How clean/dry should the drip tray/bilge be?

D3B

D3B

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www.cutting-solutions.co.uk
Am i being fastidiuos?
The boat is new...well new ish now.

water in the bilge and small amounts of oil in the drip tray.

should i expect some or should it all be nice and sparkly?

Getting fed up with no responce from certain quarters.
 
Water in the bilge means you have a boat in water that is being used.
Oil in the drip tray means you have V*lvomort engines !

Seriously, all water that finds its way inboard by whatever means, will wind up in the bilge. An inch of bilge water is fact of life, although I use a mop every now and again to get rid of it.

Any oil leak that's bigger than a few teaspoons is worth investigating. Running with the oil right at the top of the dipstick can cause small leaks on some engines. Some leak from around the pan, some from the crank seals, some from the valve covers, or crankcase breathers.

Some engines just leak.

dv.
 
I had a 1991 boat with a volvo, 1200 hours and the drip tray was spotless, and no water in the bilges after I'd cured the leak where the cables from the anchor windlass came into the boat through a deck locker.

On a new boat or new ish I'd expect the same, or on an old boat I'd cure the problem.
 
I don't think you are being fastidious. My boat is some 5 years old now and my bilge is as dry and clean as the day she was launched. At one point I noticed a tad of water in the bilge and found it to be fresh - hence found a loose joint in the fresh water linkage.

Boats are ment to be dry!
 
[ QUOTE ]
all water that finds its way inboard by whatever means, will wind up in the bilge

[/ QUOTE ]

this would be good rather than bad - change it to 'should find it's way' and I am in total agreement.

to some extent it will depend on the type of boat as well

I started getting oil in the drip tray last year and am still trying to pinpoint the source - necessary in my mind as it can mask other 'creeping' problems (in my case I have now found a leak in the PS fluid but it was initially masked by the oil already in the tray. And no I don't have a volv*
 
well, ideally a huge wave that breaks over the cockpit should exit via the scuppers, but I guess I meant spray that gets past engine air boxes, rainwater that gets the wrong side of canvas, small leaks from outdrive steering helmet bearings, etc. etc. the stuff that shouldn't happen, but does.

dv.
 
>>Water in the bilge means you have a boat in water that is being used.
Oil in the drip tray means you have V*lvomort engines !

Seriously, all water that finds its way inboard by whatever means, will wind up in the bilge. An inch of bilge water is fact of life, although I use a mop every now and again to get rid of it.<<

Sorry, totally disagree! We never, repeat never, get water in the bilge, and we've done many thousands of ocean and offshore miles. I can see no reason on modern GRP boats for this to be accepted.

If it's getting in (other than from one's WWG) something ISN'T doing its job. Find it and sort it!!
 
Hi Doug chuck a pampers in there an' swop monthly
be alright then...........better then the football then /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

cheers M8 Joe
 
Yep No1 M, we use the Volvo shaft seal. Minimum bit of maintenance each year (about 5 minutes) and NEVER a single drop of water comes through.

Superb bit of kit and much cheaper than a stuffing gland - which always drip!!
 
I wasn't aware that a "Westerly Fulmar" was an outdrive powered boat that does 35knots+.

Same as with shafts, there are various ways that small amounts of water can get in to an open outdrive powered sports cruiser, rain being one of them. You can either tear your hair out and be permanently unhappy, rant, rave, spend hours in the engine room with blotting paper and mirrors on sticks, or grit your teeth and get the mop out every few weeks. I've done both.

dv.
 
Hi hlb!!

LOL!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif True, I'm only dealing with a tiny 20hp Bukh driving a single prop!!
 
our bilges are gleaming white, erm, mainly because I spent last week painting them but anyway...

We have normal dripping shaft seals which would normally fill up the entire central channel of the engine room. I've managed to seal a little "dam" in the channel to make a small compartment at the back. So only this little bit fills up with the drips and the rest of the bilge is bone dry.
 
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