Fountain Bilge
 

I have a 47 Fountain and can't seem to get the bilge under the cabin clean. I have dumped gallons of water and bilge cleaner through the access rear of the head. The problem is the attitude of the boat in the water or on the trailer does not allow the cleaner to run into the bilge at the bow. Does anyone know a way of directly accessing the forward bilge to clean it effectively?

When you find out, let me know.

I just pulled the carpeting up in the center of the cabin of my 47 Fountain and cut a small access hole in the floor. The fiberglass is laminated to thin plywood which was wet and warped. I will replace it and reglass it but put an access door for the future. I have been trying for months to get an answer from Fountain about how to access water in the forward bilge to no avail. The limber holes were plugged with construction debris (from lousy quality control) and an access door would have solved the entire problem. I may have expected this from an entry level boat, but it is surprising to find in a Fountain after all the HYPE!

Don't look to hard. The more you look, the more pizzed off you'll get seeing all the crap left under the floor.

Maybe you can help since Fountain has been useless. There is a plywood beam under the floor down the keel which is wet and partially glassed. Is this a structural component? I hope not. That seems pretty cheesy. If so, how do I go about replacing it with something more waterproof?

I think I need a midget to climb in the bilge and replace the wet plywood from underneath the fiberglass. I wonder if Reggie is available?

Good one!

Is water getting in there or do you just want to clean it?

Depends on how you define "structural". Yes, it does add some strength to the hull, but If that's the only place that there's a problem, I wouldn't worry about it. You could remove that board and a few more and never have a problem with the hull.

That board on mine had a little moisture, but no rot. I asked my fiberglass guy what to do about repairing it, he said don't worry about it. He recommended letting it dry out over the winter and forgetting about it. He said that that board is there more as a support for the floor than anything else.

All of your stringers are plywood. It's not worth replacing them with anything, there's nothing that's truly waterproof.

I remember a pick of the Yacht's Fountain boat that had a water intake in the center of the bottom were the stringer would be, About were the rear seat would be.