Getting and keeping the bilge clean

[PNM]

I'm finally getting ready to clean up & RE-DO my engine compartment.

The plywood floors have been in place since '79. Under the two, 200 gallon tanks and under & aft of the generator, are areas where plywood floors restrict access to the inside of the hull.

Over time, the hull, in these areas, has become "black" with "crud". I don't think the "crud" is oil. I think it is just many years of "film". Neither the generator nor the fuel tanks have leaked, to my knowledge.

These areas do not include the "bilges" - under the engines. The bilges are fairly clean and accessible.

I am unable to reach "much" of the covered hull areas with a pressure washer. I can get hull cleaner in these areas to soak, but scrubbing is not possible.

Do marine detailers have special tools to clean such remote areas? Could they use an "agile" soda blaster to clean these covered areas?

I am considering removing the floors or putting access panels between the stringers in these covered areas to enable me to clean the hull, then replace the floors (or access panels) with composite grating to enable me to keep the inside of the hull ship shape?

To remove the flooring, I will have to detach the plywood from the stringers. In some cases, it looks like the flooring is epoxied to the stringers. Will this change affect the stiffness of the hull? It's a 30K pound 42' Ocean 40+2 trawler.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Comodave]

I use Extreme Simple Green to clean dirty bilges. You can dilute it but I use it straight. Home Depot online sells it. I also us a cheap steamer from Amazon. I hold it about 3 to 6” from the dirty area and steam it. I keep a shop vac running and sucking up the crap as it melts off. I put a Cpap hose on the shop vac hose and tape a dowel to the Cpap hose. The Cpap hose is very flexible and with the dowel i can push it into areas I can’t reach.

 

[MYTraveler]

I have owned a bunch of boats and the conditions of their bilges has varied tremendously. My current boat is the first boat I purchased new. Its bilge was not only pristine but finished with white gel coat. I have bent over backwards to keep it surgically clean ever since. Step one was eliminating all standing water. That wasn't easy as there were unimaginable sources of intrusion, but I took care of them all. The last one that I can recall was A/C condenser water (which I re-routed overboard). I remember that rod holders were also a concern. Fortunately, the dripless shaft seals didn't drip.

My immediately prior boat had detroits, so dripping oil was inevitable. The current boat has Cummins (QSM11s), which are bright white and show not even the slightest hint of an oil leak. I am very please about that, but the turbo's have turned light brown from the heat they generate. Even so, my shade of brown is lighter than that of most of my YC buddies' boats, so tolerable.

Because the bilges are gel coated, it really isn't difficult to keep them surgically clean. Perhaps I have advanced OCD, but the thrill I get going into the engine room (stand up and really well lit) is incomparable.

So, in a nutshell, my advice is 1) get rid off all standing water, 2) create a high gloss white finish in the bilge, 3) eliminate any oil leaks, and 4) if the sunset isn't spectacular, go to the engine room to thrill yourself with amazing beauty.

 

[Comodave]

After cleaning I usually paint with white Bilge Kots. Smooth hard surface is easy to keep clean.