sun odyssey 32 bilge

[ozekin]

I am planning to buy a 2002 sun odyssey 32. I checked the boat yesterday and i am not sure about one thing. The bilge,which is at the starboard side of the table, where the bilge pump is located; most of the space was like filled with epoxy or something. Is it normal? Could someone send me a photo of this place?

Thank you,
Onur

[tedp]

Is it a fin keel or a lifting keel SO32? I have a fin keel version which has the bilge astern of the table. It can be accessed by lifting a floorboard to port of the table. If yours is a lifting keel version the arrangement may be different. I'm not sure of that version.

The fin keel version should have a deep square or rectangular space, probably let into the keel, with a bilge pump at the bottom. It's the foulest place of the boat and I regularly have to disinfect it, then flood it with fresh water and pump it out to get rid of the smell. It should definitely not be filled with epoxy. It may be another substance that ran into the space, caking it up. Does the bilge pump still work? Has the seller explained it?

If you're unsure about it, call in a surveyor. I would do so anyway. Put this to the seller, if he doesn't like it you should steer clear of the boat.

I'm afraid I don't have a photo.

[ozekin]

Thank you for the answer. It is a fin keel version. The seller said that this is the original thing but he is the second owner of the boat.
Let me explain the place again, the place which you access by lifting a floorboard on the starboard of the table and you can see the bolts of the keel also. Right of the bolts were this epoxy-like thing.

[tedp]

There are a few stringers laminated into the bottom. I think the keel bolts go through the stringers. Between them is a shallow tray (the interior of the hull) with the bilge space dropping down in the centre. If you can wait for a day or two I'll visit my own boat and make a photo of what it's supposed to look like. It's wintering ashore on the other side of town.

[ozekin]

That would be great! Thank you!

[tedp]

Here is a photo of the bilge of my SO32. Note the inside of the hull is white GRP, or possibly it is coated with something white. The bilge sump is filled with antifreeze so the pump is out of view.

Hope this is useful to you.

[tedp]

Here is another photo. They are a bit murky but I hope they are clear enough for you to compare.

[pio]

In my SO32 of 2004 I couldn't keep this bilge clean as well, but after I found that the one way valve in the hose of the electric bilge pump doesn't work and I installed a ball valve I keep the bilge absolutely dry.

[tedp]

Good idea! I will keep that in mind.

[Anwen (Deep Joy)]

Tedp's sump looks exactly like mine, and the description of the epoxy thing sounds very weird. I would steer clear.

My boat is a 2004, and the keel bolts are a bit rustier than Ted's!

Incidentally, I did a bit of digging around under the floorboards in my cockpit locker and found out that there is a drain valve on the calorifier which tees into the calorifier relief valve outlet. From there, it runs down into the tubing which then runs to the bilge sump - the one without the in-line bilge pump, which I believe is connected at the other end to the manual bilge pump in the cockpit.

This would explain why my bilge sump continues to collect fresh water - it is the relief valve leakage when the calorifier heats up from the engine.

I too have found the non-return valve in the bilge pump system passes flow back into the sump, and have started cleaning out the sump periodically with a sponge and bucket. This works better than relying on the electric pump and non-return valve system. I periodically check that the bilge pump works though!

[tedp]

The ball valve idea sounds OK - I too have some return flow into the sump. What I do periodically is throw a denture cleaning pill into the sump. It's the same stuff recommended to me by a Dutch importer of Jeanneau yachts, to clean the water tank in spring. The pill disinfects the contents of the sump, then I pump it out and flush it with some fresh water.

The bilge does collect water but I think not just from the heat exchanger. Any condensation in the boat will collect in the lowest part of the hull.

We haven't yet heard from Ozekin - I too wonder what this epoxy patch in the bilge of that SO32 is. Next to the sump is close to the keel. The boat cannot easily have been holed in that area, but there must be an explanation. I would call in a surveyor before continuing with that boat.

