Dear Peggy, I own a 1989 hunter 40 that I purchased last spring. The boat has a bad odor. The smell was not that noticeable in the cold weather, when I bought it, but after warm weather, it became very noticeable. In the fall when I started closing the hatches at night, it was almost unbearable. I have studied your forum and replaced all hoses with sealand hoses. Hose replacement helped and allowed me to realize that there had been two components to this smell ... what is left, is a strong chemical smell that has permeated the entire boat. I have cleaned and cleaned and never found a focal point for this odor except that all ruberized type fabrics (cushions, foul weater gear ect.) seem to have an affinity for it .To give you an example how strong this odor is... the cushions have been out of the boat since october and have made my storage room stink. I brought My foul weather gear home and it smelled to bad, to wear, for three months. I have spent hours trying to locate the source to no avail. My strong belief is that this odor is from a formaldehyde based deodorant that was probably used by the previous owner. There must have been a spill where this chemical sloshed around in the boat or something. I'm hopping that there is some way to neutrilize this odor. I tried leaving an ozonator running for a few weeks but it didn't help much. I think I am correct that this is a formaldehyde based odor. I have to solve this problem, my kids don't want to go to the boat because it stinks. Help! John
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Bill O'Donovan
Check the bilge
Has it been thoroughly cleaned out of oil and god-knows-what-else? Try to keep it dry.
Has it been thoroughly cleaned out of oil and god-knows-what-else? Try to keep it dry.
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Paul Mieszczenski
A long, tough, row
John, The same thing happened to me this past summer. We bought the boat in March, in North Carolina. It was a cold rainy day and there was no oder to speak of. When we returned in June to move the boat down to Key Largo we were floored by the odor. After five days of intense cleaning, it was bearable to live on but still not acceptable. Exactly the same situation that you are encountering; everything stunk! As soon as we got he boat home, we took off EVERYTHING. Then we proceeded to replace all the plumbing, hull liner, cushions including foam$$, sanded and varnished every piece of wood and cleaned the boat top to bottom 4 times with soft scrub with bleach. Even after all of this, there was still just a hint of "THE SMELL" when the hatch was first opened after a week of being closed up. I finally pulled up all the floor boards and got down into the bilge with a large quantity of Dawn dish detergent and the hose. This was the act that finally put the demon to rest. The whole project took four months of working every weekend, but we finally moved on board New Years day. I know this sounds pretty extreme, but I don't think we would have beaten "THE SMELL" entirely if we had not gone this route. Fourtunatly we had planned to do most of this work anyway since the boat was 16 years old, but the time frame was accellerated because of not being able to stay on the "BIG STINKY". I hope that you don't have to go through all this to get rid of the problem. I agree with Bill, start with the bilge. Good luck, PM
John, The same thing happened to me this past summer. We bought the boat in March, in North Carolina. It was a cold rainy day and there was no oder to speak of. When we returned in June to move the boat down to Key Largo we were floored by the odor. After five days of intense cleaning, it was bearable to live on but still not acceptable. Exactly the same situation that you are encountering; everything stunk! As soon as we got he boat home, we took off EVERYTHING. Then we proceeded to replace all the plumbing, hull liner, cushions including foam$$, sanded and varnished every piece of wood and cleaned the boat top to bottom 4 times with soft scrub with bleach. Even after all of this, there was still just a hint of "THE SMELL" when the hatch was first opened after a week of being closed up. I finally pulled up all the floor boards and got down into the bilge with a large quantity of Dawn dish detergent and the hose. This was the act that finally put the demon to rest. The whole project took four months of working every weekend, but we finally moved on board New Years day. I know this sounds pretty extreme, but I don't think we would have beaten "THE SMELL" entirely if we had not gone this route. Fourtunatly we had planned to do most of this work anyway since the boat was 16 years old, but the time frame was accellerated because of not being able to stay on the "BIG STINKY". I hope that you don't have to go through all this to get rid of the problem. I agree with Bill, start with the bilge. Good luck, PM
