Bilge question

[flemishbob]

Greetings to all.
After a lengthy hiatus due to moving, pandemics, finances and more, I am finally on the verge of buying a boat. Rather larger than the folkboat I initially had in mind, it's a late 70's Dufour 29.
During an initial inspection, I looked in the bilge and found the mess in the pics attached.
It's been on land over the winter... does this look like cause for concern? In all other respects the boat looks tip top for its age, and well cared for, at least to my amateur eye.
I'm going back for a final check at the weekend - I'd be very grateful for any tips on what should I look for/ask about.
The spectacles are not mine.
Cheers.

 

[samfieldhouse]

If it's fresh water its been getting in somewhere - not unusual on a 40+ year old boat. I'm on a rolling programme of resealing all the deck fittings on mine.
If its salt and been sat there all winter that's not ideal.
I'd question why the current owner hasn't cleaned it out?

 

[mrming]

Very likely to be fresh water as mentioned above. Not a brilliant sign that it’s so dirty in there as it indicates a lack of care, however if the rest of the boat is good then it’s not the end of the world and can be cleaned up and painted. Look around to see if you can spot where water is getting in (often difficult), and make sure it hasn’t damaged any internal woodwork etc.

 

[Stemar]

The dirt is a bit of a, not necessarily red, but definitely amber flag, as it implies less than perfect care, so has there been any other maintenance missed. However, if all else seems good, it wouldn't frighten me off; an ageing owner who's no longer using the boat much may not clean that, but still be servicing the engine and the like.

If you buy the boat, give it a good clean and a couple of coats of bilge paint (Danboline or similar). Then, if the water comes back, you can start looking for the source of the source. A sprinkle of powder - talcum or cornstarch - will help.

 

[flemishbob]

Thanks for all your very helpful replies. I'll definitely ask about it. Not too keen on sticking my finger in and tasting to see whether it's salt or fresh water, but...if needs must. Looks briny to me.

The woodwork inside all seemed bone dry - no sign on inundation at all as far as I could see. Looking at the algae growth, I got the impression the 'tide mark' was about an inch above the current level of the water. I wondered if maybe it had been full when it was hauled out, and has been slowly evaporating since then... I'm still a bit concerned about how it got in there in the first place, though.

That pipe going into the water would be something to do with the (manual) bilge pump, do you think..and what's the white plastic thing at the top in the left picture..? As you may have surmised, I'm pretty new to all this. But keen to learn...

 

[V1701]

I wouldn't worry unduly, clean up and paint. Dunno what the white thing is, the large pipe will be the manual bilge pump. I had a late '70's Dufour 29 for a few years not that long ago, it was a good boat to sail, not slow. Plenty of room inside for a 29 & none of the horrible glued on foam backed vinyl headlining, it has a moulding inside. It would be a real plus if it wasn't on it's original engine, mine had an old Volvo MD series that was very long in the tooth. Some blistering to the hull below the waterline but nothing too bad.

Apparently most of the 29s went to the US, a crew of four sailed one of them across the Atlantic & had a great time apparently. If you're lucky you'll get the seventies orange plastic sink unit in the head.

Enjoy...

 

[samfieldhouse]

Never be afraid to taste water in your boat - its a super quick way to identify an annoying situation from a life threatening one.
You don't have to do shots

Dip your finger in, flick off excess water and press your finger against the side of your tongue - your salt receptors are on the side of your tongue.
You will know instantly if its salty. If you have to think "is that salty?" the answer is it's not.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

You are going to have to do a lot of cleaning, pressure washer and detergent/ Bilgex to emulsify any oil then dry out and paint. People and you might worry about what to do with the large quantities of dirty water, I will leave that to your imagination as to what to do with it. Is that some sort of tank that the white plastic thing is attached to? that may give you your answer. I would be concerned about the electrical cable running through the bilge.

