fresh water slime

I have just purchased a 1957 Chris Craft commander that had undergone a complete restoration six years ago, it has been in heavy silt fresh water since. Moved to clean cold fresh water lake, removed about 2 inches of silt that had collected in the bilge and did a very thorough bilge clean. boat is very solid, however there is always a small amount of water in bilge that pumps cannot remove (bilge is close to flat) after only 30 days a large growth of slime is starting to grow in the bilge, there was no growth in fast silty river. is there a chemical cleaner that will control grow but not harm wood. thanks

 

The slime is most likely a bacterial buildup...so I'd consider using anti-fouling, or anti-bacterial paint.

 

Can you just toss a handful of salt in there occasionally?

 

Salt does have biocide effects. Most bacteria tend to equalize themselves with their environment through the cell membrane. The salinity of water in higher concentrations tend to cause the cells 2 explode thus killing them. Wood is absorbent and bacteria may exist within the surface of the wood, and ridding it of the slime/bacteria may take longer than a glass or other type boat. Most common type would be of the group myxobacteria and a number of other slimy things. Bacteria/slime is also prevalent with decaying matter, such as your boat! No offense, but slime loves the environment, feeds off your boat and may cause (further) rot. Determmining exactly what kind of slim, mold, bacteria would require various simple and difficult techniques but using an all purpose cleaner may eradicate “99.9 percent”. A quick solution could be dishwashing detergent such as Palmolive. This type of surfactant dissolves the peptidoglycan, spilling the cell contents out and killing it. A more expensive treatment could be a couple hundred pennies thrown down there. Boric acid is also effective and safe, Borax. Again, I’m not a wooden boat expert in slime control but the slimy environment you described is in above water conditions...such as where I live . Not surre the effects bleach in small conc. has on wood? You would think there are some known ancient remedies that are compatible with wood hulls over time?

 

...meant de-plode.

 

Thanks for the ideas, I was told the bleach was not a good thing in wood but that was for general cleaning purposes, I may try the salt this weekend but am not sure that will stay in the hull past a few bilge pumpings. Alex What would the pennies do? would the copper have a chemical reaction with the growth. thanks again, Curtis.

 

pacific-

Here is a PDF file I found that may clear up the pennies for you (and it looks like even the new, non-copper (or was it lower-copper), pennies will work.

https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/1811/5745/1/V47N02_074.pdf

 

...Based on that article, though, I'd be tempted to just set a piece of copper pipe in the bilge...might not be cheaper, but it'd be a heck of a lot easier to clean up!

 

For some reason I cannot pull the site robherc displayed. Elemental copper is effective as a biocide. This is well known for many years. It is unique that shell fish use copper as its oxygen (blood) transport system, humans iron. Anyway, the Cu+2 ion has an effect on the surrounding membrane of bacteria as well. While it works predominately in alga control the same mechanism applies to bacteria. A long time ago people used pennies to clarify H2O and it did work. Believe it or not elemental copper clarification of drinking water aided in sexual stimulation in humans via nitrate production for men! …Oysters? a sex food, yeah, a lot of copper in these. Probably a little more info then needed?

 

A bit of copper works wonders against all sorts of undesirable biologicals.

It's common practice with swimming pools to add a bit of copper (II) sulphate to the water, a couple of tablespoons in 100,000 L keeps the algae at bay quite nicely. (Well, most pools use a $20 per litre algaecide, that is usually not much more than copper sulphate solution and a thickening agent.) Copper as a biocide in hull bottom paint has a long and successful history.

A bit of copper pipe, pennies, etc. might have an effect, and you could always try one of those fancy biocidal wood preservatives, but I think it's hard to beat Phil's suggestion for simplicity, effectiveness and low cost- just keep a box of salt handy, and pour a little in the bilge now and then.

 

No doubt Marshmat, high concentrations of salt may do the job, however SALT is corrosive. In addition, where there is a higher concentration of aqueous salt may tend to suck water from wood or other areas, in the aqueous less in salt concentration. “SALT SUCKS”. Be cautioned also, there exists salty bacteria out there that thrive in the environment, but hardly the case here. It’s just a matter of tests to determine what kind of bacteria can be killed off effectively, salt or copper?. Don’t feel bad, theses vicious and stinky little bacteria have been around longer then we have. Copper does have a direct effect on a wide range of bacteria, without a salty environment.

 

In the days of sail the royal navy copper bottomed their sailing ships for a very good reason not many living things like copper.

 

I have started with a biocide first, simple green cleaner was suggested by several boaters. it was applied only four days ago and already notice more clarity in the water, i will give it a week or so and see the progress then. I also purchased a large bag of rock salt and 20' of heavy copper ground wire but want to control my test results so will hold off on those for a while. thanks for all the great input and keep on cruising. Curtis.