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Mike Whalen
. . . if not maybe an exorcist
John, I haven't had this problem on the boat but did once have problems in the stairway of a music venue we ran. We think that donated (cheap, nasty) soft drinks leaked and went under the wall. A janitorial supply had cleaner that was intended to seep out to such problems and eat the bacteria. Would it eat fiberglass? Don't know. Have a friend who did work with a company that cleaned comercial property after fire damage they had some powerful deoderizers as well. Good luck but if it doesn't work call that exorcists. Later, Mike
John, I haven't had this problem on the boat but did once have problems in the stairway of a music venue we ran. We think that donated (cheap, nasty) soft drinks leaked and went under the wall. A janitorial supply had cleaner that was intended to seep out to such problems and eat the bacteria. Would it eat fiberglass? Don't know. Have a friend who did work with a company that cleaned comercial property after fire damage they had some powerful deoderizers as well. Good luck but if it doesn't work call that exorcists. Later, Mike
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Two pronged approach needed, John
No matter whether there was a spill, no matter what products the previous owner may have used, the fact the odor waxes and wanes with temperature can only mean it's being produced by living critters--bacteria and/or spores. To get rid of it completely, you need to tackle it from two directions. One--find and remove any remaining source of odor on the boat...the other is, get rid of the odor in the cushions, carpets, curtains, life jackets, etc--iow, all the soft goods and anything else that can actually absorb odor...hard surfaces don't. Step 1: remove ALL the softgoods etc (we'll deal with how to get rid of the odor in them in a minute). That includes sheets, towels, blankets, rugs and everything but cans and bottles in your galley...hopefully your cabin isn't carpeted, 'cuz you don't want ANYthing left on the boat can absorb odor. If the boat still stinks when it's been closed up, you haven't found and removed the source of it yet...proceed to #2. If it's gone, it means the soft goods have become the source...skip to #3. 2. Pick a nice day when you can open every locker and hatch on the boat to let lots of fresh air in, then THOROUGHLY clean everything with detergent and water...NO bleach or any other chemicals...just a strong solutio of detergent and water. That includes your bilges and sumps. Be sure to rinse very thoroughly...and when it's all reasonably dry, spray (put it in a pump-up garden spray bottle) every surface above and below decks with K.O holding tank treatment...and that includes your headliner and any carpet...the bacteria in K.O. "eat" odor-causing spores and bacteria. Do NOT rinse...just let it dry, leaving every hatch and locker open so that plenty of fresh air can circulate...if possible, bring some fans aboard. Let everything air out and dry out for at least a full day...as long as it take for every inch of the boat to get bone dry. If you STILL have odor, you haven't gotten it all. water is trapped somewhere...you're just gonna have to keep hunting till you find out where and clean it out, following the same instructions. 3. De-Odorizing the soft goods: Wash all the sheets, towels, blankets etc in HOT water...the dryer should kill off any critters that survive washing. Put everything else outside on a nice dry sunny day...spray enough K.O. on everything to completely saturate it--not to the point of dripping wet, but enough make sure it's gotten all the way into cushions and down into the fibers of rugs etc. Let it dry...if it's a breezy day, all the better. If you have to wait till spring, put everything in plastic bags to keep the odor contained...cuz your cushions are doing the same thing to everything in your store room that the permeated hoses have done to your boat. Lightly mist everything in it with K.O., leave the door open, and if possible turn on a fan. And when you bring all your boat gear in again after treating it, don't lock it up in a closet with no ventilation if there's any way to avoid it. A big job, but once you've done it, you SHOULD have an odor-free boat. If you don't, we'll just have to stay with it till we find the source(s) and remove it.