 

[PetiteFleur]

The Amber colour of the water is almost certainly water that has got into any wood/plywood that has had screws, bolts or other fasteners through it/fastened to it and has bled downwards to the bilge. I have this problem at the moment, I've resealed all deck fittings, winch base resealed, hatches resealed, all suspect holes sealed etc etc. I still get Amber coloured water at the lowest point of the bilge though. Still working on it...

 

[Fr J Hackett]

The Amber colour of the water is almost certainly water that has got into any wood/plywood that has had screws, bolts or other fasteners through it/fastened to it and has bled downwards to the bilge. I have this problem at the moment, I've resealed all deck fittings, winch base resealed, hatches resealed, all suspect holes sealed etc etc. I still get Amber coloured water at the lowest point of the bilge though. Still working on it...

Anchor locker draining into the bilge?

 

[Caer Urfa]

To me the lighter colour is 'oil floating on water' so look for any engine oil leeks and sorry either way not a very good indication the boat has been maintained in or out of water as could have been cleaned out before the boat was for sale

 

[Fr J Hackett]

To me the lighter colour is 'oil floating on water' so look for any engine oil leeks and sorry either way not a very good indication the boat has been maintained in or out of water as could have been cleaned out before the boat was for sale

If it were engine oil it would be black unless whoever serviced the engine and or gearbox was extremely ham fisted and careless when pouring the new clean oil.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

If it is fresh water then the issue might be wood rot where the water has been running down. In my case it was leaky windows that resulted in rotten timbers and a whole galley replacement. That resulted in ...

Old boats can be a a real issue with maintenance that is currently unseen. Mine was also looked "tip top for its age". Just keep your eyes wide open, look behind everything you can. If you can buy one of these Amazon endoscope cameras that you can use with your phone do that.

I spent a significant amount of money rebuilding the interior due to fresh water damage.

Water in the bilge, per se, I wouldn't worry about too much, nor cleaning it and painting it. However, in your case I would be concerned as there are clearly water level marks suggesting that the bilge fills up and has been emptied. If that is rain water, then it looks to be an ongoing issue. Hence my comments about hidden water damage.

 

[flemishbob]

The stars are smiling on me, V1707: it has an eight-year-old engine and the original orange plastic sink. OK, Sam, I'm going in...And thanks, father - I'm not shy of a bit of elbow grease, will find somewhere suitable for the bilge water, and that cable won't be staying down there for long, whatever it is. Will check out the suspected tank - that's further forward under a floorboard that was screwed down; I took the photo by shoving a phone through the gap further back.

 

[flemishbob]

And thanks also for the words of caution - I'll definitely be giving the whole tub a more thorough going over. Hopefully nothing too dreadful hidden in the walls... Seems odd that someone who seems to have kept the deck, interior and motor spotless would things get out of hand down there, but who knows... Will let you know how I get on. Cheers.

 

[doug748]

Greetings to all.
After a lengthy hiatus due to moving, pandemics, finances and more, I am finally on the verge of buying a boat. Rather larger than the folkboat I initially had in mind, it's a late 70's Dufour 29.
During an initial inspection, I looked in the bilge and found the mess in the pics attached.
It's been on land over the winter... does this look like cause for concern? In all other respects the boat looks tip top for its age, and well cared for, at least to my amateur eye.
I'm going back for a final check at the weekend - I'd be very grateful for any tips on what should I look for/ask about.
The spectacles are not mine.
Cheers.

It's not unusual (with apologies to Sir Tom)........it may be a perspective thing but I can't reconcile those pictures with a Dufour, looks too big and too deep plus keel bolts seem to be lacking.

Seems to be at least half a pair of spectacles in the centre of the shot as well...............Tell me I am not cracking up.

PS.
I see the OP mentioned the specs, though I'm still struggling to see it as a Dufour 29 bilge.

.

 

[flemishbob]

Hi Doug. Yes, bit of a mystery, the specs. It definitely a Dufour 29, though - of that, if nothing else, I'm pretty confident. I wondered about the keel bolts, too.