Gunked up bilge passageway??

[Hannibal]

I previously posted about how I discovered standing water in the forward bilge area a few months ago. The problem was ultimately traced to a mud dauber who decided to call my bilge outlet hose home. That took care of most of the problem.

However, I've recently noticed that not all water drains out of the front bilge area. There's not enough to trigger the float but it's not draining towards the back end of the boat and out of the drain hole. In pulling the rear hatch, everything is dry. So the problem is under the decking between the front bilge compartment and the rear compartment.

In the front compartment, I noticed that there is a little triangle opening at the base of the back bulkhead. It appears to be free of obstruction but I can't quite tell. Being that I don't have a schematic of the boat layout, does this opening through the bulkhead simply open up into another void under the deck or is it sealed and simply serve as a tunnel way for water?

I am pretty sure there is some sort of blockage there. I don't want to go prodding around with a peice of coat hanger or similar without knowing what's there.

Does anybody have a "tool" they use to clear this pathway? I thought about a dryer vent brush which is semi flexible yet rigid enough to put some force on it. I almost envision something like an oversized gun barrell brush but I am not sure where I'd find something like that.

Any ideas or suggestions on a quick way to clean/clear this area?




On a related front, debris undoubtidly gets down there via the finished hole in the floor inside the cuddy. It's about 1.5-2" in diameter and serves as a drain. However, in cleaning the boat, debris (leaf peices, acorn chips, bugs, etc.) make their way down there. Stuff that is missed in sweeping the deck.

Is there a way to prevent this? I am almost determined to find a drain screen similar to what you'd put on your kitchen sink to trap food debris when cleaning dishes.

I plan on really cleaning out the bilge area this spring (I did a big grunt work cleaning last summer - this would be more detail oriented) and I'd like to make sure this problem doesn't occur again. I want to be certain that any water is moving as it should.

Thanks in advance for the input.

Will

 

[miky2884]

Did you try blowing it out with a hose the force of the water should push out anything stuck in there

 

[DaleH]

I doubt the problem is a blocked or partially blocked limber hole (the correct nautical term) but rather - at rest - the deepest part of the hull is that area under the main helm cabin, aft of the forward inspection port. A couple things you can do.

My forward automatic bilge pump is the Whale pump, with water sensing technology and automatic (no moving parts less the pump action) operation, that draws bilges down to the lowest level of any pump on the market. Phenomenal performance for only $55, see here.[/b]

If you already have a float switch up there, buy this replacement low-pickup pump for only $26, see there.[/b]

Whereas I am on a mooring before I leave her, I also leave my front inspection port open so the hull bilge interior "can breathe" and I'll take a sponge and pull any water the pump can't pickup.

 

[gw204]

I have an old piece of coax cable in the shed for stuff like this. I lay it out in the yard and try to straighten it out as much as possible. Then I feed it in through the garboard drain an into the aft most limber hole and push it as far forward as I can.

Works great for pulling stuff through rigging tubes as well.

 

[Megabyte]

I also leave my front inspection port open so the hull bilge interior "can breathe"

I do the same. Before I leave the boat, I pop open that hatch and leave it open when I'm not on the boat.
Pour some Simple Green in there and it'll keep the bilge fresh smelling and clean. :wink:

As for the limber hole, have you tried a drain snake?
My boat is a 1996 model and I have discovered 'construction debris' in the bilge on occasion when flushing the bilge.
Pieces of fiberglass, pieces of zip-ties...
A good high pressure flush can help move this stuff back to the stern so it can be removed.

 

[Bryan 2530]

On a related front, debris undoubtidly gets down there via the finished hole in the floor inside the cuddy. It's about 1.5-2" in diameter and serves as a drain. However, in cleaning the boat, debris (leaf peices, acorn chips, bugs, etc.) make their way down there. Stuff that is missed in sweeping the deck.

Is there a way to prevent this? I am almost determined to find a drain screen similar to what you'd put on your kitchen sink to trap food debris when cleaning dishes.

Will

Try a search. 8) Discussed in '06 :shock:

http://www.classicparker.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=565


Here is the part.

http://www.plumbingstore.com/stainless_steel_mesh_strainers.html

 

[miky2884]

Something interesting i found by reading through the thread Bryan posted from a few years back. Guys complaining there pilot house floor drains into the bilge. On my 2000 2320 both the floor in the v berth and the floor in the pilot house drain out a through hull, neither of these empty into my bilge. Did Parker change this? And possibly this is why my bilge never gets debris in it because I sweep all the dirt into the pilot house floor drain and then stick the house down the drain and blow it out the side.

Which also brings up another point discussed in a previous thread, my 2320 doesn't step down nearly as much as the new 2320's do, which means my PH floor sits above sea level which allows there to be a drain out the side, just a thought???

 

[Megabyte]

On a related front, debris undoubtidly gets down there via the finished hole in the floor inside the cuddy. It's about 1.5-2" in diameter and serves as a drain. However, in cleaning the boat, debris (leaf peices, acorn chips, bugs, etc.) make their way down there. Stuff that is missed in sweeping the deck.

Is there a way to prevent this? I am almost determined to find a drain screen similar to what you'd put on your kitchen sink to trap food debris when cleaning dishes.

Will

Try a search. 8) Discussed in '06 :shock:
http://www.classicparker.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=565

Here is the part.
http://www.plumbingstore.com/stainless_steel_mesh_strainers.html

I installed them in my boat back when this thread was first discussed.
They work.

 

[Brent]

I used 2 pieces of chimney cleaning rods to clear the debris