No matter whether there was a spill, no matter what products the previous owner may have used, the fact the odor waxes and wanes with temperature can only mean it's being produced by living critters--bacteria and/or spores. To get rid of it completely, you need to tackle it from two directions. One--find and remove any remaining source of odor on the boat...the other is, get rid of the odor in the cushions, carpets, curtains, life jackets, etc--iow, all the soft goods and anything else that can actually absorb odor...hard surfaces don't. Step 1: remove ALL the softgoods etc (we'll deal with how to get rid of the odor in them in a minute). That includes sheets, towels, blankets, rugs and everything but cans and bottles in your galley...hopefully your cabin isn't carpeted, 'cuz you don't want ANYthing left on the boat can absorb odor. If the boat still stinks when it's been closed up, you haven't found and removed the source of it yet...proceed to #2. If it's gone, it means the soft goods have become the source...skip to #3. 2. Pick a nice day when you can open every locker and hatch on the boat to let lots of fresh air in, then THOROUGHLY clean everything with detergent and water...NO bleach or any other chemicals...just a strong solutio of detergent and water. That includes your bilges and sumps. Be sure to rinse very thoroughly...and when it's all reasonably dry, spray (put it in a pump-up garden spray bottle) every surface above and below decks with K.O holding tank treatment...and that includes your headliner and any carpet...the bacteria in K.O. "eat" odor-causing spores and bacteria. Do NOT rinse...just let it dry, leaving every hatch and locker open so that plenty of fresh air can circulate...if possible, bring some fans aboard. Let everything air out and dry out for at least a full day...as long as it take for every inch of the boat to get bone dry. If you STILL have odor, you haven't gotten it all. water is trapped somewhere...you're just gonna have to keep hunting till you find out where and clean it out, following the same instructions. 3. De-Odorizing the soft goods: Wash all the sheets, towels, blankets etc in HOT water...the dryer should kill off any critters that survive washing. Put everything else outside on a nice dry sunny day...spray enough K.O. on everything to completely saturate it--not to the point of dripping wet, but enough make sure it's gotten all the way into cushions and down into the fibers of rugs etc. Let it dry...if it's a breezy day, all the better. If you have to wait till spring, put everything in plastic bags to keep the odor contained...cuz your cushions are doing the same thing to everything in your store room that the permeated hoses have done to your boat. Lightly mist everything in it with K.O., leave the door open, and if possible turn on a fan. And when you bring all your boat gear in again after treating it, don't lock it up in a closet with no ventilation if there's any way to avoid it. A big job, but once you've done it, you SHOULD have an odor-free boat. If you don't, we'll just have to stay with it till we find the source(s) and remove it.
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fred miller
I Know That Odor
I know that odor. I still can't wear my foul weather gear and its been two seasons now. I sold the boat, but did resolve the problem at its source. IF your holding tank in plastic, I don't care how thick walled or new it is, the odor from waste and chemicals combined may have permeated the plastic and even may have reacted with it. If you can get at it, rub a dry rag along the tank exterior then smell it. If it stinks, there is your answer. The problem is exacerbated I think when the weather is humid as the exterior may have condensate on it when cold water from flushing enters. Keep in mind you are also putting smelly bacteria laden sea water into the tank too. I had a one year old plastic tank and it reeked, no matter what I did. Finally I chucked the tank and bought an aluminum replacement . .yes aluminum, that every Hunter owner seems to think is bad because the welds deteriorate. They do, if you don't flush the tank with a neutralizer and fresh water periodically.But metal tanks keep the odor in, period. Check your tank out. Fred m s/v M Squared
I know that odor. I still can't wear my foul weather gear and its been two seasons now. I sold the boat, but did resolve the problem at its source. IF your holding tank in plastic, I don't care how thick walled or new it is, the odor from waste and chemicals combined may have permeated the plastic and even may have reacted with it. If you can get at it, rub a dry rag along the tank exterior then smell it. If it stinks, there is your answer. The problem is exacerbated I think when the weather is humid as the exterior may have condensate on it when cold water from flushing enters. Keep in mind you are also putting smelly bacteria laden sea water into the tank too. I had a one year old plastic tank and it reeked, no matter what I did. Finally I chucked the tank and bought an aluminum replacement . .yes aluminum, that every Hunter owner seems to think is bad because the welds deteriorate. They do, if you don't flush the tank with a neutralizer and fresh water periodically.But metal tanks keep the odor in, period. Check your tank out. Fred m s/v M Squared
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