Odors - various microbes, bacteria, and even mosquitos can make their home in a wet bilge environment. The boater ends up pouring bilge cleaners or household bleach into the bilges to keep this problem in check. He becomes accustomed to the odors, and his friends politely tell him that they don't smell anything, either.

Hull Integrity - Wood will rot. Fiberglass will blister. Steel will rust. Aluminum will oxidize and pit. Leaving the hull exposed, long term, to bilge water will be a costly decision, indeed.

Condensation Damage - A micro-environment is created onboard the modern yacht. Every day, as the sun beats down on the vessel, the poorly-vented compartments heat up. Around two or three in the afternoon, temperatures can easily reach 120 °F in some compartments, and this accelerates bilge water evaporation. Later in the day, as the air cools, dewpoint is passed and water starts to condense on everything in these compartments. Just climb down into the engine room around seven o'clock in the evening and look around. Is everything wet and slimy? This condensation causes rust on the engines and generators. Printed circuit boards and wiring start to behave unpredictably, causing equipment failures. Hoses and belts rot. The steering cylinder ram is continuously coated with deposits from condensation, which in turn causes the hydraulic seals to fail.

Mold, Mildew & SYS - (Sick Yacht Syndrome) 50% relative humidity will support mildew, which grows on the white bumpers stored under the floor in the cockpit. It also grows inside the compartments and behind the interior bulkheads. Add the mildew odors to the bilge odors and that "old boat smell" has arrived. Do your guests seem to spend most of their time up on deck complaining of queasiness? Do they seem to get seasick too fast, even in moderate seas? Maybe these issues are a combination of the vessel motion and the below deck odors. Once your guests become seasick one time, don't expect them to welcome a second invitation. If it's the girl-friend or wife . . .

Leak Detection - Owners of collectible cars routinely place cardboard under the engine to help locate leaks, but machinery leaks on yachts generally drip into the bilge water and are dispersed. Often these leaks will go undetected for months or even years until the problem becomes big enough to locate. With the dry bilge provided by the Arid Bilge System, leaks can be found early, before major problems occur. We also offer a full range of green yacht products to help protect the environment and maintain legal 15 PPM discharge levels.

Resale Value - First impressions are everything! You can't hide years of neglect. If the potential buyer lifts a hatch and sees a clean, dry bilge, or if that buyer's significant other says that this one passed the "smell test," then you are still on the road to receiving a good offer!

RDCPS - (Rapidly Depreciating Cell Phone Syndrome) Ever drop a cell phone, part, or tool into the bilge? Could you use it again or even find it?