What is this nasty stuff in my bilge??

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jun 3, 2004
298
'79 Hunter 33' HUN33190M79L Olympia
Couple of weeks ago I was on the boat ('79 H33) and noticed this scary looking leak of some kind of scary looking stuff in the bilge. Hopefully the pictures are good enough. The hole in the fiberglass is about half an inch in diameter. The substance is gray and is of watery jelly consistency. Anyone seen anything like this before?
 

Attachments

Sep 4, 2007
776
Hunter 33.5 Elbow, Saskatchwen, Can.
Stephen
Never seen anything like that before.

That hole is a drain for between the liner and hull. It could be coming from you ice box drain or your shower. Which bilge is this the forward one or rear? Did this show up when you were away from the boat or when you were using it?
 
Dec 25, 2008
1,580
catalina 310 Elk River
It's the return of the "Blob"!!!, no seriously collect some of it and see if it's oil base or water base. Will it freeze, what is the PH? How about suntan lotion, or something that was left in the frig. Battery acid that broke some other substance down. Does your frig/ icebox drain into the bilge. It's obviously very viscous so you should be able to track it back to it's source.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
That gray stuff looks like butyl. The deck/hull were put together with butyl caulk. I wonder if it is a leak that has found its way to the bilge?

I would pressure wash your bilge and get it clean and see what happens from that point forward.
 
Jun 3, 2004
298
'79 Hunter 33' HUN33190M79L Olympia
Neither the icebox nor the shower drain into this bilge, if things are working properly. This spot is far forward of those, just below the mast step, in the farthest forward part of the bilge. This happened while I was off the boat and is definitely fairly recent. The butyl explanation makes the most sense so far. What does that mean, if that's what it is? Would the butyl re-liquify like this?
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Stephen: I really do not know the properties of butyl caulk, but that is what it looks like. If you have some sort of a leak between the hull & deck joint it could be leaking in from there. If there was some sort of a chemical that came in contact with the caulking it may have liquified the material.

I just cannot think of anything else that would be that color. You may want to check behind the cabinets or lining to see if you find anything dripping.
 

RichH

.
Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Looks more like a "calcyx" a massive bacteria / micro-organism colony. Such 'gelatinous infections' are quite common when all the conditions are 'right'. Just 'spritz' it with clorox and if it reduces in size, etc. then it 'was' a calcyx. If so, then sanitize/flood it with a long term dose of clorox .... and then find the 'leak' that is causing it as the 'leak' (nutrients being carried to the inside by the leak) is 'feeding' the calcyx.
 
Dec 4, 2006
279
Hunter 34 Havre de Grace
Does it have an "odd" smell?

I think Rich is correct. I had something similar a couple of years ago in my bilge.
It took several good cleanings to get rid of it.

I may be wrong but it seemed to appear after I winterized the boat and left pink antifreeze in the bilge. Maybe a coincidence?
 
Oct 20, 2008
142
Oday 222 USA
My first thought is a fungal infection. Does it have an odor? What was the temperature just prior to and when you noticed it??
 
Jun 3, 2004
298
'79 Hunter 33' HUN33190M79L Olympia
I had stuck my finger in it and could discern no smell at all. The temperature there has been close to freezing or below prior to the leak. I'm afraid of the idea of plugging the hole which, if it is some sort of rot, could send it somewhere else instead of safely coming out into the bilge, couldn't it?
 

RichH

.
Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Steve
FWIW ---- Grey colored mold, especially in wintertime, usually means a subspecies of Aspergillus mold, etc. Some Aspergillus molds are 'very' active in cold weather.
Id contact Hunter directly and determine where and how much WOOD was used in the layup of your bilge and keel stub .... and make your determinations, etc. from their reply.
I give a mildly-moderate bet that there is wood somewhere close inside the FRG layup and the aspergillus, etc. has penetrated & has pressurized the wood+cavity, and its now 'fruiting'. If you do contact Hunter, Let us know their response.

Make sure you wash your hands very well if in fact this is a mold such as an aspergillus species.
 
Jun 3, 2004
298
'79 Hunter 33' HUN33190M79L Olympia
Hm, mold? Well, I certainly need to get to the bottom of this. Two things make me doubt that it's mold, tell me if I've got it wrong. From what I've seen, mold is supposed to have a strong smell. None here. Second, this gunk appears to have all leaked out of the hole, not grown where it is. Mold needs air to grow right? Would it grow inside a closed area and then leak out a hole? I've seen no pictures of mold on the internet resembling this sort of goop leak.
 

