The Bottomless Bilge

[graemek]

I tapped into one of the deck drain hoses for my secondary/ stacked bilge pump.  Those drain out through thru-hulls above the water line.  Never tap into a drain/scupper line that terminates below the waterline.

not a good idea unless you have fitted a non return valve,if you run aground and lay over on your side when you re-float water can come in these ports and fill the bilge up,yours ocean pilgrim

[RayNWanda]

Apparently our bilge repair is strong. We found a sand bar yesterday that ain't supposed to be there. We were doing about 6 kts when we hit. There were 3 pretty hard strikes, then some bumping and grinding. We got the sails off and the engine fired up- It took 2200 rpm to get her to spin around 180 degrees. Every wave was lifting us, so I was sure she would come off. She finally did, with some bumping and thumping. The bottom was pretty firm, I think it was sand. That's enough testing of that area.

[RayNWanda]

I hauled out last week and my ballast area sounds 'empty' or hollow. anyone know what is or is surpose to be in the 'ballast' ?
Capt Ron
s/v Pow-Mia
on a 365 ketch # 288

Ron, I missed this question down there at the bottom of the page.

In our boat papers is the original predelivery survey of our boat. The surveyer heard the hollow sound and made note of voids around the ballast on the survey. Then some letters went back and forth between the owner and Pearson. Pearson's explanation was that the hull was laid up in one mold and the lead was cast in another. The lead was then set in the hull and glassed over. Due to manufacturing tolerances, there could be voids present around the lead ballast. They didn't feel it was a problem. Apparently the owner and surveyer disagreed with that- Pearson agreed to fill the void areas with an epoxy slurry.

So that's what you are probably hearing, there are some voids around the ballast. As far as I know, ours is the only one that has been filled with anything. Evidently Pearson was right- it's not a problem.

[BlameItOnBuffett]

My two cents worth.....

I did a stacked bilge also, leading a seperate hose out the stern on a new mushroom. The upper pump on the stack is on an automatic rule switch with the audible alarm. You don't want the alarm sounding every time the lower one kicks in to drain your cooler or A/C condensate overboard, but you want the whole world knowing about it when the upper one goes off. Might even think of hooking it to a car horn mounted inside.....

As far as what is down at the bottom of the bilge, I believe I was the one who brought up concrete, based on what the local marine shop owner was saying. He did it with his, not completely filling the bilge - just bringing it up to within arms reach, and having some extra oomf on the bottom to take the beating if he ever set down on a rock or reef. He pouered the concrete, let it cure, and then epoxy/glassed over the top of that to secure it inside the avity, and keep bilge/oil/whatever from soaking into the concrete which is porous.

[SVJourney]

This last year in New Zealand, Journeys bilge started leaking out on the ground when we were blocked up on the hardstand.  Come to find out there was a crack there that opened up when all the weight of the boat was placed on it.  Anyone with a standard bilge would be well advised to NOT let the yard crew block your boat there.  It balances and stands well with the blocking under the lead part of the keel only.

So it was a big repair, and we went a long extra mile to make sure that area was bullet proof during the process.  What we did:
Repaired the hull to original, then added several layers outside to tie in the repair.  After fairing, you have a hard time tell there was a repair done there.
   Added many layers of glass on the inside so that the hull in that area is over 2 inches thick.
   We looked at the cement option, but wanted the fill to be integral to the structure.  The fiberglass guys in Whangarei suggested using vermiculite. (which can be bought at any home and garden store as it is used as a soil additive.(cheap!))with epoxy resin to seal it and bind it together and in place.  This was poured in ~2 inch lifts to ensure that nothing got too hot as the resin kicked off.  Total lift was about 8 inches. The vermiculite can absorb impact if the hull gets hit hard enough to compromise the 2 inch thick hull.
   Then 4 layers of glass cloth on top to finish it off inside.
   Bilge paint and reinstall the pumps.

So this gives us a solid structure that is almost a foot thick for very little money. The vermiculite can absorb impact if the hull gets hit hard enough to compromise the 2 inch thick hull.  No rock is ever going to compromise the water integrity in this area. No more worries about the deep bilge being a danger. Bonus is that I can now reach and clean my bilge without serious pain.