[flightdeck]

Yep that's how mine looks too,
I cleaned and dried it up some 2 years ago and have not seen water or spilled beer in there again

Ozekin how about a picture so we all can see and go or ;D
Where are you and the So32, can any of us spread around the world help you

Cheers

[ozekin]

Thank you tedp and all for your help. I am a bit unexprienced and this will be my first boat so I am a bit paranoid about it. But it seems that there is nothing wrong about the boat. What I was suspicious about was the gray area. I was expecting the whole floor to be white GRP. Anyway I will continue with a survey.
I am happy to see that there is a great Jeanneau owners network here

[tedp]

The grey area is some sort of surface coating between the bottom stringers. In places you will see tiny cracks and deficiencies, but if the bottom is rock hard it should be OK.

I would always call in a surveyor before buying the boat especially if you have little ownership experience. You will find the SO32 a comfortable boat to live in, although the mainsheet rigging needs some modification if you want to sail it comfortably in a strong wind.

Good luck - let us know when you decide about the boat.

[pio]

In my SO32 I found that, same as in TEDS pictures, there are 2 hoses into the bilge. One is for the electric bilge pump. I supposed that the other one would be the for manual bilge pump. But it appeared to be the water drain from the cooling box!!! The hose of the manual bilge pump is ending under the floor panel near the stairs.

[Anwen (Deep Joy)]

Thanks Pio, you are right, the manual bilge pump hose ends in area under the floor panel at the bottom of the steps. The other hose going to the sump is definitely the drain from the calorifier. I don't know where the drain in the corner of the cool box runs to, as I always mop it out with a sponge rather than open the plug!

[tedp]

If the drain from the fridge or the boiler runs towards the sump, that would explain why there is some water in there at all times. There is some return flow from the bilge pump output pipe as well - when I went to take the photo the level of the antifreeze had risen. I had put it in only on Saturday, and pumped out the sump to get the antifreeze into the output pipe.

So the suction pipe of the manual bilge pump ends up under the engine. I was under the impression it was the other pipe leading to the sump.

[pio]

I've to check it on board, but if I remember well the drain of the calorifier and cooling box are connected in the engine room by a T-piece, so both are ending in the small bilge. Besides the ball valve in the ellectrical bilgepump systeem I made a wooden plug at the end of the above mentioned drain. As I mentioned my bilge is now absolutely dry. Few times a year I check the drain by removing the wooden plug, but I never found any water in this hose. So I assume that the major reason of a wet bilge is the no return valve in the electrical bilge pump system. I replaced the original plastic non return valve by a professional one, coming from the industry, but that gave no improvement, most likely because of dirt.

[tedp]

So the main cause must be reflux from the exit pipe from the pump. It is a very dirty environment of course, as all that makes its way through the floorboards ends up in the bilge. What kind of ball valve did you fit?

[pio]

I don't remember the type, but it's a brass valve and I bought at Lasaulec, a technical wholeseller in the The Netherlands. I removed it a few years ago, but may be I can find it back somewhere in my boat

[sinead]

The 32.1 is the best of the SO32

[ozekin]

Hello again,

Still searching for a boat, yesterday I checked another SO 32 (2003) the keel nuts are coated with something and looks rusty as in the picture? What is your comments about that coating and rust?



Attachment Deleted

[Zanshin]

Jeanneau factory epoxies the keel bolts, so the covering isn't a problem. The rust could be surface rust or go deeper. Any surveyor would recommend removing the epoxy and removing the rust while checking how deep it goes. This is not a major issue, I had the same on my first boat was quite worried but the surveyor stated that it occurs often in a wet bilge.

[j]

Aug 4, 2013 10:20:17 GMT ozekin said:

Hello again,
the keel nuts are coated with something and looks rusty as in the picture? What is your comments about that coating and rust?View Attachment

Looks like the coating has cracked, water has gotten under it and the moisture is trapped underneath for good.

Aug 4, 2013 11:06:05 GMT Zanshin said:

Jeanneau factory epoxies the keel bolts

Not on the 36i

[Zanshin]

In that case it was done at some time thereafter. When I look at the picture in detail it does look like the job wasn't particularly well done, either - the bilge paint was thickened a bit much before application.