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Rusty Bilge - Treatments


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So a weekend of Discoveries on my new 48ft Project Boat. In awnser to a previous query the boat has a suitable lip on the frame between the steel hull and the Fibreglass coated Marine Ply Top so no worries about leaks and she is altogether a dry boat. 

 

She does have one of those deep well deck thingys that allows water to drain back towards the engine bilge area. Rather than over the side. 

 

So on stripping out the two old flimsy bulkheads and bath Fittings and a couple of  soft floor boards (I will be replacing the entire floor with 18mm something or other. Reccomendations welcome) 

I discovered that there is some flaky rust below the balast slabs . Niw im not too worried about this apart from the possibility of more crushed fingers another discovery concrete slabs are very heavy 

I plan to lift the slabs in sections, clear the flaky rust with ????? And in them apply bilge paint and lay the new floor. 

 

So what is your suggestion for the treatment and the bilge paint. I saw Bonds Primer mentioned somewhere is it any good. ?????

 

 

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I would suggest that before you do anything I would buy a cheap £50 chinese ultrasonic thickness tester from ebay. I have found they work well enough when the boat is in the water so clean up some small patches first and check the thickess is good enough say 4mm+. In the past I have brushed off the loose rust, soaked in fertan,washed off and dried followed by a couple of coats of red oxide and then covered with a thick coat of "barge grease". If it is pitted you will never get all the rust off without blasting but the grease keeps the oxygen away so prevents further corrosion.

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1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

Mechanical  removal of as much rust as possible first so scrape, wire brushes, abrasive disc. If you find any damp patches or patches that suddenly develop a darker area then beware, the hull may well have punctured.

Yes.  Be very careful.  I speak from bitter experience.  It's very disconcerting to have a spout of water entering your boat.

eta: have some marine epoxy putty handy.

Edited by koukouvagia
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1 hour ago, koukouvagia said:

Yes.  Be very careful.  I speak from bitter experience.  It's very disconcerting to have a spout of water entering your boat.

eta: have some marine epoxy putty handy.

I think most of the water is coming in via the well deck design which allows water to drain back towards the engine bilge. 

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6 minutes ago, TheSaintlyOne said:

I think most of the water is coming in via the well deck design which allows water to drain back towards the engine bilge. 

That is certainly an issue with old boats - since you are lifting the floor, why don't you take the opportunity to 'pipe-it' to the rear bilge (it shouldn't be allowed to go into the engine bilge*) to avoid the water collecting & damp getting under your new floor.

 

* Do you really mean the Engine-bilge ?

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31 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

That is certainly an issue with old boats - since you are lifting the floor, why don't you take the opportunity to 'pipe-it' to the rear bilge (it shouldn't be allowed to go into the engine bilge*) to avoid the water collecting & damp getting under your new floor.

 

* Do you really mean the Engine-bilge ?

Yes as I understand it the well deck is not solid so the water that enters channels down to below the the stern deck where it is cleared by the bilge. I suppose the problem is in old boats the engine bilge below the stern deck gets oily filthy and its no longer just rain water getting chucked overboard. I have two options really as I understand it. 1) to channel it into a pipe overboard or to seal the well deck floor and create drain holes as someone on here did.

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45 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

That is certainly an issue with old boats - since you are lifting the floor, why don't you take the opportunity to 'pipe-it' to the rear bilge (it shouldn't be allowed to go into the engine bilge*) to avoid the water collecting & damp getting under your new floor.

 

* Do you really mean the Engine-bilge ?

If you do, make sure there is a good filter to prevent leaves etc from getting into the pipes and blocking them.

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59 minutes ago, TheSaintlyOne said:

Yes as I understand it the well deck is not solid so the water that enters channels down to below the the stern deck where it is cleared by the bilge. I suppose the problem is in old boats the engine bilge below the stern deck gets oily filthy and its no longer just rain water getting chucked overboard. I have two options really as I understand it. 1) to channel it into a pipe overboard or to seal the well deck floor and create drain holes as someone on here did.

The BSS requirements are that there is a an 'Engine Bilge' (underneath the engine and self contained) AND a separate bilge in the 'Engine Compartment' that catches any leaks from plumbing, drive shaft etc. They are now specifying that if you do not have separate bilges that you MUST have a separate oil/water filter before the bilge pump.

I know of several GRP cruisers that have failed the BSS because of this.

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If what Alan says is correct then as part of the project you might have to think about getting a bulkhead of some sort (of what height I do not know) between the engine compartment and the cabin so you might as well put one at the front well deck too. Might be an idea to buy a cheap arc welder and some scrap steel to practice on.

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I strongly suspect that when the OP referred to the engine bilge, he was simply referring to the bilge area in the engine compartment rather than to the actual engine bilge itself. Such a design was extremely common in older boats, and completely isolated the two bilge areas from each other. With our old Harborough the Lister engine drew all its cooling air from under the cabin which ensured that the air there remained fresh; putting a bulkhead there would also have needed an alternative cooling air supply to be provided.

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1 hour ago, Keeping Up said:

I strongly suspect that when the OP referred to the engine bilge, he was simply referring to the bilge area in the engine compartment rather than to the actual engine bilge itself. Such a design was extremely common in older boats, and completely isolated the two bilge areas from each other. With our old Harborough the Lister engine drew all its cooling air from under the cabin which ensured that the air there remained fresh; putting a bulkhead there would also have needed an alternative cooling air supply to be provided.

Indeed - but initially I was trying to clarify if he really meant the engine bilge or just the 'rear bilge'.

 

It was not only 'old' boats.

My 1998 Reeves had s 'sunken foredeck' and therefore could not drain overboard BUT it was actually 'piped' all the way back to the rear bilge, but a cratch cover meant it never got wet in there anyway.

 

One of the benefits being it gives a full-height door to make access / exit easier.

 

 

IMG_1530.JPG

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