a dirty bilge...

[s2sailorlis]

so on a scale of 1 to 10...how dirty...?

thoughts on best way to clean, i purchased a extending brush, used to clean cars , from HF last fall. was thinking of dumping a few gallons of water and degreaser into bilge, wiping with brush. pump it out (i'm still on the hard so it would dump onto the driveway...

then finish off with some Spray Nine and rinse with hose...
m

[Jim Walsh]

I’d pump or vacuum the bilge dry. Then try Simple Green...if you don’t attain the desired result with this relatively user friendly formulation try a Marykate product called Big Bully which is a bilge cleaner for serious cleaning.
Your bilge doesn’t look that bad, I’ve seen and smelled much worse.

[Keith]

I agree with Jim, seen and smelled much worse. Also since you are on the hard a good spraying with a hose nozzle along with the different cleaner mention may help.

Keith

[kerrydeare]

so on a scale of 1 to 10...how dirty...?

3.7

... thoughts on best way to clean ...

Not sure about "best" but for "easiest" try this: (1) launch boat, (2) dump a (large) hit of Dawn in there, (3) filler up with a hose, (4) go sailing (quite a bit), and then (5) pump the bilge.

Anyway that's what fisher people taught me a long time ago, and they didn't sink.

[s2sailorlis]

good news is that it doesn't smell. and it's dry other than when i get a heavy rain or the antifreeze that's currently in there now.

the stains were from when the boats sat on the hard for 8 years. was covered, then shrink wrap tore, water made its way in and sat. when i first me the PO to look at boat, i had to pump it dry....

[Bill Goldsmith]

I have a deck brush that has removable brush heads. I have one that I use only for the bilge, another only for the deck. With our deep bilges, that's the only way to reach the bottom!

[Joe Myerson]

I agree that it doesn't look that bad.

Before launch, I like to clean it out with some kind of detergent. Then I let it dry and vacuum it out.

During the season, I use vinegar, sometimes supplemented with baking soda. That way, I don't feel guilty pumping it out into the water.

Good luck!

--Joe

[Pembquist]

When I first got my boat It had a whiff of mildew. I used a concoction that Practical Sailor had made up called something like 10 cent mildew spray. It had things like borax, wash soda, baking soda in it. I am not sure if I used it as a spray or if I just used the wash soda straight but it worked well with a long handle scrub brush and didn't have any bleach.

[mkaplan]

Clorox cleanup. Instead of the spray bottle buy the refill jug, drill 3 small holes in the lid then shake to pour. Apply to small area, wait a few minutes (important) then wipe clean with sponge before rinsing with hose.

Then fix the deck leaks that allow water into the bilge.

[s2sailorlis]

and now she's clean... likely the first time since the 1990's...

some murphy's oil soap, the bilge cleaner, then stuck hose down to rinse.

[Joe Myerson]

Beautiful!
You could almost eat a meal off of it ... I've never seen one so clean.

--Joe