Any clever ideas about how to blow fresh air into Catalina 320?

[Ted10028]

This is my first boat in 30 years and apparently they still smell a little. Sometimes it bothers me and often it bothers guests. I think a fresh air fan into the main cabin would really help. Any idea on what fan, where to mount it, and how to power?

There is an 8''x 8" vent between galley and aft cabin. Not sure why it's there. Maybe a fan there and a vent duct hose out the back somewhere? Thanks!

 

[brazenarticle]

What/which smell? Diesel, the holding tank, moist or moldy cushions? Your best bet is mitigate the source of the odor, the first step is to identify it.

 

[JoeWhite]

I mounted 4 3.5" 12vdc computer fans on 1/4" starboard powered by 12vdc adaptor plugged in to 110vac power outlet and held in a port on the ceiling. This is possible only if I am in my slip and plugged into shore power, which is most of the time.

 

[PaulK]

Air scoops over the hatches can help a lot. Wind Scoop 170cm/5.6feet

 

[NYSail]

Change the sanitation hoses and clean the bilge……. Until you banish the cause, the stink will continue.

 

[Straycat22296]

If you are trying to get rid of general boat odors/smells from mold, mildew, bilge odors etc, try entering "removing odors" in the search forum.
There was alot of information in the past regarding odor elimanators. Maybe this is what you are looking for?

 

[dlochner]

Start with changing the sanitation hoses. Then clean the boat, degrease the engine compartment and thoroughly clean the bilge. Another major source of odor are the cushions and the fabric on the cushions. We were surprised at how bad our garage smelled when we brought the cushions home and how much better the boat smelled once we replaced the foam in the cushions.

 

[shemandr]

Boats are meant to breathe. Stagnate air begets stink. On my Ranger 29 the natural air flow was preempted for a retro fit of an engine area ventilation system as per USCG rules for a gas inboard. This prevented cabin ventilation.
Finally I disconnected the retro fitted engine ventilation system and restored the designed and natural ventilation system which ventilated the whole boat including the bilge. The boat became fresh smelling and I was confident that any gas fumes that made their way into the bilge were swept out by the flow of air. I think air flow is key.

 

[Ted10028]

I have a yanmar 30 hp. Do you know if it has a system to vent air out of the boat? if it did I could simply turn on that ventilation system and it would suck air out of the main cabin through the engine compartment and out of the boat.

 

[Ted10028]

Start with changing the sanitation hoses. Then clean the boat, degrease the engine compartment and thoroughly clean the bilge. Another major source of odor are the cushions and the fabric on the cushions. We were surprised at how bad our garage smelled when we brought the cushions home and how much better the boat smelled once we replaced the foam in the cushions.

I like that idea about the sanitation hoses. I noticed when you flush to the head it creates a huge smell in the boat. There are no leaks and it seems as if the hoses may have become porous in some sense over the years.

 

[NYSail]

I like that idea about the sanitation hoses. I noticed when you flush to the head it creates a huge smell in the boat. There are no leaks and it seems as if the hoses may have become porous in some sense over the years.

Sanitation hoses need to be changed periodically or they WILL stink and so will your boat. Raritan has great hoses…..

 

[Calif. Ted]

I have a yanmar 30 hp. Do you know if it has a system to vent air out of the boat? if it did I could simply turn on that ventilation system and it would suck air out of the main cabin through the engine compartment and out of the boat.

Yes it does, there is an exhaust fan inside port transom thru clamshell vent located there, on/off switch located on bottom of instrument pod (dependent on year and pod) which works when the ignition key is on. See switch below labeled "blower".

 

[Ted10028]

that's great! Do I have an ignition position that is on without an alarm going off? And can I use the blower independent of the motor? Thanks

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Start with changing the sanitation hoses.

You remind me of a marine engine mechanic I once knew whose approach to engine repair was to throw parts at it till he hit the right one and charge his customer for all of 'em (he didn't last long in business).

First, identify the type of odor. If it's musty/moldy, sanitation hoses aren't the culprit. Find the source(s) and scrub them...this is the one time when bleach is called for. Wet foulies and PFDs can result in a musty wet locker...humid conditions can create mold and mildew behind drawers and in lockers.

