Longer Hours: Two Decades of Arid Bilge Drying
Arid Bilge Systems installed a Series 4×8 bilge-drying system aboard Longer Hours in 2008. Roughly two decades later, that system is still running. This 36-foot wooden Gillikin sportfisher collects a substantial amount of bilge water, and Arid continues to remove it from the boat’s low points.
Barry Delk, the boat’s owner, is a pepper farmer: hardworking, very polite and exceptionally kind. Our team carried out the installation personally. Years later, Barry told us he absolutely loved the Arid system. That long relationship is part of what makes Longer Hours special to us.
Longer Hours in Arid’s photograph archive: a wooden Carolina-style sportfish with a story that reaches back to our early installations.
A wooden boat worth looking after
Our original installation feature described Longer Hours as a hand-built wooden Carolina-style sportfish. A brokerage listing for Longer Hours, published by Denison on behalf of DH Yacht Sales, identifies her as a 1993, 36-foot Custom Carolina built by Ricky Gillikin in Harkers Island, North Carolina, and lists her hull material as wood.
Her raised bow, tall tower and open cockpit reflect her purpose as a Carolina fishing boat. The photographs taken ashore show the hull from bow and stern, while the engine-room views reveal the spaces beneath the deck. Looking after a wooden sportfisher means paying attention to both: the finished boat above the waterline and the less visible structure inside.
The bow and hull of Longer Hours while ashore. Arid archive; photograph date unrecorded.
A view from the stern, with Longer Hours’ name visible on the transom. Arid archive.
The water left behind was the problem
Standing water below deck was the problem we came aboard to address. Water collected in separate low areas, including below the conventional bilge pumps’ pickup level. Our team fitted the Series 4×8 to reach those areas and remove the residual water instead of leaving it inside the wooden boat between visits.
The original engine-room comparison in our archive makes that problem visible. On the left, water and staining surround the central structure. On the right, the bilge surface is exposed, and the collection tubing and pickups can be seen.
The original Longer Hours engine-room before-and-after comparison, retained with its archival lettering. The photographs show the change in visible standing water; they do not establish the condition of hidden wood or document structural repairs. Tap the photograph for the larger image.
Why persistent wetness matters in a wooden hull
Wooden boats are built for life on the water. The concern inside a bilge is wood that stays wet where air is also present. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook explains that decay fungi need moisture, oxygen and suitable temperatures. They consume structural components of the wood, so decay can reduce strength, sometimes before the damage looks severe.
Over time, affected wood may soften, crack or become fibrous. Surface staining alone does not tell you how much strength remains. Persistent liquid water and repeated wetting deserve attention; ordinary humidity by itself is not the same as wood remaining soaked.
Removing residual bilge water addresses one recurring moisture source. It belongs alongside finding leaks, keeping drainage paths clear, providing suitable ventilation and having suspect wood assessed by a qualified wooden-boat professional. Drying the bilge cannot restore wood that has already decayed.
Eight pickups, placed where water collected
Longer Hours’ layout is part of the story because the water was spread across several areas. Our original company feature records eight collection points:
- 2 in the lazarette
- 4 in the engine room
- 2 in the cabin area
Those are pickup locations across three named areas. Half served the engine room, where one compartment could contain several separate places for water to settle.
The Series 4×8 uses eight pickup locations. The original cabinet is marked Series 4 Extended, with tubing connections along its side. Placing those pickups in the boat’s actual low points is what allows the system to collect water from separate compartments.
The Series 4 Extended cabinet aboard Longer Hours. Access to the panel, tubing and pickups remains part of looking after an installation.
For a new installation, begin with the boat’s actual wet areas and the places that need inspection access. The current Series 4 options can then be considered against that layout. Another 36-foot boat may need a different arrangement.
Roughly two decades later, still doing its job
The system installed in 2008 is still operating in October 2026—about 18 years later. For Longer Hours, bilge drying has become a long-running part of caring for the boat.
Barry’s experience gives the story its continuity: the same boat, an owner who values the system, and years of collecting water that would otherwise remain below deck.
Longer Hours on her lift, with Deerfield Beach, Florida on the transom. Another view from the same boat’s Arid archive.
How long can a dry bilge system last?
Longer Hours is one real example of an Arid installation remaining in service for roughly two decades. Its history does not establish a fixed lifespan for every installation. Keep pickups clean, inspect tubing and connections, follow the system’s service guidance and keep the boat’s conventional bilge pumps operational.
For the operating principle, see How Arid Works. For another wooden-boat owner’s perspective, read Jim Moores’ experience aboard Aurora II.
Boat history. Arid Bilge Systems carried out the 2008 installation and confirmed the system’s continuing operation in October 2026. The complete parts-replacement and service history is not presented here.
The photographs and pickup distribution come from Arid’s archive and our January 2024 installation feature; that feature’s date is not the installation date. Builder and build-year details are attributed to the brokerage listing linked above. No verified plans or lines drawings of this particular boat were located for this article.
