transitive verb

Break a hole in the bilge of (a ship)

she was hopelessly bilged, her back broken

noun

The area on the outer surface of a ship’s hull where the bottom curves to meet the vertical sides.

The consensus is that the insured should have had a non-combustible tarpaulin or heat retardant blanket of some form hung from the top of the bilge area down to the bottom of the bilge against the exhaust port hole on the inside of the boat.