripped up the cabin sole yesterday and had some time to work on the false bilge. I used a combination of a 2" hole saw to make a series of cuts. The initial cuts were made with the center drill in place. Once the fiberglass was cut deep enough I removed the drill so that I won't put an extra hole in the hull. After prying out all the circles, I used my Fein oscillating cutting tool to clean up the rest of the fiberglass.

I have noticed that water is still accumulating under the table post and is visible once the flooring and post is removed. Can I open up / or carve out a groove to allow the water to make its way into the bildge? Similarly, the opening in the sole in front of the engine shows water and assorted jumk. Will this easily drain into the new bildge?
 
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Jan 22, 2008
309
Hunter 34 Herrington South, MD
I ended up removing the false bilge floor with a 2 inch hole saw. Once i got circles cut deep enough into the floor, I removed the center drill in the hole saw and finish the cuts. Faster than a Fein or dremel tool.
 
Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
The H34 seems to have the stinky boat issue more than some others. It has the skeleton frame with lots of pockets under the floor where water can get trapped. It also has carpet on the walls that can get mildew. And let’s not forget about the head and all the hoses that go with it. They are semi permeable and get gross after a few years and have to be replaced. I have the same problem with mine.
 
Nov 9, 2019
1
Hunter 34 Deale
This seems to be the thread with the most recent responses, so I'll add my two cents.

Today I tackled the false bilge issue on my 1983 Hunter 34. It went pretty much the way everyone else's has. I used a drill bit to open up a few holes to confirm that I was dealing with the same situation, and the black water that seeped up confirmed I was. I then used a Dremel side-cutting tool to slowly cut away the floor of the bilge area as detailed by others here. Same black sludge, same nasty smell, same rotting wood (although mine was only rotting on the very bottom - much of the thickness of the wood was still intact). I haven't painted the new bilge floor yet, nor have I flushed the area with clorox/water/Dawn/etc. yet - those will come another day. I'll append some photos here.

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