bilge crystals

[homer]

It seems that the previous owner of my boat thought it would be a good idea to put some of those water attracting crystals in one section of the bilge. In anything other the driest weather, this has the effect of attracting a small puddle of water. I have attempted to wash out the solution several times but to no avail. Any suggestions?

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[robind]

use a Vax wet vac
Regards
Rob

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[tugboat]

I've been waiting to see if anyone else replied to this one first with a wise answer, cos it sounds like a wind-up to me. Water-attracting crystals? Sounds like salt. What would that be doing in a boat then? My feeling on this is that, if you are making a gen enquiry, the previous owner is having you on. Did you have a survey? Cos this sounds like a slow leak, maybe wicking through a bad piece of lay-up, or a bad repair covered up with antifouling. Suggest you scrape off the hull in that area back to bare grp and go over it with a fine toothcomb. Also taste the water. Salt or fresh? Does it happen when the boat is ashore too? If its water being attracted out of the atmosphere it will happen ashore as well as afloat. HTH.

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[homer]

No, no kidding. The name escaped me before but I believe they are crystals of silica gel (identified by the extremely bitter taste) which are commonly used in mini dehumififiers.

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[bigmart]

Forgive me but isn't Silica Gel poisonous?

If so why would you want to taste it?

Martin

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[tugboat]

Silica gel is normally in sachets to put into a closed container with something that needs to kept dry, e.g. a camera, binoculars, electronics,etc (as I expect you already know). It draws the moisture out of the atmosphere leaving it dry (drier). The inside of a boat, being on or near the water, has an infinite supply of moist air and is flooded with it every time the hatch is opened. You would need shed loads of silica gel to deal with that. I didn't know you could just go out and buy it in bulk, I have to admit. I don't know the full chemical composition of the stuff but a chemist might be able to advise how to chemically neutralise it. Have you tried a Google? Might turn up something. Hope it hasn't damaged the grp in your bilge.

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[alanporter]

Dehumidifying crystals are usually calcium chloride. The liquid they produce is very corrosive to metals so you have to be careful with it.

<hr width=100% size=1>Alan Porter