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So, as you may know, I have a new boat! New boat - new surprises.... Yesterday was our first day on board and we spent it removing sodden rotten furniture and flooring from the aft cabin. It started by lifting the mattress, few spots of mould on the ply below. So, with the mattress removed to the well deck I lifted the ply, more mould in the drawers below that. Drawers were stuck solid (when we viewed the boat I took them to be painted shut - doh! Learning experience) they were MDF, and had expanded to fill their holes completely... Quickly after this I was screwing and sawing and using my trusty adjustable spanner (hammer) to get as far in to the mess as I could and see what was going on. When I reached what was left of the floor beneath it all I found water, bubbling up between the pieces of composite board that weren't turned to soil. We removed enough scrap wood (soil) to completely fill the back of my estate car (and weigh heavily on it's suspension) and we pumped about 15 bucket loads of water out of them there bilges. Along the way I was of course hunting for the source of the water. It didn't seem to be in the bathroom or kitchen (from surface looking at least, and all pipe work was reasonably easy to view, either running exposed or at the back of kitchen cupboards. I couldn't see right behind the bath, but it looked dry at least... Chief culprit seemed likely to be the water tank, which runs across the boat immediately forward of the engine (it's a trad stern, which had a fixed crossbed, and no access to the engine room) But, upon excavation nothing seemed to be leaking from the water tank either. However, I removed some of the panels in the wall between what was the bedroom (now closer resembles a green house, with hydroponic system in place on the floor) and the engine bay, to try and get to the back of the water tank, I found myself looking straight down at the engine. I had expected (mostly from reading on this forum) to find a metal bulkhead separating the engine and cabin bilges, which I had assumed to be 2' or 3' high (probably running up to the forward end of the floor boards which are places over the engine....) However, what I found was a 20cm lip, forming the edge of the engine oil drip tray (and the same height as the steel forming this tray on the other three sides of the engine, and running off to each side of the boat. So, I think I found where the water was coming in. The boat has a manually switched bilge pump in the engine bay, and the survey suggested that the stern gland is not in top condition. The previous owners were less than responsible, and he actually admitted to me that he only started the engine once in the four years they owned the boat - given this, I doubt they pumped out the bilges, or even checked them, very often if at all. Now, I am not just writing all of this to relay my tale to you all, (though that is part of the reason, and I hope you are enjoying it), I would like some advice on how best to proceed. Current situation: Floor completely removed for about 10' forward of engine bay "bulkhead". All floor that I have now reached is good - I am unable to proceed just digging with an adjustable spanner, proper tools like a saw will be required to go further. There is a logical stop point on the far side of the bathroom, about 3' further along the boat, I will cut floor to here, and hopefully find everything forward of this point is OK. Floor in living area has decent wood laminate on top. I do not want to remove this if I don't have to. Floor in kitchen has a kitchen on top. As above don't want to remove if I don't have to. One section below sofa in living area allows for inspection to under floor level (not bilges) and reveals no sign of rot. I will cut or drill here to gain access to bilge to aid with assessment. I may be able to gain access to bilge in small locker below the well deck. All the bilges that I have opened so far (in the aft end of the boat) were full of water. They are unsurprisingly very dirty and rusty. I intend to clean, rust treat (owatrol?) and paint, before applying new floor (marine ply?) with insulation and damp membrane. With my current course of action I wont be able to access the bilges forward of the bathroom (middle of boat). While I am fairly confident that the floor here is OK, the bilges will have been wet, and there will almost certainly be rust going on... I am in the process of sourcing a dehumidifier I can take with me back to the boat on Wednesday. I will be on board full time working on this (and hopefully get as far as fitting some sort of bed!) for a week and a half following. What I'd like to know: Best way to clean back rust. Best way treat the steel. Which paint to use in the bilges. How far should I go? How to insulate under the floor. What about a damp proof membrane? What about best construction methods? - batten on top of steel 'rib'? Glue/self tapped? I know there have been posts before, but I just hunted around and couldn't find much which covered most of the above, please feel free to point me to other threads, or just tell me what keywords you think I should be searching. Many thanks! BTW: The irony of my boats name has not escaped me.