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we recently bought a narrowboat, she's 30ft, built by eastern caravans and narrowboats ltd. the boat came with a folder & all the pamphlets for all the appliances etc, there's one for a bulge pump, so we know there is a pump somewhere on the boat, it's hooked up to the 12v battery, and the wires for it run under the floor, the switch is on, etc. there's defo a pump down there somewhere, but how the heck do we get to it to check it's working & in good condition? short of taking the floor up? there's no hatches for the main bilge of the boat. most articles about bilge pump maintenance assume you're installing one for the first time, or that it's easily accessible (eg in the engine bay). the bilge is divided into three segments (the two outside ones are fuel & gas lockers) and dont have pumps in them any advice would be gratefully appreciated

Hello Canal World! Some of you may remember by boat (Fairstar, now Lady Doris), sank last Summer. Thanks in a large part to your amazing help & support, she's floating again, and she's doing ok (touch wood!). And now the serious job of restoring her to her former glory is starting in ernest! And I'm afraid I may be a bit of regular around these parts as I ask (hopefully not too man) stupid/novice type questions... The first question I'd like to ask, is what is the best possible action I can take in the bilge/inside of the boat to prevent rot? - She's Larch on Oak construction. - Last out of the water in Winter 2014, When I replaced about 20m or larch, mainly around the stern/transom. - I put in extra ribs where needed. I'm in the process of giving her her a DEEP clean inside, and clearing a huge amount of black oily gunk & sludge from the bilge that's accumulated over many years. I have heard before that this oily gunk can in fact be good for preserving the wood, and stopping rot?! That may or may not be the case.. but regardless of that, it stinks, so I'm planning to get rid of it!! However, what would be the best thing i could do, once it's clean? I've heard the suggestion of linseed oil for example. At least that smells lovely, so quite keen on that idea?! Is that a good idea? I'm also going re-paint the entire inside of the boat (including where practical, in the bilge. I'm planning to use a decent grey primer. I'm assuming that if the wood is "sealed" with a top coat on the inside too, that you're asking for rot issues? Is that correct? What would be the best primer to use please? In the past, I've heard that putting large bags of salt in the bilge can help prevent rot? Is that true/worth doing? She's sat in the non-tidal River Thames at present... The other question I have, is not about prevention of rot, but about stopping the existing rot spreading.. or whether there's even a way of curing it? There are a few bits inside... non structural I hasten to add, that are a bit flaky. I'd like to at the very least, stop the rot spreading any further... and at best cure it, and neaten it up! Any wooden boat / rot experts there? I sure hope so! A pre-emptive thank you for anything you can suggest or advise that would help me to keep this beautiful Lady in tip top condition! All the best, Marcus & Lady Doris!

Hi I just bought a 2002 Dave Clark built narrow boat. There's a leak coming from the flue which is causing some staining and dripping inside the cabin when it rains. The floor seems to be OK, and no wood on the walls is swollen - just stained. I'll address the leak (once I can find the source) but I wondered if the water that runs down behind the inner walls can find its way into the hull and, if it can, is there any way to drain it? Logic tells me the hull should be designed to let any water that finds its way into the hull run to the back to be pumped out from the bilge pump in the engine compartment, but I am not sure how good this logic is in practice. I'm just imagining a sealed compartment in the middle of the boat filling up with water and never draining. I hope I'm wrong and would love it if someone can give me a clue how hulls are designed to handle leaks into the mid-sections. Thanks in anticipation. There sure is a lot to learn! Paul

