Oily Bilge Cleaning?

May 20, 2019
26
Catalina 36 MKI GIG HARBOR
New boat to me, Ericson 27. When I bought it "as is", there was standing water in the bilge about 6 inches below the floor board. I had no idea how deep the bilge was. I pumped it out and whoa, pretty darn deep. Roughly 10 gallons worth. It seems to fill pretty quickly, within a couple days it's back up to that point again in dry weather just sitting at the dock. I can't actually watch it fill, it's too slow. But regardless of where it's coming from, my first question is...how do I clean the entire unfloor and bilge of that super oily mess? It's extremely oily. Let's assume there's no oil leaks. I just need to clean it. Hoping someone here has done it with success, and can enlighten me on their strategy before I waste time getting dirty and buying products that disappoint.

Thanks!

Preston
 
May 27, 2004
1,964
Hunter 30_74-83 Ponce Inlet FL
Dawn dish liquid and 10 empty milk jugs.
Oh yeah, and a trip to the haz mat dump!
 
Dec 28, 2015
1,837
Laser, Hunter H30 Cherubini Tacoma
Pump it out and wipe everything down with poly pads before using degreaser. Getting as much oil up with the pads allows you to dispose of said oil in the trash. Most marinas in my area will furnish the pads free through oil spill prevention programs. Once you use degreaser the oil emulsifies and you are stuck trying to figure out what to do with the oily water. Heavy duty degreasers found at auto parts stores work great.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,320
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
One option for disposing of oily water is a auto shop that uses used motor oil for heat.

Store the oily water in plastic jugs and let it separate. Leave them outside in the winter and let the water freeze. The oil/diesel can then be decanted out of the jug and recycled or burned in an oil burning heater.

For the residual oil are microbial treatments for the bilge, a Bilge Shark is one example
 
Jun 8, 2004
2,841
Catalina 320 Dana Point
10 gallons every couple days seems a serious leak, wouldn't it be easier to clean the mess after stopping the leak?
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Preston.
10 gallons is important but may not be if you have a “Deep” bilge. There are a couple of the Usual suspects regarding contributors to a leak into the bilge.

  1. Stuffing Box. Supposed to drip 1-3 per minute while shaft is turning. They should not drip while sitting at the dock. Take a good flashlight and inspect. If it is dripping sitting still then give the nuts a 1/8 to 1/4 turn. If they are not adjustable then it is time to change the packing material in the stuffing box. Mer @Maine Sail has a great report on the stuffing box https://marinehowto.com/re-packing-a-traditional-stuffing-box/
  2. Next up sea cocks to all through hulls. Check the clamps and replace any thing questionable. If you see rust on one it is time to change it. Put your fingers around the hose. If they feel wet. It is time to tighten the clamp. There should be two clamps on every through hull hose. Oh and it is a good time to locate the wooden plugs that you will use to fill the hole should one break and starts spewing water in the boat.
  3. Leak from internal sources. On occasion you may have the joy of an aged freshwater tank contributing to your boat woes. Worse than the freshwater tank is your black water tank shedding it’s effluent into your bilge. It should be evident if this suspect is guilty.
  4. And last bit not least are windows and deck fittings. These can be insidious to trace. Usually there is evidence of stains on the walls if these are the culprit.
Do not feel to bad when I got my boat and saw a little water in the bilge I was not to upset. The stuffing box was dripping.

So one Saturday I started the pump and bucket brigade to dump my oily bilge water in the Marina’s bilge water tank. We pumped and we pumped and dumped and we dumped. 200 gallons later, with the storage tank near to over flowing we stopped. The boat rose three inches out of the water. I fixed the stuffing box. Learned the bottom of the bilge is about 4 to 5 feet below the cabin sole.

Good luck. 10 gallons would make me look at the stuffing box first.
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
Ten gallons is nothing, almost every boat out there could be holding in excess of 10 gallons of water trapped in the hull stringers below the cabin sole. I'm not saying you don't have a leak, I'm just saying do not make any assumptions until you get to know the boat a little better. The way this works is the boat is washed some of the water goes to the interior hull, a wet bathing suit, spills from the galley, rain leaks, holding tank leaks, plumbing leaks, sea spray, all these and some others over the years put many gallons of liquids in the interior hull. The water that makes it into the bilge is the overflow of all that trapped water. You can pump the bilge water out faster that it can fill up so you get surprised the next day that the bilge is full again. The way trapped water is released is with boat motion, heeling during sailing, rocking motion and rolling motion and even lapping waves. The way to determine if there is a leak is to measure the daily outflow and observation. If the outflow never seems to diminish then you have a significant leak observe under what conditions the water may tend to accumulate, has ice melted in the cooler, did someone take a shower, did it rain, was the engine running, etc. Some leaks are hard to trace but first establish if there is really a leak. I mean if you want to wash the boat go ahead but be aware of the nooks and crannies where wash water could leak down into the hulls. There is very little to do practically about incidental leaks or spills but when they are significant than they have to be traced and corrected.
 
Jan 25, 2011
2,391
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
Since you’re floating in saltwater, and if it's only or mostly water, taste it!
 
May 20, 2019
26
Catalina 36 MKI GIG HARBOR
Thanks all -- The reason I want to clean it first is so I can attempt to taste salt versus fresh. So much oil coating this bilge there's no chance of tasting anything but oil right now. Probably never cleaned since 1974 by the looks of it.
 
Aug 28, 2015
190
Oday 28 St Joseph, MI
Go to your marine supply and get some oil absorbing mats. They will get wet but will displace water for oil. Leave them in there for a while then change them. They will get out the loose/floating oil. After that use dawn dishwashing detergent in the bilge. Mix it well with the water then pump it out then clean the whole bilge area with dawn. Find the source of the oil and get rid of it all. Do you have a bolt on keel? Center board? Did you inspect the boat out of the water? If not, now would be the time to do that. Do you have any photos of the engine bilge, exterior of the hull? Also, if you’re in there checking the shaft flange, also check the rudder post fitting.
 

Ward H

.
Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
When I bought my boat the bilge was filthy with a sheen of oil on top of the water.
I bought a pack of 50 oil absorbent pads, 15 x 20. I laid some in the bilge on top of the water and let them soak up whatever oil they could. The don't absorb water, just oil. I'd use the dirty ones to wipe the sides of the bilge. Eventually the water was clean enough to pump out onto the ground. ( I was on the hard)
When the bilge was dry I gave it a good wipe down with the pads and blue shop towels.
Once I was in the water I turned off the bilge pump before a sail, filled it with fresh water and added a bilge cleaner which breaks down oil. I think Peggy Hall recommended it.
I then went sailing for several hours and let the bilge cleaner splash around to finish the cleaning.

The pads also come in handy to prevent messes during oil and fuel filter changes.
 
Dec 28, 2015
1,837
Laser, Hunter H30 Cherubini Tacoma
Ask your marina shop or manager is they furnish oil poly pads. This is what the above are describing
 
Jan 15, 2012
97
Ericson 28/2 Port Kent
The fiberglass deep bilge on the Ericson 27 is located at the aft end of the keel. It is subject to external damage when the boat is on the hard and the support blocks are placed under the aft end of the keel. Drain the bilge and watch for water intrusion through the bottom. Had a similar problem with my 73' E-27.