Hi Peggy: I bought a 1984 Newport 27SII last fall, and have been hard at work ever since. My wife won't go near the thing.... her sniffer is way too sensitive for a night on board. I have do something, or I'll have to get rid of the boat.... probably at a loss. My own fault... "it wasn't expensive" I told myself.... My tale of woe is probably not unlike most others. I had a persistent head odor, as well as a petrochemical odor coming from beneath the companionway. I do not think it is raw diesel. Here is what I have done to date.... I first placed a half dozen deck plates of various diameters to allow me to get into the pretty large amount of inaccessible area between inner and outer hull. FO installed a new Jabsco Head unit. I pulled the entire sanitation system, removed the overboard dump system, replaced all hose including the vent hose with ODOR-SAFE. Completely cleaned the holding tank. No help at all. The smell was part of the boat..... On to the next level. I devised a rinse hose made from 1/2 OD clear tubing, with a garden hose bib on one end, and a wooden plug at the other end. In the last 6" of hose length I punched a series of holes. This hose is 6' long, and can be snaked all through the inaccessible areas. I found a dryer vent cleaning brush with a 4" dia brush head, and a 4' long wire handle, in addition to the usual scrub brushes. I have a cheap garden sprayer with a 24" wand; with this I shot a mixture of Purple Power, Clorox, and Dawn Detergent (got that formula from a Maine lobsterman) into every nook and cranny in the cabin, paying special attention to the sump and "tunnel" areas under the sole. The holding tank compartment, minus the holding tank, was filthy with pooh goo. After letting the cleaning mixture sit awhile, I hit it with the brush, and then rinsed. Incredible filth poured forth into the bilge... and out onto the pavement overboard! After letting the boat air dry, I notice a major decrease in the head odor, but I can still make it out in the WOOD of the head area, and inside of all of the holds and hanging locker that do not have a gelcoat finish. My intention is to paint all of these rough fiberglass surfaces with something like BILGEKOTE to try to seal them. I'm sure that will help. But I can see that this war is fought on every front. What do you recommend for trying to deodorize the wood? I bought a product called MagicZymes, and have sprayed it on all of the newly cleaned and scrubbed surfaces. The wood has always been treated with Liquid Gold oil. No real help. I'm now aware of Pure Ayre (and your book, which is on it's way to me as I write). So I think I'm gaining on the head odor. I wonder if I also need to change out the original head sink drain too?
On the petro smell.... I'm a little more worried. The diesel tank is one well-buried tank! There is a quarterdeck plywood platform in the cockpit (used for a quarterberth on the N27's sister design) that I have added a deck plate to, and this will give me much improved access to the tank area, but I'm unsure as how to determine if a leak is present. There is a SLIGHT oil slick in the bilge water.... I do know that a FO had an oil change spill once upon a time. Now I have to figure out how to get in and about the diesel tank area to clean up. Jeez.... CAN I ever clean it up? One other detail.... In my zeal to obtain breathable air in the boat, I reverse-engineered the product called CLEAR-AIR, a fan powered ventilation system that runs vacuum hoses to smelly areas for evacuation outside. So.... I have a 1.25" vacuum line running thru the bilge up to the holding tank compartment, and another 1.25" vacuum line stuck down into the diesel tank area. A final 1.25" vacuum line serves the engine compartment beneath the cockpit. ( BTW: I thoroughly cleaned the engine as well as the entire compartment.) These vacuum lines collect in a manifold that enters a 125 cfm FANTEC centrifugal fan. The outlet is through a 3.5" cockpit vent that exits from a convenient piece of TEAK trim, so I had to mutilate no fiberglass. The cabin itself has a 75 cfm fan that exits thru a vent located in the galley. It vents into the cockpit. So the cabin has a very good ventilation that is going 24/7 off shore power. It has taken all of these efforts to get the air tolerable, but I'm still pretty bummed out. Can all of these problems be beaten, or should I accept that former neglect may indeed have destroyed an otherwise beautiful boat? Thanks, RON W
On the petro smell.... I'm a little more worried. The diesel tank is one well-buried tank! There is a quarterdeck plywood platform in the cockpit (used for a quarterberth on the N27's sister design) that I have added a deck plate to, and this will give me much improved access to the tank area, but I'm unsure as how to determine if a leak is present. There is a SLIGHT oil slick in the bilge water.... I do know that a FO had an oil change spill once upon a time. Now I have to figure out how to get in and about the diesel tank area to clean up. Jeez.... CAN I ever clean it up? One other detail.... In my zeal to obtain breathable air in the boat, I reverse-engineered the product called CLEAR-AIR, a fan powered ventilation system that runs vacuum hoses to smelly areas for evacuation outside. So.... I have a 1.25" vacuum line running thru the bilge up to the holding tank compartment, and another 1.25" vacuum line stuck down into the diesel tank area. A final 1.25" vacuum line serves the engine compartment beneath the cockpit. ( BTW: I thoroughly cleaned the engine as well as the entire compartment.) These vacuum lines collect in a manifold that enters a 125 cfm FANTEC centrifugal fan. The outlet is through a 3.5" cockpit vent that exits from a convenient piece of TEAK trim, so I had to mutilate no fiberglass. The cabin itself has a 75 cfm fan that exits thru a vent located in the galley. It vents into the cockpit. So the cabin has a very good ventilation that is going 24/7 off shore power. It has taken all of these efforts to get the air tolerable, but I'm still pretty bummed out. Can all of these problems be beaten, or should I accept that former neglect may indeed have destroyed an otherwise beautiful boat? Thanks, RON W