TEST the hoses for odor permeation! It's easy to do: Wet CLEAN rags in hot water--as hot as you can handle. Wring them out and wrap one around every section of hose. When they've cooled, remove each one and smell it. If you can't smell anything on the rag, that section of hose has not permeated...if you can, even faintly, that section has permeated. New hoses are the only cure. Even if some sections don't stink, replace ALL the hoses...'cuz if some do, the others will. It will also be necessary to thoroughly clean all the areas that stinky hoses passed through 'cuz stinky hoses will leave residual odor on all the surfaces and can even be absorbed by cushions.

Wet dirty bilges are "primordial soups" that can make a whole boat smell like a swamp or even a sewer. The cure: a serious cleaning for a change instead of just pouring in some bilge cleaner to slosh around and turning on the bilge pump. You wouldn't just dump some dishwashing liquid into a sink full of dirty dish water, slosh it around and pull the plug and expect to have a clean sink...why do so many people think that doing that will result in a clean bilge??? A clean bilge requires doing some manual labor for a change.

Shower sumps in need of cleaning are another source of odor...this one is usually confined to the head.

You'll find a lot more information about odors and how to prevent/eliminate them in my book (see link in my signature below) and I'm always glad to answer questions and offer advice.

--Peggie

 

[FastOlson]

Change the sanitation hoses and clean the bilge……. Until you banish the cause, the stink will continue.

Basic Complete Solution..... Now the OP has to decide on accepting and adopting it....
Peggy's more complete answer then needs to be "internalized".

Here's hoping!

 

[Scott T-Bird]

that's great! Do I have an ignition position that is on without an alarm going off? And can I use the blower independent of the motor? Thanks

Most likely, your blower is powered off the ignition switch and the alarm will sound (unless it is broken like my alarm was until I replaced it). If you want to run the blower without the ignition "on" you can probably wire it to a direct power source inside that panel.

That 8" x 8" vent in the galley bulkhead may be for a reverse cycle air condition system as mine is. If you don't have reverse cycle, then you should be able to use it as a vent since it opens directly into the port lazerette. Pulling air from the galley is a good idea anyway!

But now that I think about it, I don't think there are any vents in the stern. In fact I don't think the engine blower vents outside either. I think the ducts just discharge into the rear locker .... Hmmm, now I'm wondering .... I don't use the blower very often as it is and I really haven't thought about it before! I've been back there enough for wiring and cables, but I've never thought much about ventilation from the blower!

If your head smells, I'd bet $100 that you have stink from your hoses. That's the first thing I replaced on my boat. I threw out the toilet as well. On 2 boats that I've owned, the toilet smelled even worse than the hoses ... and both "looked" as clean as brand new. You wouldn't think that porcelain could smell that bad, and maybe it was all the internal guts that smelled, but removed from the boat and the hoses, it was evident that the toilet is not immune and no amount of cleaning made a difference. On my Catalina, I put in an electric, freshwater toilet anyway. That turned out to be a project, though, as the pedestal on the 320 is inadequate.

The PO on my boat put a holding tank vent filter in the closet just aft of the head. What a bad idea that was! All it did was lengthen the vent hose and put the stink in the closet! I got rid of that right away, but the closet is still infected with odor - I'm going to try more cleaning and possibly ozone to take care of it!

 

[Ted10028]

thanks for the information. I think you are right about no external vents from the engine compartment when the blower is on. I will check today to see where those hoses go. I suppose there is no reason why I couldn't cut a hole in the deck and put a vent in. but still my preference would be to find a way to blow fresh air into the main salon.

so maybe I cut that hole in the deck, run ducting to the 8 x 8 vent between the kitchen and the aft cabin and put a fan somewhere in there.

 

[jssailem]

Perhaps, before cutting holes in the deck I would open one of the several hatches. You need air to move, get a fan in the space and point to blow air somewhere else in the boat. That will cause air from outside to be drawn in. This works in the air outside is cooler than the air inside the boat.

These SIROCCO II ELITE GIMBAL FAN 12V/24V, fans in White or Black are very nice.

 

[Ted10028]

I think the best ideal of all is to put a solar powered in-take fan in the main cabin roof. And maybe a solar exhaust fan in the bathroom. it would be hard to have anything but fresh air in the boat then. I'm not wild about cutting 3 1/2 inch holes though. Anybody have an idea where the best place would be to cut the holes?

 

[LloydB]

Follow Peggy's advice about the sanitation hoses first. Based on your information that you did NOT say 'strong smell of diesel when I flushed the toilet.'