Square crystals in bilge water

[MattS]

One of those questions that feels a bit silly, but…

Does anyone have any idea what these square crystals are that seem to have collected in my bilge water?

They seem very uniformly square, but I’ve put nothing down there in the last year that I can think would have shattered, or caused crystals to have collected…

Anyone seen anything like this before?

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Isn't the 'obvious' answer that they're salt crystals? My first thought though was escapees from a desiccant pack of some sort?

 

[VicS]

Salt ( sodium chloride )

 

[neilf39]

As has been said probably salt. If you have seawater that slowly evaporates the concentration of salt will increase until it crystalizes out.

 

[MattS]

Well embarrassingly I didn’t realise salt formed square crystals.

So good to know what it is, not so good that I have another salt water ingress somewhere!

 

[penberth3]

Well embarrassingly I didn’t realise salt formed square crystals.

You're either on a healthy diet or not very observant!

 

[MattS]

Never looked that closely at salt, and the crystals I put on my dinner certainly aren’t as big as the ones I found in the bilge

 

[Neeves]

Never looked that closely at salt, and the crystals I put on my dinner certainly aren’t as big as the ones I found in the bilge

The salt you put on your dinner (very unhealthy), are crushed (and classified, sized) so that they both run out of you salt cellar (?) and so that they dissolve quickly. Look at gourmet salt (is that a contradiction?) like Malden or, pink, Himalayan salt and they will be cubic (or maybe crushed cubic - depends on original size).

The fact you have salt crystals in the bilges implies that if there is a leak it is very slight and maybe as a result of spillage when you serviced the engine or simply water off wet weather gear or boots. If you had a significant leak it would be ..... wet. The leak may be from the deck, mast base, stanchion bolts etc, which you will not find until you next sail - and even then will be difficult to define. Just keep checking the bilges.

Jonathan

 

[KompetentKrew]

I had this too - they were surprisingly large crystals.

 

[Stemar]

The fact you have salt crystals in the bilges implies that if there is a leak it is very slight

Yes. Clean 'em up and go sailing. If the wet patch comes back, sprinkle some powder - cornstarch or talc around to see where it gets washed off, then you can decide what, if anything to do about it.

Those big, neat crystals form when the solution evaporates very slowly. Quicker evaporation would leave smaller irregular ones

 

[Graham_Wright]

The salt you put on your dinner (very unhealthy), are crushed (and classified, sized) so that they both run out of you salt cellar (?) and so that they dissolve quickly. Look at gourmet salt (is that a contradiction?) like Malden or, pink, Himalayan salt and they will be cubic (or maybe crushed cubic - depends on original size).
Jonathan

Slight drift. I've noticed on the Mediterranean coast of France, the mountains of salt dredged from the salt pans. The sprinkling of seagulls thereupon causes me some discomfort.
Is it washed again? That seems to defeat the object of drying it.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Slight drift. I've noticed on the Mediterranean coast of France, the mountains of salt dredged from the salt pans. The sprinkling of seagulls thereupon causes me some discomfort.
Is it washed again? That seems to defeat the object of drying it.

That'll be the Sel De Mer Bio....

 

[penfold]

As well as being finely ground table salt is also adulterated with anti-caking agent.

 

[Gwylan]

Given patience and a very empty life it is possible to grow large crystals of various chemicals.

Sodium chloride and copper sulphate are popular examples.

 

[alahol2]

I'm surprised nobody has suggested tasting them to confirm diagnosis.

 

[Rabchef]

Methamphetamine! Your boats clearly been used for smuggling in the past!

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Yes. Clean 'em up and go sailing. If the wet patch comes back, sprinkle some powder - cornstarch or talc around to see where it gets washed off, then you can decide what, if anything to do about it.

Those big, neat crystals form when the solution evaporates very slowly. Quicker evaporation would leave smaller irregular ones

Blue paper towel/wiping paper is also good for tracing leaks.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Slight drift. I've noticed on the Mediterranean coast of France, the mountains of salt dredged from the salt pans. The sprinkling of seagulls thereupon causes me some discomfort.
Is it washed again? That seems to defeat the object of drying it.

Similar to the salt mountains to be seen in the many salinas along the Alicante coast. Some of the locally produced salt sold near Torrevieja contains traces of sand, and large fish, probably mullet, can be observed in the freshly filled ponds. You know what fish do in water

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I'm surprised nobody has suggested tasting them to confirm diagnosis.

The first thing to do when a leak is observed is to place a drop of it on your tongue to check for salinity.

 

[thinwater]

You're either on a healthy diet or not very observant!

View attachment 129187

. As a chemist, yeah, that came to mind. I think I was about 11 or 12 when they pointed out in science class that different chemicals formed different shaped crystals, and square NaCl is typically the first example given.