SMELL is killing me! What to do?

[jkindredpdx]

Originally Posted by guyrj33

Mold.
scrub every surface with a mixture of bleach and TSP, rinse well.

I would avoid Chlorine Bleach, but I'm a total fan of TSP and Borax...

[mikedefieslife]

If the cusions smell, then likey the plywood that they were sitting on or near smells too. It picks up smells very easily. Not sure how you'd go about removing smells deeply engrained in old ply.

[curtis742]

I had a similar issue on my Catalina C27 which had say in a slip unused for 10 years. Mold and mildew everywhere. Emptied the boat of everything that wasn't nailed down. Then took a cheap pressure washer from home Depot and pressure washed the entire inside of the boat to remove the mold and mildew. Next I took a spray bottle of diluted chlorox and sprayed the entire inside of the boat to kill the nasties, let ssoak for an hour and pressure washed again. The boat smelled fresh. The final step was back to the spray bottle filled with a diluted mix if water and Consan Triple Action 20. A bacteriacide, algecide, and fungicide. In the 10 years I owned the boat I never again had any odor, mold or mildew in the boat. The whole process took a Saturday to do.
I'm now in route from Savannah, Georgia to Galveston, Texas in my new to me CT41 which has a filthy bilge and it will get the exact same treatment.

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

If the cusions smell, then likey the plywood that they were sitting on or near smells too. It picks up smells very easily. Not sure how you'd go about removing smells deeply engrained in old ply.

You don’t remove them, you encapsulate them by painting all bare wood with thinned epoxy.

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

You don’t remove them, you encapsulate them by painting all bare wood with thinned epoxy.

I like that idea. It's a kin to your little brother doing a nasty fart and so locking him in the room with it.

[psic23]

Originally Posted by MomOverboard

HI
I have a CAL 2-27 that is 1973. I have stayed on it often but the smell is horrible. Wake up with headache and everything that goes in, comes out smelling. Brought the inside cushions home to redo them and the stunk up the garage while the boat still smelled. It's not a gas smell but I can't describe it. Any ideas on how to eliminate old boat smells? I know it's old but I'd like to try and make it fresher smelling. I have painted and cleaned the inside and checked the bilge. It's not a bilge smell, either.
Thanks for any help. Just getting going here and I love advice!

Do you have a flex tank? Older model flex tanks can deteriorate over time producing a very unpleasant odor. It never leaked, it was the tank itself. I became aware of the source and tried to “ bottle “ it up to no avail. I replaced the tank, problem solved.

[Capt Smith]

Clean your boat very well then want to try an "Ozone Machine". Read instructions carefully. It whatever it is like a living organism it will die.

[websailr]

Have you ever had the same symptoms elsewhere? Where was it? If it was a musty basement or such, it was likely mold or mildew. I use an ozone generator on my boat, and have loaned it to many others, as it is rare to find a boat without at least one musty compartment. After leaving my boat several months in the tropics, a day of ozone got it odor-free. Amazon has numerous diy components under $50. I bought one with 2 ceramic plates that runs on 12 volts DC, and just a few watts. I use a laptop 120-240 V to 12 VDC supply so it can reach all parts with an extension cord. I put it in a glass jar or ceramic bowl to keep the hot ceramic from damaging plastics/fabrics. Five minutes in a small locker, an hour in a room. Stay out while it’s running, as ozone is irritating to lungs.

[Capt Smith]

The rule of thumb with an O-Zone machine is equal time to ventilate. Run it 24 hour Ventilate for 24 hours. O-Zone kills "all" living cells. Will do a number on your leather too. Quite dangerous. But nothing beats how it works. Would make a mean tool for burglars. A must is getting rid of the source. There is also products that will leave a film to keep mold from starting. But I don't know the name.

[boatpoker]

If it is mold, please take it seriously.

I surveyed a heavily mold infested boat last August 30th. Since that night I have suffered devasting fatigue to the point that walking more than 100yds. was exhausting, viscious headaches, nose bleeds, severe bronchial attacks and skin lesions.

After 10 months of steroids, anti-biotics, puffers, epi-pens, vomiting and late night emergency runs I am just starting to get better in the last few weeks.

When I do get back to work you can bet your a$$ I'll be wearing a respirator and nitrile gloves.

[WindwardPrinces]

I've been looking at boats for sale lately, and some I find are sealed up tighter than a drum.

They have a certain moldy smell, will give you a headache in about a half an hour.

Do you give such a boat a pass? Account for it in price? Suck it up and plan on fixing it yourself?

I hate to rule a boat out when it's like that, but I also can't live with that as an issue, and I wonder about the side of wood compartments that I don't have access to.

[MomOverboard]

Thanks for the input. Now mold behind the walls has me thinking. It could be such a thing. I did paint recently and I had tried to take the "wall paper" down but it was there for good. Wonder how to find out if there is mold?

[MomOverboard]

I have no idea. I shall find out. I'm so new with boats I have a lot to learn. I was thinking it could be something from hoses or some kind of tank but I will check this out. Thanks for the info.

[MomOverboard]

That is horrible! My daughter and I have been living on that boat 3 nights a week, for a year, while she went to SF Ballet school so it's not that bad. I'm sorry to hear this happened to you but I so appreciate knowing this for my next boat purchase. (Once I get the 2-27 sailing under my belt, I want one a bit larger for keeps)

[MomOverboard]

I can't say I know the smell but it may be must overload. I will check into this on Amazon. It sounds like it works great. I have lots of ideas to look into, now.