Discovered this unpleasantness inside the bilge today. I'm hoping its not from a leaky holding tank. It does smell (faintly like onions) but it not what I would think waste water would smell like. Cant really smell it unless you get down close to it. Has anyone had any experience with this?
Brown sludge water in bilge
- Thread starter Sandfly
- Start date
Hello Sandfly,
Nasty looking liquid! Is there any hint of oil in the bilge? An oil/water mix could have a brown look to it. Sorry to say it, but that is experience speaking. Have you checked the levels in any tanks aboard? Fuel, water, holding tanks? Whatever it is it needs to come out of there so the bilge can be cleaned. Gloves, mask, and containers are must have items.
Nasty looking liquid! Is there any hint of oil in the bilge? An oil/water mix could have a brown look to it. Sorry to say it, but that is experience speaking. Have you checked the levels in any tanks aboard? Fuel, water, holding tanks? Whatever it is it needs to come out of there so the bilge can be cleaned. Gloves, mask, and containers are must have items.
Looks to me like an abomination or emulsion of antifreeze, diesel fuel or oil, and some added salt water. Smelling like onions has me curios. Just suck it up buttercup, with a wet vac, clean, rinse, repeat until down to white coated fiberglass. Then keep a closer eye on the bilge and pumps. They’ll probably have to be removed and cleaned as well. You’ll probably be better off tracing a source with some food coloring placed in the head and fresh water tank, or shower drain. This does not look or smell like 
. Good luck...it’s a bilge, spilled coffee or Dinty Moore beef stew can be disorienting as well.
. Good luck...it’s a bilge, spilled coffee or Dinty Moore beef stew can be disorienting as well.A brown emulsion sounds like a fouled water and oil mix. The onion smell could be bacterial growth. How thick is that emulsion; mostly water or mostly oil? Check the water level in your fresh water tank. Check the oil level and its condition in the engine. If the level of the fluid in the bilge is normal look for a source of oil. If the engine oil level is low check for corroded oil lines. Is your bilge pump cycling often, is your fresh water pump cycling often? Every boat has oil inside the hull that has accumulated from small spills over the years and sometimes a water leak will bring it out. Have you had any recent rains lately? If the emulsion is thick look for the source of oil. If the emulsion is thin then look for a water leak. A busted hose, a corroded muffler, a fouled packing gland.
Appreciate all the suggestions! going to vac it all out and start investigating today. I'll report back with my findings!
It's interesting that 2 commenting posters are from the Finger lakes area in update new york. Being as close as you are to Rochester you should have figured out that it's runoff from the Genesee River that flows into Lake Ontario and somehow made it to the bilge of a vessel in Wilmington Island.
The Genesse River, one of few that flow north defies the old principal that shit flows downhill
Yeah, unless you've got the covid nose, you'd "probably" know it if it was blackwater.
Does look like engine oil, but one finger dipped in that and rubbed against another finger would validate that hypothesis, otherwise hard to imagine a source.
Does look like engine oil, but one finger dipped in that and rubbed against another finger would validate that hypothesis, otherwise hard to imagine a source.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,877
Foul smelling water in a bilge. Yes.
The source can be form a zillion places. As with spilt milk best thing to do is clean it up and see if it reappears. If it does start back tracking to find the source. Water flows down stream follow the path.
Brown water can come from the water picking up dirt from inside the hull and carrying it to the bilge. Or it could be a mixture of dirt and rust or oil.
Smell is the result of organic decomposition in the water. As stated if it was from the holding tank you would likely know if you smeller is working. Then again smells can be subjective. What smells like a rose can be an onion to another.
shop vaaced and cleaned it out two days ago and has remained dry, going to pump out the holding tank today before I start testing that.
thanks for all the suggestions so far, I'll keep it updated!
thanks for all the suggestions so far, I'll keep it updated!