So, as you may know, I have a new boat! New boat - new surprises.... Yesterday was our first day on board and we spent it removing sodden rotten furniture and flooring from the aft cabin. It started by lifting the mattress, few spots of mould on the ply below. So, with the mattress removed to the well deck I lifted the ply, more mould in the drawers below that. Drawers were stuck solid (when we viewed the boat I took them to be painted shut - doh! Learning experience) they were MDF, and had expanded to fill their holes completely... Quickly after this I was screwing and sawing and using my trusty adjustable spanner (hammer) to get as far in to the mess as I could and see what was going on. When I reached what was left of the floor beneath it all I found water, bubbling up between the pieces of composite board that weren't turned to soil. We removed enough scrap wood (soil) to completely fill the back of my estate car (and weigh heavily on it's suspension) and we pumped about 15 bucket loads of water out of them there bilges. Along the way I was of course hunting for the source of the water. It didn't seem to be in the bathroom or kitchen (from surface looking at least, and all pipe work was reasonably easy to view, either running exposed or at the back of kitchen cupboards. I couldn't see right behind the bath, but it looked dry at least... Chief culprit seemed likely to be the water tank, which runs across the boat immediately forward of the engine (it's a trad stern, which had a fixed crossbed, and no access to the engine room) But, upon excavation nothing seemed to be leaking from the water tank either. However, I removed some of the panels in the wall between what was the bedroom (now closer resembles a green house, with hydroponic system in place on the floor) and the engine bay, to try and get to the back of the water tank, I found myself looking straight down at the engine. I had expected (mostly from reading on this forum) to find a metal bulkhead separating the engine and cabin bilges, which I had assumed to be 2' or 3' high (probably running up to the forward end of the floor boards which are places over the engine....) However, what I found was a 20cm lip, forming the edge of the engine oil drip tray (and the same height as the steel forming this tray on the other three sides of the engine, and running off to each side of the boat. So, I think I found where the water was coming in. The boat has a manually switched bilge pump in the engine bay, and the survey suggested that the stern gland is not in top condition. The previous owners were less than responsible, and he actually admitted to me that he only started the engine once in the four years they owned the boat - given this, I doubt they pumped out the bilges, or even checked them, very often if at all. Now, I am not just writing all of this to relay my tale to you all, (though that is part of the reason, and I hope you are enjoying it), I would like some advice on how best to proceed. Current situation: Floor completely removed for about 10' forward of engine bay "bulkhead". All floor that I have now reached is good - I am unable to proceed just digging with an adjustable spanner, proper tools like a saw will be required to go further. There is a logical stop point on the far side of the bathroom, about 3' further along the boat, I will cut floor to here, and hopefully find everything forward of this point is OK. Floor in living area has decent wood laminate on top. I do not want to remove this if I don't have to. Floor in kitchen has a kitchen on top. As above don't want to remove if I don't have to. One section below sofa in living area allows for inspection to under floor level (not bilges) and reveals no sign of rot. I will cut or drill here to gain access to bilge to aid with assessment. I may be able to gain access to bilge in small locker below the well deck. All the bilges that I have opened so far (in the aft end of the boat) were full of water. They are unsurprisingly very dirty and rusty. I intend to clean, rust treat (owatrol?) and paint, before applying new floor (marine ply?) with insulation and damp membrane. With my current course of action I wont be able to access the bilges forward of the bathroom (middle of boat). While I am fairly confident that the floor here is OK, the bilges will have been wet, and there will almost certainly be rust going on... I am in the process of sourcing a dehumidifier I can take with me back to the boat on Wednesday. I will be on board full time working on this (and hopefully get as far as fitting some sort of bed!) for a week and a half following. What I'd like to know: Best way to clean back rust. Best way treat the steel. Which paint to use in the bilges. How far should I go? How to insulate under the floor. What about a damp proof membrane? What about best construction methods? - batten on top of steel 'rib'? Glue/self tapped? I know there have been posts before, but I just hunted around and couldn't find much which covered most of the above, please feel free to point me to other threads, or just tell me what keywords you think I should be searching. Many thanks! BTW: The irony of my boats name has not escaped me.

Hi, Purchasing this boat and just wanted a second opinion on water in the engine bilge. I’ve attached some pictures and wondered if anyone had any advice comments as to the amount of water of the general condition of the area. its a 30ft steel hull narrow boat 1995 with a beta marine engine. The brokerage say it’s just rain water and I tend to accept then but still as a first time buyer it’s slightly concerning. cheers!

I used my submerged bilge pump a couple of weeks ago to remove a couple of cm of water from the bilge and it worked fine. This week, nothing. When I flick the switch to put the bilge pump on the voltage at the connector block shows as being only 10.8V. Strange. Could it be a faulty switch, or just that the pump has copped it? I don't know the make of the pump I'm afraid as someone before me has put it in a very awkward place. Making it hard to get it out.

