Advice on Brown water in bilge

[Chiara’s slave]

It is not unusual for stagnant water in the bilge to turn brown. My auto bilge pump does not pump every drop - there is always a small amount that collects ... over time this turns brown ... and when I mop out and put overboard - the water shows a slight sheen ... but I have no oil leaking to there. I suspect its from the GRP, paint and wood formers ....

Last winter I gave the bilges a good scrub and then painted flat white ...... so far no brown water ... but lets see later when the bilge paint starts to break down as I only gave it one thin coat.

Of course there are many reasons why bilge water is often brown. It’s just a matter of elimination to determine which it is, and of course why there is water accumulating there. Grp boats shouldn’t really leak. We had a leak though a pulpit stanchion that caused a spot of bilge water, for instance. An empty tank needs investigating, many things to look at.

 

[Brabs]

Regarding the stainless steel tank fixed in the bilge, what is this for?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Regarding the stainless steel tank fixed in the bilge, what is this for?

Only you can say. What pipes go in and out, how big are they, and where do they go?

 

[Refueler]

Brown water ..... can be so many reasons ... as I posted before - I get brown water in bilge and no obvious reasons why it turns brown ... but if you have engine above it or possibility of water from under getting to another point ... then it may be anything related to fluids in pipes with tiny non-obvious leak somewhere ...

I know people have pristine bilges under engines - but many have not so clean !! You can clean up - but later its back again without obvious reason ..

The stainless tank ... 1ft sq ? Did the boat have heating system before ?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I thought about that, but why have a separate talk if you run on diesel anyway? And s foot cube, 6 gallons, 25 odd litres. Thats a lot of heater fuel. Only 1 way to tell.

 

[Refueler]

I thought about that, but why have a separate talk if you run on diesel anyway? And s foot cube, 6 gallons, 25 odd litres. Thats a lot of heater fuel. Only 1 way to tell.

He says 1ft sq ... not a cube ... so I suspect its a lot shallower tank - if its in bilges.

C;mon 'Brabs' - what is the tank dimensions and has anything 'fluid' related been removed from the boat ?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

He says 1ft sq ... not a cube ... so I suspect its a lot shallower tank - if its in bilges.

C;mon 'Brabs' - what is the tank dimensions and has anything 'fluid' related been removed from the boat ?

Fair enough. The pipes in and out will tell. Obviously the interest in it is because it's empty. Equally obviously it might be irrelevant, it might be empty for normal reasons. So, Brabs, have a grovel down there, check it out as a suspect. If it’s ok, move on, look for another possibility.

 

[Daydream believer]

Why worry. Think like Baldrick----- warm it & serve it up as coffee ?

 

[Refueler]

Why worry. Think like Baldrick----- warm it & serve it up as coffee ?

My old boat Snap 23 - had a chemi loo in the fwd part ...

Pal of mine (Admirals Cup crew guy and SAS) was with me .. and his father ... we were sailing round Solent for a week. I noted water in the central well (she was a triple keel with central well where others had the lift keel fitted). Dave checked it by finger in ... taste to see if salt or fresh ...........

You guessed - the Chemi loo had decided to 'leak' ......

Since then - I am very careful to check before ever 'tasting' water !!

 

[sarabande]

My money is on a biological cause, e.g. algae or fungal growth in afresh water source.

You can use dipstick tests to establish if there is any salt. Cheaper than a salinity meter or doing a silver nitrate titration.

10 x Home Salinity Salt Urine Test Strips | Home Health UK (homehealth-uk.com)

 

[Refueler]

Cheaper than a salinity meter or doing a silver nitrate titration.

UGH !! Memories of boiling my b*****s off inside chemical ships tanks doing wall-washes !!

 

[[70521]]

When did you last clean your bilge? Asks man who needs to clean his bilge next winter.

 

[Brabs]

So floks, I am none the wiser, I ran the engine for peace of mind, no leaks, cutlass bearing also not leaking, flushed jabsco toilet, traced pipe work from sink in the heads, and galley, no leaks, did a taste test and wasn't salt water, so all out of ideas apart from I pressure washed the deck last month, doubt it would have anything to do with it

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Cockpit drains are another possibility

 

[Brabs]

Cockpit drains are another possibility

Would these actually run outboard??

