Boat smell

[Hartley18]

So, what makes a boat smell like a boat??

Even after a month or more sitting on the trailer in our back yard in the hot (drought-affected) Australian sunshine, our boat still has that musty boat-smell to it that reminds one of the wide blue oceans and all that other soppy romantic stuff...

I suppose that with good ventilation on dry land it would eventually go away and be replaced by a rotting-wood, neglected, kind of smell; but since our new berth cushions couldn't possibly be moldy yet, is it the paint? the salt? or something else??

[CS271409]

Is it the head hoses?

[Freesail99]

Install 2 solar vent place one on intake and the other on out take and the smells will go away.

[CS271409]

Thanks Freesail99. I bought 2 solar vents at the Toronto boat show in January and paln to do exactly that. I keep my forward hatch open a crack (in the locked position) and keep a 120v fan running all the time when we are away from the boat. It still has a distinctive odour when we lift the companionway boards each weekend. Nothing nasty... just distinctive.

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by CS271409

Thanks Freesail99. I bought 2 solar vents at the Toronto boat show in January and paln to do exactly that. I keep my forward hatch open a crack (in the locked position) and keep a 120v fan running all the time when we are away from the boat. It still has a distinctive odour when we lift the companionway boards each weekend. Nothing nasty... just distinctive.

Yep, it's not unpleasant at all - just distinctive. I'm just curious to know what it might be. It seems to be common to all boats after they've been on the water a while.

And no, it's not the head hoses - our boat is not big enough to have one!

[xtatico1404]

Now that someone mentioned the solar vents, does anyone has any long term experience with them? I mean, they are not cheap, but not expensive either.

One of the PO's (last PO said he got it just as he passed it along to us) had them installed, now all there is left is the deck plate & cover, so obviously the motor passed on to a better life, which makes me wonder about the life expectancy of these vents, either solar or DC power. I appreciate you guys feedback.

[artbyjody]

I have 2 solar powered ones on mine - one is 10+ years old (still works fine) and the other I put in the last summer....Usually about the only maintenance one needs to do is replace the batteries every few years...

[sailingdog]

New fiberglass boats smell because of the styrene and other chemicals outgassing from the laminate and materials on the boat. Old boats usually smell because of mold, mildew, leaky bilges, permeated head hoses, dead animals in the boat, etc.

The solar vents help keep the boat from getting mold and mildew... and help keep the air in the boat fresh.

[WuWei]

We run a dehumidifier when she is at dock. Huge difference- no mold! And the boat doesn't smell so weird. I also use Fabreeze antimicrobial to spray stuff down.

[Freesail99]

I don't care for the smell myself, but it does work, mothballs.