My wife and I completed our first week of sailing our (new to us) 1984 Hunter 31 on the bay. Magohty River to Rock Hall to St. Michaels via Kent narrows for a few nights then Annapolis for two nights and back home on Friday. So this was the first time we really used the ice box. After a couple of days we were beginning to get an odor in the bilge. I kept up on it to keep the trip pleasent. Investigation seems to lead to the drain of the ice box. It looks like the ice box drains at the bottom in to an area under the stove and then pours in to the bilge. The ice box does not appear to have a hose connected to it to the bilge area. I can see a hole in the bilge wall just below the cabin sole or floor. I have tried a few gallons of diluted bleach. K O Bilge cleaner. today I tried baking soda with water. My question is, Has anyone had this problem? Should there be a hose connected to the drain? Any recommendations to keep the odor away?
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Peggie Hall/HeadMistress
K.O. is not bilge cleaner...
You need to do two things: 1. Thoroughly clean--lots of detergent and water followed by hosing out ALL the dirty water--the bilge. 2. Reroute your icebox drain into a sump (if there are no sumps on your boat, install one)...and keep it clean. K.O. is a holding tank treatment. It can be used to get rid of odor after a sewage spill--AFTER the spill has been cleaned up...but it's not a bilge cleaner. You'd need a several gallons a day just to keep up with the odor produced by the "primordial soup" that's really what a wet dirty bilge is. Unfortunately there is nothing you can just pour into the bilge to clean it....only detergent, water, and some effort will do it.
You need to do two things: 1. Thoroughly clean--lots of detergent and water followed by hosing out ALL the dirty water--the bilge. 2. Reroute your icebox drain into a sump (if there are no sumps on your boat, install one)...and keep it clean. K.O. is a holding tank treatment. It can be used to get rid of odor after a sewage spill--AFTER the spill has been cleaned up...but it's not a bilge cleaner. You'd need a several gallons a day just to keep up with the odor produced by the "primordial soup" that's really what a wet dirty bilge is. Unfortunately there is nothing you can just pour into the bilge to clean it....only detergent, water, and some effort will do it.
J
John Dodge
bilge cleaner
Peggy, First, your book is on order. second, I probabily mentioned the wrong name of the bilge cleaning product. but I did use a bilge cleaner 5:1 then went sailing for a few hours to slop it around. that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Peggy, First, your book is on order. second, I probabily mentioned the wrong name of the bilge cleaning product. but I did use a bilge cleaner 5:1 then went sailing for a few hours to slop it around. that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Peggie Hall/HeadMistress
But did you also flush out all the dirty water?
Just pouring in bilge cleaner only creates a soapy primordial soup. You wouldn't skip the rinse cyle in the clothes washer or the dishwasher...you wouldn't just throw some Scrubbing Bubbles into a bathtub full of dirty water and then just slosh it around and drain it...you can't skip the "rinse cycle" in a dirty bilge either, if you want a clean bilge.
Just pouring in bilge cleaner only creates a soapy primordial soup. You wouldn't skip the rinse cyle in the clothes washer or the dishwasher...you wouldn't just throw some Scrubbing Bubbles into a bathtub full of dirty water and then just slosh it around and drain it...you can't skip the "rinse cycle" in a dirty bilge either, if you want a clean bilge.
Save the icebox melt water
OK, so you don't have to be a "cold miser" while cruising the Chesapeake Bay, but I keep the icebox closed as much as possible. The box is coldest at the bottom, right where the drain is. An open drain continually lets ice water and the coldest air out the bottom of the box while admitting warm air where it does the least good. As you found out, it makes a stinky mess in the bilge. Melt water in the icebox can be a mess, but it's a COLD mess. This water has the same mass and temperature as the ice, so it dramatically extends the ability of your box to keep its contents cold...as long as it stays in the box. Keep the water in the box until you really can't deal with it any more, then drain it off into a container. Melt water is fresh and can be used to wash dishes, cook vegetables, water flowers and flush the salt water from the head to keep the odor down. Save the potable water for drinking. I learned the hard way after running very low on fresh water on a seven-day offshore cruise. Peter h23 "Raven"
OK, so you don't have to be a "cold miser" while cruising the Chesapeake Bay, but I keep the icebox closed as much as possible. The box is coldest at the bottom, right where the drain is. An open drain continually lets ice water and the coldest air out the bottom of the box while admitting warm air where it does the least good. As you found out, it makes a stinky mess in the bilge. Melt water in the icebox can be a mess, but it's a COLD mess. This water has the same mass and temperature as the ice, so it dramatically extends the ability of your box to keep its contents cold...as long as it stays in the box. Keep the water in the box until you really can't deal with it any more, then drain it off into a container. Melt water is fresh and can be used to wash dishes, cook vegetables, water flowers and flush the salt water from the head to keep the odor down. Save the potable water for drinking. I learned the hard way after running very low on fresh water on a seven-day offshore cruise. Peter h23 "Raven"
It is mold and mildew.
John: It is mold and mildew. You can not get to the area to clean this out. Your only remedy is lots of hot soapy water and more bleach (bleach will kill the spores). Pour a couple of gallons of the mixture down the ice box drain and then go SAILING. You need to slosh this mixture around in the liner (between the hull and the liner). Then let is sit for a while. Then take about 5 gal. of fresh water and rinse out the ice box, which will drain into the bilge too. Believe me, unless you are going to cut a lot of your boat apart, you will have a very difficult time getting to any of this area. I tried cutting a hole in the bottom of the cabinet under the sink to see if I could get to the drain and it is packed with foam. Be sure to clean out the blige to the best of your ability after you have rinsed everything completely. One solution to mitigate the problem is to install a refrigeration system and eliminate the use of ice in the box. You folks on the east coast have a much bigger problem with this than in dryer climates. Be sure to do this again at the end of the season. We are using a product on our boat called Damp Rid. It helps accumulate dampness and also freshens the air. We get the units that can be hanged in lockers and the head. It really makes the boat much fresher (even if it is only a mask). If you cannot smell it, who really cares.
John: It is mold and mildew. You can not get to the area to clean this out. Your only remedy is lots of hot soapy water and more bleach (bleach will kill the spores). Pour a couple of gallons of the mixture down the ice box drain and then go SAILING. You need to slosh this mixture around in the liner (between the hull and the liner). Then let is sit for a while. Then take about 5 gal. of fresh water and rinse out the ice box, which will drain into the bilge too. Believe me, unless you are going to cut a lot of your boat apart, you will have a very difficult time getting to any of this area. I tried cutting a hole in the bottom of the cabinet under the sink to see if I could get to the drain and it is packed with foam. Be sure to clean out the blige to the best of your ability after you have rinsed everything completely. One solution to mitigate the problem is to install a refrigeration system and eliminate the use of ice in the box. You folks on the east coast have a much bigger problem with this than in dryer climates. Be sure to do this again at the end of the season. We are using a product on our boat called Damp Rid. It helps accumulate dampness and also freshens the air. We get the units that can be hanged in lockers and the head. It really makes the boat much fresher (even if it is only a mask). If you cannot smell it, who really cares.
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Peggie Hall/HeadMistress
If you can put bleach into that area...
what makes it inaccessible to put detergent and water into it? If it can drain, what prevents detergent and water from getting INTO it through the drains and draining back out?
what makes it inaccessible to put detergent and water into it? If it can drain, what prevents detergent and water from getting INTO it through the drains and draining back out?
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