odor
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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JimL
Re: odor
When I cleaned up Odyssey III, I emptied the boat, pulled all the cushions, and removed all the wood except the bulkheads. Using a shopvac in the bilge, I washed the entire interior with a soap and water solution with some Comet in it (took the hose inside the boat with a nozzle on it). I used a weed sprayer to spray soapy water behind the liner, all the way around. I was amazed at all the dirt, debris, insect nests, etc. between the hull and the liner.
There were so many bits of dried up bonder, fiberglass shreds, etc. that if I'd ever had to use the bilge pump (due to a flooded boat) it would have plugged up immediately!
I used an extra hose on the shop vac, with the vac sitting in the cockpit. Good shop vacuums have a drain on the lower side, for letting out water when they get full. The vacuum is too heavy to lift when it's full of water! The shop vac drains through the scuppers, with this method, so watch out for large debris.
I'm glad I did the job this way; my boat has been in the water almost a year and still smells fresh and clean when I open it up (insects are not fond of Comet). I don't keep the forward hatch propped open, as others do, because the little birds move into their boats!
leinfam@earthlink.net
There were so many bits of dried up bonder, fiberglass shreds, etc. that if I'd ever had to use the bilge pump (due to a flooded boat) it would have plugged up immediately!
I used an extra hose on the shop vac, with the vac sitting in the cockpit. Good shop vacuums have a drain on the lower side, for letting out water when they get full. The vacuum is too heavy to lift when it's full of water! The shop vac drains through the scuppers, with this method, so watch out for large debris.
I'm glad I did the job this way; my boat has been in the water almost a year and still smells fresh and clean when I open it up (insects are not fond of Comet). I don't keep the forward hatch propped open, as others do, because the little birds move into their boats!
leinfam@earthlink.net
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JimL
A warning about ozone generators...
In case someone recommends an ozone generator (such as used to make "smoking" hotel rooms into "non-smoking", when they tell you they'll have one in a few hours). Ozone is really aggressive and eats holes in anything with rubber...such as dingys, life jackets, bilge hoses, alternator belts, swim trunk elastic, engine seals, propshaft boots......have I scared you yet? (If having my thru-hull hoses leak wouldn't scare me, losing the elastic in my shorts sure would!!)
Back in 1975, I bought a nice 8' inflatable for a Mexico trip. When I returned home, I deflated it, folded it up, put it in it's box and stored it in the basement for the Colorado winter. When I pulled it out in the spring, I blew it up to wash it. As soon as I hit it with soap and water, it looked like a giant pile of foaming shaving cream! Ozone, generated by the house furnace-fan electric motor, had eaten millions of pinholes in the rubberized fabric. The new dingy was ruined.
We probably shouldn't use ozone generators in our boats.
leinfam@earthlink.net
Back in 1975, I bought a nice 8' inflatable for a Mexico trip. When I returned home, I deflated it, folded it up, put it in it's box and stored it in the basement for the Colorado winter. When I pulled it out in the spring, I blew it up to wash it. As soon as I hit it with soap and water, it looked like a giant pile of foaming shaving cream! Ozone, generated by the house furnace-fan electric motor, had eaten millions of pinholes in the rubberized fabric. The new dingy was ruined.
We probably shouldn't use ozone generators in our boats.
leinfam@earthlink.net
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Randy Bates
Re: odor
Ken:Ken wrote: Any Ideas on how to keep the boat from having that musty smell????
AIR. In order to prevent a musty stale order you must allow air to circulate thru the boat. I use a solar vent forward and a screen vent in the hatch boards. Works great.
randy.bates@baesystems.com