Smell Under Cabinet in Galley

zeehag · Nov 23, 2015

whhat does the horrible smell smell like. is it smell of carrion? is it smell of diesel> is it rotting water from standing in hoses?? there are many kinds of bad smells. as your bilge is allegedly dry, i would start looking for dead things in the bilges. rats, mice, etc. happy hunting.
if it is rotting water(smells like rotting eggs)--change all hoses, fresh watwr and head, and start new. always a good idea with a boat. then ye know what you have.

njlarry · Nov 23, 2015

At the suggestion of Peggy our Headmistress, I have found Raritan KO put in a spray bottle very effective but ultimately you will have to find the source. Good luck.

kloudie1 · Nov 23, 2015

The black hose might be the ice box drain.. ?? sometimes a little spill in the icebox can really get fragrant once it gets to the bilge and stays there a while.. Ya may be able to locate by pouring about a gallon of water into the box drain and see where it comes out.. Ya might want to put some Lysol in that water (not bleach) to help if that is in fact the culprit.

Craig Cook · Nov 23, 2015

We have been chasing the same thing on our boat. The PO "fixed" the situation by adding a dozen stick up air fresheners instead of actually taking care of business. What I have found is that there are multiple issues. First, the bilge area seems to have several places where water/winter antifreeze/shower drain water can get to and stagnate. These areas are not accessible so when the boat moves around, nasty looking stuff appears in the dry bilge from someplace. I sop it up, clean the bilge (again), rewind and repeat. Second, the mechanic drained the hot water tank into the bilge every time he winterized it so there are multiple years worth of water and pink antifreeze sloshing around. The PO never used it so it got nasty. Third, I actually think that some of the composite building materials give off a smell that adds to the stink from under the flooring. Finally, the PO had a history of lightly maintaining things including the fresh water system. Having flushed it several times I can tell you that come spring, the fresh water tanks is going to be filled with bleach water and the entire system flushed several times.

As far as the bilge itself, I have been pleased with Mister Clean with Fabreeze. We used that on our other boats as well. I'm not familiar with KO but if Peggy says it's good stuff that's good enough for me.

RoyS · Nov 23, 2015

Hose may be the drain from the ice box. That hose runs from the ice box to the bilge area under the sink. My H33 also has a hose that runs along the outside of the bilge sump and can be seen under the sink. I think on my boat it is no longer used. Further investigation is required. The H33 had a strange bilge water system. Bilge water coming from the stern area would pass under the separate engine bilge, then along the outside of the bilge sump to the front of the boat and then into the front of the bilge sump. Stagnant water collects everywhere. Original H33's also had a rubber flexible holding tank that has no doubt given up the ghost by now. That would have leaked into the bilge area. The hatch under the sink you are describing was probably added by a previous owner. Flush the bilges all out with fresh water from the stern and any other area that you can access the bilges. Eventually it will be relatively fresh.

zeehag · Dec 10, 2015

find out how your ice box/fridge drains. scrub that area well. might consider inventing a collection tank systeem to enclose that to remove potential for stink.
find out what other leakages vs drains are in need of addressing--where does shower drain--into bilge?? guess what--it will stink. vinegar neutralizes human stink odor. rinse well the bilge, vinegar or natures miracle it, then let dry. make a sump system for shower so bilges donot stink from that source. if already has sump--clean it. treat with vinegar and rinse on a regular basis.
clean well th ehull under galley. stuff happens. that also stinks.
might eeen find something died to cause a stink.... never know on boats.
have fun.
btw--i am doing same thing but my reasons ar e different than yours... mine is irregular spring ha ha ha cleaning. and irregular rebuildin gof formosa...

h34 · Dec 10, 2015

To know if the smell is coming from the hose. Simple wrap a wet rag around the hose in questions and let it stay for a day or 2 (the hotter the weather the better) if the rag smells then the hose is culprit and change the hose.

