Hi Larry, The best way to keep water out of the bilge is to not get any water inside the boat! Put foam rubber strips on the inside of the sail locker hatches and put latches on them so that they can't open inadvertently. I occasionally will get a few drops in the cabin from a heavy rain - (still haven't found out how the water gets in) - and that is easy to remove with a sponge. My bilge is dry............. Connie