Ketoj

.
Jun 5, 2004
55
Hunter 34 Whitby Ontario Canada
Stephen, If it were me I'd first give the bilge a good cleaning with a stiff brush, a little bleach and dish soap (it looks overdue for a good scubbing). Then monitor to see if this mystery blob re-emerges. It's likely there is just a fungus among us and a little bleach may be just what's needed. Remember the movie Caddyshack, there may be no need to "drain the pool" if its just a candy bar...... If it does come back and it is organic, try borrowing an ozone machine to lay a blanket of ozone in the bilge. That will kill even inter-planetary species. I do my boat a couple of times a year with a heavy soak of ozone for a few days. It does wonders for that boat smell and anything living in the bilge or between pan and hull. Just make sure you remove anything with soft rubber like foul weather gear.
 

RichH

.
Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
First, Not all molds and funguses 'stink' during various stages of their life cycle; would you eat a mushroom than 'stunk'?

Second, the mycelium are filamentous and are the vegatative portion of the fungus, meaning they produce small microscopic 'strands' that penetrate deeply into their nutrient source and usually only become apparently visible when they enter the 'reproductive' or spore forming phase; you generally dont see mold or fungus on food, etc. during most of its life cycle ... only until it is producing spore producing 'fruiting bodies' which happens primarily during reproduction cycles. When you see mold or fungus on a surface it usually means that its fully 'fed' and is now reproducing and generating spores.

Third, fiberglass is not a total complete barrier to water vapor, air and other fluids, it is somewhat (to a lesser degree) permeable to most small molecular sized fluids. A simple crack or other pathway into a void filled with wood, etc. would present a large potential of the mass transfer of air, water (vapor), etc.

Lastly, your blob 'looks like' an Aspergillus or very similar species .... and I have about 30 years of actual experience within the bio-tech / pharmaceutical industries in the growth of such in huge volumes of 'cell culture', one of my functions was to separate/extract them from their nutrients, etc. and contain them within their growth vessels.
So, to me this looks like an Aspergillus or similar species that is now approaching its reproduction phase.
Most aspergillus, penicillium, etc. species are usually only 'mildly' toxic, especially when they are producing spores, .... but some are quite highly pathogenic. There are literally thousands of such species. As posted previously many aspergillus species thrive in cold/cool conditions.
 
Jul 28, 2010
914
Boston Whaler Montauk New Orleans
How deep is the hole? Can you bore it out to see where the source is?
 

Ketoj

.
Jun 5, 2004
55
Hunter 34 Whitby Ontario Canada
Rich, Since you are our resident fungologist here, is ozone really as effective at killing this stuff as I believe?
 

RichH

.
Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Ozone, will 'tend' to retard most microorganism but that means you basically have to start with a sanitized/clean situation so the degree of stun/kill can be accomplished against a 'few' organisms. Ozone, as well as most sanitizing agents, will be ineffective at penetrating through a thick mass/colony of micro-organisms. Better to use agents that dissolve the cells and spores such as caustics. Interestingly if you only kill but do not remove the cells, the cellular debris can easily become the nutrient source for successive invasive species.

Simple speak: - hygiene (scrubbing with strong detergents, etc.) is the 'best' way to keep the 'bioburden' down for the non-technical person. I simply 'spritz' caustic detergents over a cleaned surface (non-painted or non-varnished) and let dry - a modern equivalent of 'whitewashing'. Almost all 'spores' (mildew/mold/fungal/bacterial,etc.) are inactivated when in contact with 'caustics'.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,709
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Hm, mold? Well, I certainly need to get to the bottom of this. Two things make me doubt that it's mold, tell me if I've got it wrong. From what I've seen, mold is supposed to have a strong smell. None here. Second, this gunk appears to have all leaked out of the hole, not grown where it is. Mold needs air to grow right? Would it grow inside a closed area and then leak out a hole? I've seen no pictures of mold on the internet resembling this sort of goop leak.
Stephen,

Like Rich I suspect you have some rotting/wet core in the mast step, keel stub or stringers that has absorbed moisture is trying to expand and forcing out this growth through any hole it can. I have seen similar situations before but not quite that color. I have usually seen it a brownish goo that resembles polliwogs in consistency. You might want to make a test bore to see what is behind the fiberglass just don't do it through he hull. Hunter may be able to help you with what was used for core. Many boats of that vintage were built with wood cored keel stubs, stringers and mast steps. If they get wet they can begin to rot..
 
Status
Not open for further replies.