Dry vs Wet Bilge

[colinnz]

Hi all,

Forgive my question.

I have the rear cabin platforms up and noted some warped/damp plywood. The rear cabin has 2 het vent hoses that used to head to rear AC unit. It seems that a fair bit of water in the past has leaked into the Port side around the hose. Seems a strange design allowing water through but hey ho. The water looks like it is designed to drain down from the rear 'garage' through the central channel to pool around shaft and drain through into central bilge compartments etc.

My question therefore is that I always have some water in the bilge area(s) and therefore to my knowledge, this would be a 'wet' bilge. Is there anything I should be concerned about here? Apart from the amount of water coming in and confirming if fresh (rain or internal tank leakage) or salt (potentially leaking skin fitting etc), anything else I should be looking at? Do other's have wet or dry bilge areas? 

Happy for any input here please. Just exploring what I should look at and whether I should be more concerned than I am.

Thanks

[zaphod]

My bilge is usually bone dry except for the sump that the bilge pump draws out of. Our fridge drains directly into the bilge, so when we are using the boat melted ice, condensation and spillage winds up in the bilge.

I don't think having a bit of water in the bilge on the short term is a big deal but it can lead to musty odors. You also want to make sure none of your keel bolts are wet as they will eventually start corroding.

If you have so much moisture that your floor boards are warping and rotting, that IS cause for concern. If it is condensate from your A/C units you should find a way to get rid of it without it coming in contact with the wood.

[Charlie-Bravo]

A dry bilge is nice to have, although on many boats it seems just a utopian idea to work toward.
I run the fridge drain into a plastic bottle, and empty it every fridge washing session, it's not a perfect solution but keeps the bilges dusty dry.
If a dry bilge is achieved, any water found can be an early indication of something that's not quite as it should be, leaky pipe etc, and it's easier to monitor than judging the changing depths of a puddle of water, and as said above, keeps the boat smelling fresher, and nothing very wrong with a little water as long as you know where it is coming from.
CB