The Science of Smell

[mikecambrai]

Boat smell

On my Albin 43 which I have just sold there were no ventilators for any of the cabins. This is a prerequisite to keeping the boat smelling fresh when you leave it for a few days. Mine always had that odour when I returned to the boat as did my clothes when I unpacked them at home. Ideally, there should be one deck vent for each cabin.

 

[dennismenace111]

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners.


Be careful with ozone generators. Ozone can destroy the rubber products in you boat. Exposure to ozone is also not healthy for humans and can cause breathing problems per the EPA.

 

[Wxx3]

Ozone generator as a one time thing. it's used all the time in used cars that smell bad.

From your description, it doesn't sound like diesel to me. Diesel has such a lingering smell that we smell, notice it all the time. Also it's very distinctive.

I've also found just airing out cushions and pillows for a day on a windy day does wonders.

 

[Gmarr]

There was another post somewhere where the leak was coming from sour water rotting in the keel and there was enough permeation into the bilge where the gasses could escape from. The keel was found to either have concrete or gravel in it and water would accumulate, as well as additional seep from the bilge along with organic material. I think the solution was to create an access point as well as a plug (like a gar plug) on the outside of the keel to drain it with upon going on the hard

 

[Comodave]

In one of our previous boats there was a hollow keel. It had a thin layer of woven roving spanning the keel area. Over time water had found its way into the hollow keel. The smell permeated through the fiberglass. I cleaned the bilge and checked sewage hose along with everything I could think of to find the smell. Finally I drilled a hole into the hollow keel. A spurt of horrible smelling water came up out of the keel. I drilled a large hole in the stern and in the bow. Ran cleaner and water throught the keel. It didn’t matter. Finally we ground the area open so we could clean it and then left it open so the water that went down into the bilge would get circulated and pumped out instead of stagnating. That solved the smell problem in that boat.

 

[ORIF]

Fun fact:
When humans are introduced to a continuous smell, the brain will at some point dismiss it - until it changes. Analogous to re-calbrating to neutral. Apparently it is a sign of higher brain complexity/intelligence.
Dogs, deer, and some other animals on the other hand will continue to smell a smell as long as it is present. Obviously a trait beneficial to animals that depend on sense of smell for survival.

 

[adornato]

I have been on a lot of boats and owned a KK42 for years. and it always had what I call the old boat smell. It is present on most of the old Taiwan boats in my experience. My son has a 36 foot Taiwan boat and it smells the same. I actually steam cleaned my bilges, painted them, replaced all the sanitation hoses, painted the bilges with enamel, used PureAyre by the gallon, put in fans, replaced the upholstery, but the smell persisted
which i think is something to do with the old mahogany wood. The Taiwan smell is not present in other old vintage trawlers.. Just my experience.. Live with it or sell the boat

 

[Wood]

Fun fact:
When humans are introduced to a continuous smell, the brain will at some point dismiss it - until it changes. Analogous to re-calbrating to neutral. Apparently it is a sign of higher brain complexity/intelligence.
Dogs, deer, and some other animals on the other hand will continue to smell a smell as long as it is present. Obviously a trait beneficial to animals that depend on sense of smell for survival.

I don't know about that. My dog seemed to get used to how he smelled. But I never did.

 

[ORIF]

I don't know about that. My dog seemed to get used to how he smelled. But I never did.

Haaa

 

[BandB]

I don't know about that. My dog seemed to get used to how he smelled. But I never did.

He probably said the same about you.

 

[bgillroy]

Dry clean bilge no systems fluid leaks then no smells.

 

[bgillroy]

Dry clean bilge no systems fluid leaks then no smells.

Yup it takes work elbow grease ....

 

[Juggerknot]

Have you tried ozone? Ozium is great stuff or for regular de funking you can get a small ozone generator.

 

[rgano]

My 42-foot all wood construction 1972 Grand Banks would have been a perfect poster child for old boat smells, but due to a full time dehumidifier, dry bilges thanks to dripless packings and a covered slip, chasing down the rotted wood in the early years of my 29-year ownership, zero diesel leaks, clean surfaces, and LOTS of PUREAYRE, it was not.

 

[Dave_E]

Just thought I'd share with everyone.... The smell was diesel. I've had a seep in my port 150 gallon tank probably for years. It was soaking into a floorboard, then into a space underneath floors and finally out a stringer drain into the bilge this past winter. I kept mopping it up until last month when some fuel tank guys did their magic and resealed the tanks. I kid you not, within 2 weeks, that smell is gone. We just spent 4 days aboard and none of the clothing we took have any adverse smells. It was fuel.


Dave

 

[rgano]

So the tank guys cut out the old wood and washed out the smell, or did you? Because if they and you didn't, your sniffer is on the fritz.

 

[Dave_E]

So the tank guys cut out the old wood and washed out the smell, or did you? Because if they and you didn't, your sniffer is on the fritz.

I replaced the floorboards.

 

[ORIF]

Just thought I'd share with everyone.... The smell was diesel. I've had a seep in my port 150 gallon tank probably for years. It was soaking into a floorboard, then into a space underneath floors and finally out a stringer drain into the bilge this past winter. I kept mopping it up until last month when some fuel tank guys did their magic and resealed the tanks. I kid you not, within 2 weeks, that smell is gone. We just spent 4 days aboard and none of the clothing we took have any adverse smells. It was fuel.


Dave

I'm curious what the tank guys did to fix the leak. Was it repaired with tanks in place?

 

[rsn48]

I did my basic fleet school officer training on an old WW2 minesweeper converted to educational use here in BC at Esquimalt. That boat had an old boat smell and it was diesel. I notice diesel smells in many older boats.

My old boat is gas so it doesn't have that diesel smell, thank God. It did have a bit of smell but in refit, the entire bilge including all tanks and engines have been gutted, everything washed below and repainted so no more smell until ......