Water under floor support....is this part of the false bilge?

[Beth and Bill]

Hello,
I was running some new power to my bilge pump when I took a picture under the cabin sole. There was the typical circle cut in the hull to provide a pass thru. I put my phone up the pass thru hole and took the attached photo. It does not drain to anyplace. See photo for image and an idea of what the heck I am talking about. Many Thanks!

 

[kloudie1]

I can't be of help on this one, Bill.. I've not noticed that on my boat. I suspect that it is trying to drain into the false bilge space but because that space is capped in the visible bilge, the water has no place to go until the level builds enough to get it into the visible bilge via the limber holes.? I dunno.

 

[SailormanDan]

I'm assuming it's a Cherubini? I have similar spaces in my 1981 H27 where it won't drain because of the way the floor pan sits on the bilge. I widened the holes so I could stick a wet/dry vac in and suck the water out. I also worked on finding the leaks so there was less water to pump out.

 

[Beth and Bill]

The boat is a 34'. I thank you for your input. Heading to boat for another 3 day weekend of upgrades. Job #1 is find a solution to my very own dismal swamp canal. Still looking for suggestions.

 

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[Don Crowther]

Bill have you done the false bilge mod?

 

[Benny17441]

In most boats the cabin sole including the bilge pan are composed of a liner that fits on top of the hull stringers. In the space below the liner and the hull water will collect and get trapped until because of boat motion or high level it will spill into the bilge where it can be discharged by the pump. The average boat has quite a few gallons of water trapped below the sole and that water goes bad with bacteria. One of the negatives about piercing the liner to get at the water is that the smell from the foul water can enter the cabin. There will always be foul water trapped in the stringers that will not reach the low point to be extracted. Water gets in there from many places including someone entering the cabin in a wet bathing suit. Once the liner is opened it may require sustained maintenance to keep the cabin smelling fresh.

 

[finefurn]

Bill have you done the false bilge mod?

what exactly is the false bilge mod. from the pic it appears there are a series of holes drilled in bilge pan. But where exactly, would not want to drill into the hull itself.

 

[kloudie1]

False bilge in H-34 and I think H-31.. the liner had a part that inserted into the bilge pocket.. the liner never was perfect so there is a space of about an inch between the liner and the hull in the bilge pocket.. That little thin fg deck and thin ply spacer was probably supposed to have been removed at manufacture.. but wasn't.. removing the little false floor gives the trapped water a place to drain to.. I think there are passages fore and aft, but not on the sides.. my pic shows it half removed and the gooky stuff underneath.. boat smells much better after cleaning and actually getting the bilge water out.
Boat was designed by Cortland Steck, and is not a Cherubini.

 

[SailormanDan]

@finefurn - Our H27s are different, I don't have photos handy, but will try and post some when I get a chance.

 

[GorillaToast]

1981 H27 owner here..
Here's a pic of the bilge beneath the floor boards. And, yes, water does migrate along the stringers.

 

[Capt Robbie]

Hi Beth & Bill
Look at my post "false bilge issue Hunter 34"
Shows the step by step modification with pics.
Your pic looks like the hole shown is thru the bulkhead stringer.
If I am looking at the pic correctly the hole shown is for running wires up the hull to the circuit breaker panel and to the shower sump. Water should not be inside that bulkhead, it is not part of the false bilge.

 

[Ken13559]

What if I don't want to mess with cutting holes to false bilge, can I just pour in some chlorox and fragrant oil to kill the bugs and freshen air?

 

[SailormanDan]

@Ken13559 - The Headmistress has a whole bunch of posts on why that doesn't work, but YMMV, I'm working on a dry boat.

 

[Capt Robbie]

Ken13559
Did the pouring bleach thing for 30 years and the smells always
Returned a week later.
Since I did the modification and got rid of the 30 plus years of sludge and flushed it, all smells are gone.
Only way to really get the smells out is remove the source and not mask it.

 

[Ken13559]

Thanks all for reply. Another question, where do I core a hole on a H326 to access and clear out the false bilge?