ventilation

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ericravnsails

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Oct 22, 2012
7
Capital Gulf 27 Port Clinton
I purchased a Capital Gulf 27 (pilot house) over the summer. I love the boat but found that after it is closed up for a week there is a strong diesel smell. I tried using the blower but found it was connected the head compartment and discharged into the engine compartment. So, as you can see there is no ventilation for the engine compartment. I plan to install a bilge blower along with both an air intake and discharge.. My questions are: 1. Is there a bilge blower that is designed for continuous operation and 2. If I find a suitable blower, can I reduce the speed as to allow the blower to operate continuously (low flow) for a long period of time. If this is possible, can you recommend a solar system that would assist in keep the battery from going dead. I have little experience with electric systems, so don't judge me to badly for this idea. Thanks Eric
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
10,216
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
I think that boat has an M-18 Universal engine?? If so check the crankcase breather pipe. It is best routed to the air intake so it burns the smelly crankcase gas.. Also, most of the time, a leaking diesel connection is the culprit. check all the connections and fittings, as well as the filter gaskets .. a little fresh diesel can smell up the whole interior.. use a fresh paper towel to pass around the fittings and connections.. make sure the fuel hoses aren't cracked and drooling.. The blower vent is a good idea, but before ya do that, make sure that all the leaks and smelly places are not leaking. Next.. the foam cushions are notorious for absorbing diesel odors Take out all the cushions and but 'em in the sun .. while they are out, check to see if the boat still smells.. Judicious application of a good odor eliminator on the cushions may be in order. Check out this link..
http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=994775&highlight=diesel odors
 
shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
8,004
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Boats should have passive ventilation or flow through them without a blower. On my Ranger 29 the vents were redirected to make an engine blower to comply with rules enacted after the boat was built. It was always dank smelling. Once I re directed the venting to allow air flow, the boat smelled better and mildew was substantially reduced. The point is maybe something is thwarting what was the venting system. There are ways of providing passive venting without a motor running 24/7.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
I ventilate my 30 footer boat with three computer fans mounted in cowl vents and driven by a dedicated 5 watt solar panel. The boat always smells sweet.
 
jimmcgee

jimmcgee

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Feb 26, 2008
603
Catalina 30 Marathon, FL
If you smell diesel there's a leak somewhere. A diesel engine shouldn't smell like fuel. Diesel smells are persistent and the odor will get into anything you store on board, cushions, clothes, jackets. It's definitely worth the time and effort to track down the leak and fix it.

When we bought our boat she had a strong diesel smell whenever it was closed up. Here are the steps I took to get rid of it.

  • Cover the air intake and use a good degreaser like simple green full strength in a spray bottle. Spray down the engine, engine compartment, bilge, fuel lines and fuel tank, then use another misting bottle to rinse everything. Vacuum out the bilge with a shop vac, then clean the bilge again.
  • Let everything dry out completely, then start and idle the engine for at least 10 minutes.
  • Now go back with a clean paper towel and wipe around and under the fuel tank, fuel lines, filters and all fuel connections. Fresh diesel will have a red color. If a connection is leaking look closely at the hose to see if it's cracked and needs replacing or if it's just a loose connection.
  • Is there any oil or diesel showing up in your clean bilge?
  • Once you eliminate the source of the smell pull anything fabric off the boat - cushions, clothes, carpets, etc. Take the foam out of the cushions if you can and steam clean everything multiple times until you're getting clear water out of the fabric and cushions. Let everything dry in the sun then hit them with Fabreeze.
  • If you don't already have a solar fan, I'd recommend one. It's amazing the difference they make in how the boat smells.
On our boat the culprit was a bad connection on the return hose to the fuel tank. It would weep when the motor was running and fuel would run down the backside of the tank and into the bilge. You could only see it when the motor was running for a while so it was fun to find.

In our case, even after steaming the cushions multiple times there was a faint odor to the cushions that my wife could smell so we ended up replacing them.


Best of luck
 
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