What is bilge water on a boat and why does it need to be pumped out?

Answer 1

The bilges are the area of the boat that is deepest: and hence where any water inside the boat will drain to.

Water in the boat is not a good thing, it should be outside the boat, not the inside! and so it gets pumped out. (It can't drain out, as the lowest part of the bilge is normally under the water level).

If you don't pump it out:
- when the sailboat tips, the bilge water can end up coming out of the bilges and into the bedding / food / bunks etc.
- Too much bilge water will fill the bilges, and you will end up wading in it.
- Too much water in the bilges will start to erode the boat.

Answer 2

Interesting question and plenty of answers! I hate to say it but Science Teacher is wrong on this one! BALLAST water is used in BALLAST tanks to adjust trim, list stability in cargo ships - Not BILGE water. AND YES, some smaller trailerable sailboats do use BALLAST water for weight instead of a heavy lead keel.

SIMPLY PUT........

BILGE water is water that is collected in the vessels bilges for various reasons. On small boats and yachts, it is usually a single space from bow to stern. If you were to spill a coke or a beer it may end up in the bilge, if it doesn;t drain out thru the hull by a scupper.

Ships have bilges for the above reasons, as well as if they are washing the ships holds btwn cargoes, they can pump the washing water into the bilge to be pumped overboard after proper seperations. Also, some cargo loaded may have lots of moisture or water (like coal for example) or may be loaded during rain with the hatches open the rain water will collect in the bilge. During the navigation the ship will pump the bilges, which may be the water drained from the cargo hold. In the bottom of the cargo hold, the crew will put burlap over the bilge plates and then the water can drain to the bilge from the cargo.

Bilges need to be pumped out for various reasons, mainly water inside a boat is usually not a good thing! YES, it can get high enough to damage wires, engines, electronics. It can also get smelly and stagnant. But the water can also get high enough to get your shoes wet. Other words, flooding your boat!

Good luck!

Answer 3

this is a very good question, but in some occassion its a bit more complex. i am a chief on a river boat or tow boat, our bilge is broken down into sections, if you can picture where the shaft that turns the wheel(propeller) has to pass through the hull at some point, well on my boat we have a packing gland, this means that while the shaft is turning water needs to pass around the shaft and leak back into the boat, this takes place in the bilge but this part of the bilge is isolated from the rest of the bilge, so there for this water is clean and is pumped (by automatic float activated pumps) back to the river. the engine compartment is also isolated and you do not pump this to the river, their is far more oil and fuel,etc., but water does get into this bilge often, so we pump the oil water and all to a holding tank (a.k.a. slop tank, dirty oil tank, etc.) to be pumped to a facility when nessecary. but these isolations only run so high, if you get enough water in either of these the water will spill over to the bilge/compartment next to it. lets say that if one of my float pumps goes out, well water is leaking from around the shaft 24 hours a day 7 days a week, this is to keep the packing gland from over heating and burning up,(think of a packing gland like a seal but not a tight seal) if the pump quits the bilge (clean water bilge) will fill and spill over into the engine room bilge and so on until the boat sinks. well i hope this was helpful.

Answer 4

Bilge Definition

Answer 5

you can have a very tight boat and the hull and running gear are not leaking . But remember rain water and washing the boat the water will not stay out. If a bilge pump becomes inoperative and the boat takes on water deep enough your engine will go under as well as the boat sinking
Sorta like putting a stopper in your bathtub and turning on the water and walking away.
Your bilge pump should work manually and automatically

Answer 6

your boat can be completely watertight and still accumulate water in the bilge. This can come from spills, or even condensation on the inside of the hull. This might even be from just being inside the boat and breating. This water condenses and runs down the side of the hull into the bilge.

In the winter, when its dry, I dont have any water in my bilge, but in the summer, when the humidity is high, my pump will come on every few days.

It will become stagnent and stinky if you leave it there. If enough of it accumulates, you could sink, but it also effects how your boat sits in the water. If you're carrying around an extra ten gallons of water in the bilge, thats 70 pounds of displacement that you can use for other things like groceries, or fresh drinking water for that matter.

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What is bilge water on a boat and why does it need to be pumped out?

Answer 8

The bilge water is the water that comes in the vessel by anything leaking on the vessel. If you don't pump it out you could sink the vessel. The water could also become stagnate and be very smelly. The bilge is not limited to just water, some vessels will have fuel,oil,hydraulic fluid, etc. in them. Pumping the bilge with these items is not recommended, you should have them pumped by a vacuum truck to be properly exposed of. Hope i helped in your quest to know what the bilge water is and why we pump them out. good luck

Answer 9

What Is A Bilge

Answer 10

Bilge water & ballast water are not the same.
A ballast tank can be filled or emptied in order to adjust the amount of ballast force. Ships designed for carrying large amounts of cargo must take on ballast water for proper stability when travelling with light loads and discharge water when heavily laden with cargo. Small sailboats designed to be light weight for being pulled behind automobiles on trailers are often designed with ballast tanks that can be emptied when the boat is removed from the water.