Hi, I bought a collingwood sailaway in February and have been cruising in it every two weeks since then. I discovered yesterday that the dripless shaft seal is leaking. It isnt just dripping but a significant trickle of water is coming in. I though the jubilee clips might need tightening so I tried this but it made it worse. Has anyone replaced one of these before? And if so can it be done in the water, I have seen videos where people in yachts do it in teh water with the aid of a greased rag. I was thinking of a greased rag around the outside and then another on the inside as I swap teh seals over? I'm after some guidance please, I really dont want to take the boat out of the water if i can help it and ideally would do the work myself. Also, any brands of shaft seal that you would recommend, ideally someone I can have a chat with on the phone about the installation! Any help would be appreciated, I realise that Collingwood should probably correct this but I havent the time nor inclination to chase them about it I just want it fixed! I have attached a picture of the leaking seal. Many thanks, Will

Just thought I'd update you all- we didn't crash through the floor and break anything this weekend. Though we did dismantle the bedroom- ripped out the badly constructed bed frames. We found some ballast-like iron on one side of the bow doors (deck level) and nothing the other side. The side that was free has the stove- so could it have been moved when that was installed. We found two batteries also on the other side- was the ballast move to accommodate them? I would have thought it would be easier to just move the batteries- the ballast was crazy heavy. (As are the batteries) The walls that back in from the bow are no longer damp- as we have sealed the doors. However, the floor is sodden. Could this be from the door leak- or is it a possible thing for the water tank to be leaking? The floor will need replacing. Concerningly, there was not a small amount of water under the engine in the bilge and the whole engine hatch compartment needs a good clean. Eik! Next weekend we install the new bed frame and sleep no longer on the dinette. However, the dinette was very comfy, especially for our cats that we took with us. Yes we took the cats- two reasons really. 1. We are insane and 2. The plumber was coming to our flat to do some work and needed them out. (But mostly number 1) The cats usually don't sleep with us, so this was a treat for them- a treat that they reminded us of every couple of hours by jumping on us in our sleep- purring- curling up- asking for pats and basically being annoyingly gorgeously murderable! (Photos to follow) Next weekend we don't bring the cats!

Hi there, This is my first post so if you need clarifications, please ask. My girlfriend wanted a wooden floor on our Springer so I fitted a hardfloor that can be removed. A couple of months ago I noticed water remaining trapped between the floor and the wood panels. I thought it was condensation and checked all pipes. Everything was normal. Today I stripped the kitchen section and found a hatch. I removed thde "lid" ( a piece of wood with a hole) and found stones ( which I am assuming to be the ballards). The whole insert was covered by a inch of water. I removed some stones and noticed heavy flaking due to rust. I pumped out the water (hand pump) and now I am left with a dilemma: Do I need to remove all the rust, apply a rust converter, prime it and paint it? Am I risking by removing the rust? Boat is a V shape, completely overplated 3 years ago to top standards.

Good evening, Here are some pics of my bilge after scraping and applying Kurust to turn the rust into something else? from bow to stern each section gets worse, the front 3 sections seem good to acceptable but the last section I lifted a good Kilogram of rusted debris, when I put the rust inhibitor down it poured into a hole never to be seen again! Which leads to me to the idea, can I put a plate over it? is that an acceptable fix? is it necessary? and affordable? (will be done by welder) (it is already over plated on the outside) will it need a support strut or would a plate alone suffice?

Hello all! Just a quick question - does anyone know if there's anything wrong with curing bilge paint by running the engine? (I'm thinking of exhaust fumes, mainly). Does anyone have any experience of this?

Well, this job is overdue. We bought the boat in November with standing water in the engine bay, and although for some of this time it's been dry, with one application of Fertan applied, we now want to get the job over and done with. So, would i be correct in assuming that these are the requisite steps: 1. hoover out any loose debris 2. apply degreaser 3. remove degreaser with warm soapy water 4. liberally apply Fertan and allow to dry 5. hoover out any loose debris 6. one coat of primer 7. two coats of bilge paint with rust inhibitor additive I've been advised to 'remove loose rust' by one boatyard. I'm reluctant to start chipping away at rust. Would i be doing the right thing to interpret this literally and just remove rust that is literally loose, i.e. flakes that have come away from the steel and can be brushed/hoovered out?