Best way to clean up oil in boat

My boat has sprung a leak between the block and the transmission in the main seal. I'm planning on having the whole motor pulled this winter to have all the seals redone and just an overall tune up. I now have a good mixture of water and oil in the hull and all over my hoses to and from the motor. Besides using sunlight to break up the oil is there something else that I could use?

You can buy special pads that only absorb oil and gas but repel water.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...classNum=50403

Once the bilge is open get a stack of oil absorbing blankets. The white flat ones about 20" square, not the big tampon looking things. Do not put any soap in the bilge yet. Put down a layer of these and wait a while. When they are full, do it again until all the liquid oil is gone. get on the ruber gloves and use the pads to start wiping down the area. They dont absorb water so dont worry about any. I have found that soap reduces the effectiveness of the absorbers so keep wiping until its reasonable clean. Finish by spraying everything down with a full strangth degreaser like B52 or ZEP, wait a few and hose. You can have it spotless with very little waste water to deal with.
Gone are the days of soap, water and the bilge plug out.

I had the same problem on my last boat. Your not going to believe me, but powdered dishwasher soap is the best thing I could find. I tried everything, and was pissed every time. A guy at work suggested the dishwasher soap. I laughed at the time, but I was at my wits end so I tried it. I sprinkled it in and poured in buckets of hot water. I couldn't believe how well it worked! my bilge was clean for the first time in a long time.

Try it out. Let me know how it goes.

Joe

dawn takes grease out of your way. Dish soap is good for that, but also for direct cleaning and spot shooting, brake cleaner is great. It is better than engine degreaser, but thast is an alterantive too.

Simple Green is a good non-toxic degreaser.

Try some of this on a clean rag to wipe down all of the areas you can reach. All of their products are awesome and Home Depot carries their full line.

http://www.amazon.com/Motsenbockers-...111087-2198006

This also works for gel coat scuff marks and adhesive residue.