Alcanboats Forum

Hi all

We have been sleeping in the front lower cabin until recently as bilge odor is becoming a problem I asume all the rain and extra water in the bilge has loosened old smelly residue in the bilge causing this.
we are going to install fan but we are having a problem purging it initially so if anyone can suggest what has worked for them We would be very grateful and we had lake water in the boat at the beginning of the year ( Stale by now ) from a forgotten tap for lake water.

Thanks Wayne

I would start by scrubbing out the bilge as best as you have access to. As long as your bilge pumps are working, put a garden hose down there, and
scrub away while letting the pumps take out the stale/dirty water (if oil is present, I would not recommend this). Rig up a brush on a rod to get into
less accessible ares if possible.



Jay

Hi Wayne,

It is almost impossible to keep the bilge dry on an Alwest because the rainwater comes down through the superstructure walls and ends up in the bilge. Whenever you have weight forward (even 4 people in the pilothouse will do it) the bilge water runs forward and gets everything wet under the forward sleeping area. Early on, I dug down to the keel (about 16" of foam) at the forward most point in the main bilge under the forward berth. This area would keep filling with water which I originally thought was a hull leak until I realized that it was bilge rain water seeping forward between the foam and the hull. Washing everything down as Jay suggests might not get the results that you are looking for. This will further fill the foam voids with water and will get all the wooden floor support structure wet as well. This is even more moisture that you have to drive out.
See the website tech section for an article on Alwest bilge ventilation. This exhaust fan runs 24/7 at this time of year on our boat to draw out the stale air. The real fix is re-sheathing the superstructure so that the rainwater stays out. See the tech article on that as well. I used to use a shop vac to get out as much water as possible.

Catherine Ann now has an absolutely dry main bilge and we keep a number of large dessicant packs in the bilge to help keep the humidity in this area as low as possible. Even with this, the air coming out of the exhaust fan, particularly at this time of year, still has a distinctly "bilge" smell to it.

Rob