industrial clean up in the engine compartment

The engine compartment and bilge continued to disgorge all manner of items for a day and a half after the engine cleared the boat.   First to go were essential items - fuel filter, water lift muffler, exhaust hoses, batteries, battery wiring, bilge pumps, bilge hoses, and so on.  Once these items were clear the old decaying sound proofing  succumb to hammer and scraper.

scrapping off decaying soundproofing material from the engine room walls

Working from the top down the job slowly pulled me towards the bilge.  Newly released from the pit were the bilge pump float switches.  I disassembled,  de-greased, and lubed the switches.

Upper and lower bilge pump switches cleaned.

The depths of the bilge continued to draw me down.  The effort began with gloved hands and a small plastic yogurt container.   I lay on my belly and scooped a pair of small pliers, a bungee cord, two pens, a crescent wrench, a couple of hose clamps, and a gallon of foul, black muck out of the bottom of the bilge.

a gallon of muck from the bilge

For the next round in the battle of the bilge I returned with a bottle of de-greaser and a scrub brush and began to clean the side walls of the bilge.  With batteries and bilge pumps gone all the water used to clean the bilge was sucked out via shop vac.

Please with the state of the lower bilge, I mixed up some Tri-sodium Phosphate (TSP) and began another top down wash of the engine compartment and bilge.  After rinsing copiously the water sucked from the bilge finally came up clear.