Also, just because the wood is dry it does not mean that the smell is not coming from the wood. specially if it got soaked from the back side and the water dried the smell will still be there. For that I learned to replace the wood or simply sand and refinish the wood from both sides so it is all nice and sealed

.

Good luck and all the comments above are very good specially Zeehag. I used lots of advice

Twille · Dec 10, 2015

Our boat is new to us this year also. We are currently chasing a smell.
In all my boats I have put some mr clean in the bilge before leaving, seems to help keep the bilge cleaner (just a cap ful)
The hoses could be water hoses running from the Diesal to the water heater. In that area they will be running along the hull parallel to the hull. Black
In our 29.5 the fridge drain is a white 1/2 plastic hose. (That was disgusting when I cleaned that out) runs from under the cabinet straight to the bilge.
I found black mud up underneath the molded floor between the motor pan and bilge. It appears everything flows to that spot (shower, extra aft hull water etc) before draining to the bilge through a "Tube hole". I founding it while threading new cable through the area, slimed.
I am replacing all the sanitary hoses, after all they are 25 years old.
Keep plugging it's an adventure.

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Dec 10, 2015

Twille said:
We are currently chasing a smell.
In all my boats I have put some mr clean in the bilge before leaving, seems to help keep the bilge cleaner (just a cap ful)

Try actually CLEANING the bilge.
A wet bilge is a dark stagnant swamp.... And it behaves like one, growing a variety of
molds, fungi and bacteria—some that thrive in dark stagnant water, others that just like damp
dark places...and it generates the same gasses-hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide-that can make
a whole boat smell like rotten eggs or a sewer. The warmer the weather and water, the faster
they grow. Add some dead and decaying sea water micro-organisms, dirt, food particles, rain
water, wash water, hot weather and humidity, plus a little oil or diesel, and you have a real
primordial soup…no wonder it stinks!
Most people’s approach to bilge cleaning consists only of throwing some bilge cleaner/
and or bleach into that soup when it starts to stink and calling it done. I’ve never understood
why they think that’s all there is to it. They wouldn’t just add some detergent and bleach to a
bathtub full of dirty bath water, swish it around a bit, then just pull the plug and expect the
bathtub to be clean. Or just pour some more dishwashing detergent into a sinkful of dirty greasy
dishwater, swish it around a bit, then pull the plug and expect to have clean sink. So why do so
many boat owners think they can have a clean bilge without any effort and especially without
rinsing all the dirty water out of it? So if you really want to get rid of odor inside your boat, roll
up your sleeves and get to work!
1. Scrub the bilges. In my experience, a power washer is the best way to clean a bilge,
because it gets into places you can’t reach.
2. The most important step: Flush all the dirty water out! A wet dirty bilge is a primordial
soup! You won’t get it clean by just dumping something into it, then letting the bilge pump
dispose of the dirty water, even if you have scrubbed it...any more than you’d end up with
a clean kitchen sink if did nothing more than pour some Dawn into greasy dirty dishwater,
scrubbed the sink, and then just pulled the plug.
3. Use a shop vac, or dinghy bailer, bucket and sponge to mop up the remaining water,
then leave hatches open so it can completely dry out for 12-24 hours. Turning fans on if possible
helps to accomplish that.

Now that you have a clean bilge, you'll be amazed at how much better your boat will smell!

Roland5048 · Dec 11, 2015

Pkb57 said:
There is a dripless bilge system that was installed in the boat.

Do you mean a dripless shaft seal? If it was leaking you would find sea water in the bilge. Smell is most likely coming from any number of sources. Heed Peggy's advice. She's not called the Head Mistress for nothing.

Twille · Dec 11, 2015

I recommend cleaning the bilge often. You are right in saying pouring a drop in doesn't do it but if you are using a disenfectant you are killing the bacteria. I was pointing out all the hidden areas that "things" seem to collect in. As in the hunter hull insert channels. Cleaning these areas are sometimes challenging.

zeehag · Jan 1, 2016

bilges need cleaning even when water not in them. they stink.
is funny how cleaning em makes the stinkiness go away. add ventilation, and should never come back.