Bilge washing

[mark99]

One teaspoon of oil can form a skin of 1/2 acre.

 

A good argument for not letting it go on the water. I saw large film/slick on the GU canal; either side of it were lots of waterbourne birdlife but nowt in the slick. They were not in trouble - just avoiding it. However it gets on nests etc and stinks.

Edited April 14, 2014 by mark99

[mango]

 

Quite. One molecule thick

 

Richard

Indeed. The time honoured way to decrease the impact of oil on the environment is to use washing-up liquid or other form of detergent. I learned from an expert that detergents can be very harmful to certain invertebrates.

 

Oil trays are a great help but if they or the bilge is allowed to fill up then the oil escapes. It's a good idea to keep oil trays clean and emptied regularly.

[thorne lass]

The rquirement for fuel to drain overboard if spilt whilst filling or venting is a leftover from the old Thames Launch Digest rules, developed when most boats used petrol (or steam). Petrol of course evaporates off the water, and you don't want petrol in your bilges.

 

Trouble is, BSS office wallahs are too busy thinking up new rules to worry about updating obsolete ones.

 

In Holland any diesel oil spillage, however small, is punishable by a hefty fine.

[Ricco1]

I would be totally amazed if any regular boater has never discharged a drop of oil into the water. It's almost impossible to avoid it completely.

 

The solution has already been mentioned: Get a bottle of washing up liquid, flick small amounts over the slick. It breaks up and disappears, magic. And before anyone tells me that using washing up liquid is harmful, most of us use it to wash dishes, then flush it into the cut.

[Grace and Favour]

I would be totally amazed if any regular boater has never discharged a drop of oil into the water. It's almost impossible to avoid it completely.

 

The solution has already been mentioned: Get a bottle of washing up liquid, flick small amounts over the slick. It breaks up and disappears, magic. And before anyone tells me that using washing up liquid is harmful, most of us use it to wash dishes, then flush it into the cut.

There is a difference between taking every precaution to avoid an oil discharge, and not giving a hoot (as per the OP's first post)

 

Besides, spraying a slick with detergent doesnt make the oil disappear, it merely breaks down the slick into droplets in the water, the oil is still there, and it's still as toxic to the marine life.

Edited April 14, 2014 by Grace & Favour

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

To the casual infrequent reader of some of the threads recently, it may be interpreted that some of us Boaters live an Alcoholic, Drug Smoking, Water Polluting, Rule Breaking, life whilst suffering from Mental Health Issues, thinking it's ok to use our boats as Battering Rams, and spend all our time Arguing amongst ourselves about pretty much anything & everything including Poo Storage and Disposal.

I do hope they take into account,

Some of us actually go Boating as well !.

Edited April 14, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[lynalldisocvery]

I would be totally amazed if any regular boater has never discharged a drop of oil into the water. It's almost impossible to avoid it completely.

 

The solution has already been mentioned: Get a bottle of washing up liquid, flick small amounts over the slick. It breaks up and disappears, magic. And before anyone tells me that using washing up liquid is harmful, most of us use it to wash dishes, then flush it into the cut.

Its not as simple as that, I may be wrong but I believe the washing up liquid takes the oil down to the bottom of the river/canal and somehow doesnt allow the oil to break down causing some sort of ecological problem, its the washing liquid that harmful its how or what it does with the oil.

It was only the other day I was reading this, but cant remember where!

[Dharl]

Indeed. The time honoured way to decrease the impact of oil on the environment is to use washing-up liquid or other form of detergent. I learned from an expert that detergents can be very harmful to certain invertebrates.

 

Oil trays are a great help but if they or the bilge is allowed to fill up then the oil escapes. It's a good idea to keep oil trays clean and emptied regularly.

 

perhaps it was the oil 'save all' (tray under the engine and gearbox to collect drips) that he was using a mop to clean out rather than the bilge? A big no no but there does seem to be a growing number of people in society who don't seem to worry about such actions.

 

If you have a lot of oil in your save all, use saw dust or similar absorbent to collect it then a dustbpan and brush to sweep up and put into a bin bag for disposal.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

And mend the oil leak !

[Dharl]

And mend the oil leak !

Good point!

[MHS]

ous Boaters live an Alcoholic, Drug Smoking, Water Polluting, Rule Breaking, life whilst suffering from Mental Health Issues, thinking it's ok to use our boats as Battering Rams, and spend all our time Arguing!.

Sounds like a good weekend to me!!

[mango]

Its not as simple as that, I may be wrong but I believe the washing up liquid takes the oil down to the bottom of the river/canal and somehow doesnt allow the oil to break down causing some sort of ecological problem, its the washing liquid that harmful its how or what it does with the oil.

It was only the other day I was reading this, but cant remember where!

Oil and fuel forms a unimolecular film, as RLWP pointed out. That is because water is polar and oil is non-polar, and they repel each other. Detergents are amphiphilic and will bind to both oil and water. The oil does not disappear when treated with detergent even though it seems to. What is happening is that oil droplets are surrounded by detergent molecules. Eventually the oil will be degraded by certain bacteria and fungi, but that is a slow process and a lot of harm can be done in the meantime.

Edited April 15, 2014 by mango