Odor in Boat Clothes

[Mark Zarley]

Ah yes the aroma. When we leave the boat for a couple of weeks a year and I pull from the suitcase a change of clothes fresh from the boat I just Love that smell. If you rolled in pine needles all day , you would smell piney. If you fancied yourself a skunk trainer then you'd smell, but I digress. Being boaters we have our aroma to, embrace it , it is the smell of personal freedom.

[JanetGroene]

Diesel odor in clothes, food, etc. could indicate pinhole leak in fuel line. Fuel is under pressure, therefore it can penetrate far and linger long. Yet one never finds puddles or any other clue that leakage is occurring. While at a remote island in the Bahamas, I saw a boat burn to the waterline because everything inside--furniture, woodwork, clothing-- was invaded by tiny amounts of diesel fuel. They used up all their fire extinguishers to put out fires, which soon flared up again. Soon they were out of extinguishers. They had been living with the fuel smell for months and had become used to it. These smells should be investigated. Janet Groene, Janet Groene's BoatCook

[Mark Zarley]

Pin hole leak in a fuel line? never find a clue to the leak? I don't know what eng room you have been in , but all leaks have visible signs or consequences. Air that is saturated with unburnt fuel particles will make your eyes water like you have been sprayed with mace, making the space you are in unbearable. The boaty smell we are talking about is a hybrid between the smell of an old car motor that has not been started for years and a little moldy and musty and a dolop of diesel exhaust .