Cleaning Bilge Pump Area

[tborcher]

I have a Ranger-21. Gunk has started to build up in the area directly under the bilge pump. Can't really clean it up by hand because lack of space. Any tricks of the trade to cleaning up all the debris and stuff in that area? Thanks, Tom

 

[Eric R]

I have a Ranger-21. Gunk has started to build up in the area directly under the bilge pump. Can't really clean it up by hand because lack of space. Any tricks of the trade to cleaning up all the debris and stuff in that area? Thanks, Tom

I use a shop vac with a small diameter hose. Works great. When it gets a little dirty I’ll pour some water in there along with some dawn dish soap and try to agitate it the best I can, let it sit for awhile, then shop vac that out. That said, I have a Cutwater 28 so I’m not sure how the layout compares to an R21.



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[trailertrawlerkismet]

Before you head out next time add some water to the bulge and “Simple Green”. Let the boat ride agitate things up and when you return to Port run the bulge pump manually. You can also get your water hose out and give a hard spray into the bulge, let it drain and repeat until you are happy with the results.

Jim

 

[TexasEye]

My aft bilge and dawn have a working relationship! If there is a lot of trash I scoop it up with my hand and dispose of it...I have used the shop vac, but I find dawn does the job, keeps the eye balls functioning too...My wife won't "let" me use dawn, so I put it in the simple green bottle. She uses it all the time and brags about how well it works.

 

[NorthernFocus]

Not sure what you mean by "debris". But if it's light enough I'd use a shop vac as already mentioned by others. If it's nuts/bolts/hoseclamps then I'd try either a magnetic or claw type pick up tool(found at home depot or auto parts stores). If a lot of "gunk" down there and it's stuck to the fiberglass then I wrap an absorbent pad around a brush handle and fasten it with a wire tie. I scrub out as much as possible dry then spray the area with a dawn solution and use another absorbent pad before rinsing with water.

I keep a spray bottle with about a 5 to one dawn solution on hand all the time. It's great for cleaning up minor drips of oil/diesel on deck, in the bilge, etc. It will also almost instantly disperse a minor sheen.

 

[tborcher]

Thanks for all the replies to my cleaning question. Guess I'll pick me up some Dawn.