Painting a Sailboat Bilge

A clean, well-kept bilge says a lot about a boat's overall condition in my book. Clean bilges let you know that the ship's captain doesn't live by the philosophy of "Out of sight, out of mind". Sure, bilges inherently get dirty and wet quickly and easily. But if you start with a good foundation, they are easier to keep clean and much more hospitable during those claustrophobic moments when you have to cram yourself deep into the bowels of the vessel for maintenance and repair.


I began restoring our boat's (1972 Helms 25 Hull #44) bilge by first removing any debris and lost hardware that had fallen in over the years. Then I scrubbed mightily with a solution of Comet, bleach and warm water. This removed most of the mildew, stains and dirt that had built up during the years since 1972. Next, I used my ShopVac to suck up residue left from the Comet, small particles of dirt and sand, and make certain the entire bilge was dry. Lastly, I used a 220 grit sanding sponge to finish surface preparations. The ShopVac was used again to vacuum up the dust from sanding. Luckily, about 99% of the bilge is fairly accessible on a Helms 25.

When the bilge was cleaned out, I applied two coats of durable, latex garage floor paint. I'm told International makes a great bilge paint product called "Danboline", but I'm on a tight budget for this project so I went with some leftover floor paint that I had used in my basement and garage earlier in the year. The paint went on surprisingly well for such a dingy, dirty application. I simply cut-in using a good quality brush for latex paints and then rolled on two coats of the paint with a 3/8” nap roller cover designed for semi-smooth surfaces.


Depending on the size of your boat and the condition and access to your boat’s bilge, this project should be easy to complete within a day or two for even novice painters. The cost is almost solely dependent upon the amount of paint need to sufficiently coat your bilge. While most passengers and guests (let alone crew!) will probably not even notice how beautiful my bilge and storage areas have become, I'll stand with my chin just a bit higher knowing that even the out-of-sight areas of my Helms 25 received TLC!

Bonus content: Here's some of the latest YouTube sailing videos:

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