 

[Fr J Hackett]

So floks, I am none the wiser, I ran the engine for peace of mind, no leaks, cutlass bearing also not leaking, flushed jabsco toilet, traced pipe work from sink in the heads, and galley, no leaks, did a taste test and wasn't salt water, so all out of ideas apart from I pressure washed the deck last month, doubt it would have anything to do with it

I wouldn't be so sure about it not coming from the deck after pressure washing, you have established it's not sea water which leaves two options; your fresh water tanks, not unknown to happen or a leak above the water line deck fitting etc. There is still the question of there mysterious stainless tank to resolve.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Would these actually run outboard??

Yes, but via pipes and joints that could potentially leak into the bilge.

 

[Brabs]

I wouldn't be so sure about it not coming from the deck after pressure washing, you have established it's not sea water which leaves two options; your fresh water tanks, not unknown to happen or a leak above the water line deck fitting etc. There is still the question of there mysterious stainless tank to resolve.

Thinking about it, I did top my fresh-water tank up, does this have an over flow? Because it didn't seem to fill, I could see the water but it wouldn't totally fill due to air locks

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Thinking about it, I did top my fresh-water tank up, does this have an over flow? Because it didn't seem to fill, I could see the water but it wouldn't totally fill due to air locks

That sounds like a good place to investigate it should have a breather pipe but there are other potential areas for tanks of bags to leak chase all the pipes then start to fill and look for a leak.

 

[Bru]

Fellow W33 owner here ... apologies if I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs with the following but I;ll go from first principals and avoid missing anything out ...

Firstly, your OM636 is almost certainly cooled via a Bowman heat exchanger mounted on the starboard side of the engine above the injector manifold. Raw water is pumped through the heat exchanger by the belt driven pump on the opposite side of the engine (that belt needs checking regularly as part of your routine engine checks)

Your cockpit drains run straight down through the aft end of rthe enfgine bay to sea cocks in the hull, The pipes ought to cross over (i'e' the port drain goes to the starboard seacock and vice versa)

Our W33, in common with most boats I've known, accumulates mucky water in the bilge at a fairly astonishing rate when we're aboard. It's condensation running down, that's all. You'd know if you had a fresh water leak 'cos the water in the bilge wouldn't be mucky! (Ask me how I know this ) Two gallons is nothing, to be honest. When we bought Pagan there was more like 20 gallons of water in the bilge, accumulated condensation from her having been lived aboard for a while. And when the water tank decided to leak it was closer to 60 gallons!!! (The sole boards weren't quite floating but they weren't far off)

You'll also get a certain amount of seawater in the bilge from the stern gear which is never 100% watertight (and nor should it be as regardless of the type of shaft seal, it relies on seawater for cooling and lubrication). The quantities should be barely noticeable when under way but it will build up over time. There is no such thing as a totally dry bilge, whatever some people might claim (the lying toads!!! )

Taste test the water to check whether it's fresh(ish) or salt. It won't kill you! Just dip a finger in and try it, don't drank a glass of it

Chances are it's fresh(ish) and basically nothing to get into a panic about. If, however, it's distinctly salty that's a cause for concern and may indicate either excessive water from the stern tube or a weeping skin fitting.

Keel bolts rarely give trouble on the fin keel W33 (can't say as I;ve ever heard of any issues) but ought to be inspected periodically to be on the safe side. If it's twin (bilge) keels that's a different ball game as they can be problematic. The bilge keel W33 is not so prone to issues as some of the other Westerly designs, being fairly substantial in its construction, but keels have been known to fall off in exceptional circumstances!

There's almost always going to be a bit of oil floating on top of the bilge water. It's virtually impossible to do an pil change or fuel filter change without getting a few drops in the bilge under the engine and there's no way to shift it then other than to flush it out. Which is what happens when the bilge gets some water in it whether you like it or not!

The stainless steel tank you mention might well be the original Westerly fresh water "manifold" that connected from the water tank to the galley and heads taps. Crazily, it was installed in the vicinity of the galley (ours was nuried right in the bottom of the starboard cockpit locker). Ours leaked. Not a lot but leak it did. I replaced all the pipework anyway and did away with the manifold, a simple 'Y' connection is all that's needed

One final caveat ... these boats are getting on in years and yours is almost certainly not totally original, any more than ours is. Things have likely been changed, moved, reconfigured and, if the truth be told, bodged by previous owners! So if what I say doesn't jive with what you've got, it doesn't necessarily mean one of us is wrong!

Hope the above is helpful, happy to offer futher advice etc. if needed