continuous bilge

[Amwris]

Hi

 

I have searched the forums regarding different types of bilges but no luck. Just wondering if anybody has any comment on "continuous bilges" as a boat I am considering buying has such a thing.

 

wondering about maintenance and upkeep issues really.

cheers

phil

[Tony Brooks]

Hi

 

I have searched the forums regarding different types of bilges but no luck. Just wondering if anybody has any comment on "continuous bilges" as a boat I am considering buying has such a thing.

 

wondering about maintenance and upkeep issues really.

cheers

phil

 

 

Many did and a some still do. One of the large hire companies still build them that way I think and it is reported that they did it so the bilge pump could pump out any gas that had leaked. The consensus on this forum did not go along with that view.

 

Unless the boat has an unusually thick bottom plate there will be ballast of some sort below the floor and often this is laid onto tar paper or even straight onto the base plate. It often takes ages for water to drain through the ballast and then it will leave the not very well ventilated bilge and ballast wet - just to encourage rust.

 

Water below the floor is also likely to create more condensation than a dry bilge. Having said that once the boat gets on a bit I expect windows will leak and the dry bilge will be dry no longer so in reality I doubt there is overmuch to choose between them.

 

Separate bilges also help keep smelly diesel drips away from the accommodation.

 

If I had a choice I would go for a separate bilge, but if the boat was perfect in every other respect I would probably ignore what I said and buy it.

[Serendipity]

It often takes ages for water to drain through the ballast and then it will leave the not very well ventilated bilge and ballast wet - just to encourage rust.

 

Talking of which, how does any water get past a holding tank? Do they have spaces around/under them?

[John Orentas]

As Tony says the design was used quite commonly, but it gets worse, usually too the shower was allowed to drain directly into the bilge as was the front well-deck which was supposed to flush out the space into the rear engine compartment when it rained.. Like many of these things it was done that way purely on grounds of economy, if there are still some un-modified boats of this type still around I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

[DHutch]

Most bildges are largly in one part. Just sectioned off for the engine space at the rear.

- As ithe base usally slopes, you wont get the engine space running forwad anyway. So pottentially its not a biggy.

- However as john says, its also not uncommon for the the shower or well deck to drain into it, or to have done in the past. In which case it may have been wet an festering for years and be badly corroded. Like all things, common sense and buyers beware. If i was buying any 10/20 year old boat, i would want to see atlease some, if not the bulk of the baseplate from the inside. I'd certainly be happy to show anyone emilyannes in several places if they where serious about buying.

 

 

Daniel

[saltysplash]

coming off the sea ive not had a boat yet that didnt have a 'wet through bilge'....its common sense for the water to drain to the lowest point and then be pumped out. The difference on canals is you dont tend to risk life and limb if you sink as you do on the sea or on rivers.

[dor]

And I thought the title of this one referred to some of the over-long threads on here.

[Ex- Member]

Most bildges are largly in one part. Just sectioned off for the engine space at the rear.

- As ithe base usally slopes, you wont get the engine space running forwad anyway. So pottentially its not a biggy.

- However as john says, its also not uncommon for the the shower or well deck to drain into it, or to have done in the past. In which case it may have been wet an festering for years and be badly corroded. Like all things, common sense and buyers beware. If i was buying any 10/20 year old boat, i would want to see atlease some, if not the bulk of the baseplate from the inside. I'd certainly be happy to show anyone emilyannes in several places if they where serious about buying.

 

 

Daniel

 

If I were ever to buy a used boat, this is one of the first things I would check out. Personally I really can't understand why people seem to accept their bilges to be wet, let alone diverting water systems through it. Our boat is 4 years old, admittedly it thas only spent 2 of those years on the water, but even in those 2 years not a drop of moisture has appeared in any of the bilges, in fact pulling up some floor recently that hasn't been accessed for four years, we end up hoovering out bone dry sawdust accumilated during the early stages of fitting out. I consider the bilge to be somewhere for water to escape in an emergency burst pipe etc, that's why we laid ballsat on plastic strip so in the event of leakage the bilge would dry out quickly and not trap moisture. The thought of waste water flowing below our living space is nightmarish and the condensation & damp problems it would cause would equate to an unhealthy environment to dwell in IMO