Something Died In My Boat

[jgouveia3]

Long story short. Got a late start this year, got boat from storage, cleaned and prepped, put it on the lift, lots of rain, and 3 weeks later it REEKS!!

When I first pulled it from storage, I noticed a bit of a smell, and found a few mice droppings, but not much at all (it is stored in a big warehouse/barn during the winter with some older cars).

Its been raining pretty much every day since I put the boat on the lift, so yesterday was the first extended set of runs. By the end of the night the smell was overpowering! It seemed to get worse when we used the heater.

So I assumed something must of crawled in there and died. Today I pulled it all apart, and found NOTHING. The smell is strongest eminating from under the dash, and also in the rear ski locker.

So my next thought is maybe something crawled into the vents (i usually block those with drier sheets, but forgot this year).

Do you think I can run water through those, or will that cause damage? I can't think of any other way to get in there.

Any other places I should be looking? Time for a "stick up"...

[MalibuTime]

Long story short. Got a late start this year, got boat from storage, cleaned and prepped, put it on the lift, lots of rain, and 3 weeks later it REEKS!!

When I first pulled it from storage, I noticed a bit of a smell, and found a few mice droppings, but not much at all (it is stored in a big warehouse/barn during the winter with some older cars).

Its been raining pretty much every day since I put the boat on the lift, so yesterday was the first extended set of runs. By the end of the night the smell was overpowering! It seemed to get worse when we used the heater.

So I assumed something must of crawled in there and died. Today I pulled it all apart, and found NOTHING. The smell is strongest eminating from under the dash, and also in the rear ski locker.

So my next thought is maybe something crawled into the vents (i usually block those with drier sheets, but forgot this year).

Do you think I can run water through those, or will that cause damage? I can't think of any other way to get in there.

Any other places I should be looking? Time for a "stick up"...

Can't say for sure on the heater hose, but seems like you could run water through there assuming you disconnect if from the heater, and the vents are well supported, if there are low spots they will get really heavy filled with water.

I can say for sure mouse pee stinks, which might be what you are smelling, so you probably want to pressure wash all carpet and clean out all compartments with a bleach solution. Also, be careful of dried mouse poop, it can carry hantavirus which is potentially fatal.

Edited June 21, 2009 by TheBlackPearl

[88Skier]

My Sportster developed a smell so bad a few years ago it was like the old urban legend about the Vette that the 2 guys died in. We got a green machine carpet/upsolstry cleaner and it made a huge difference, but still has a faint smell. I've got to wonder if its something about the materials used that makes a good nesting ground for stink. Keeping it clean helps a lot.

[jgouveia3]

i suspect you are both right, and I now believe that it is mouse pee. I spent 8 hours going through the whole boat. I found that in the straight plastic part of the heater snorkel, there was bunch of bunch foam (one of my life jackets has some stuffing missing!). I tried sticking a piece of PVC through, and out came the clog.

i then removed the vent covers, and stuck my leaf blower in the tubes, and blew those clear (nothing was in there). I thought it best not to send water down there.

then when i thought i had everything completely clean, I looked into my fly high, and all the way at the top was another bunch!

also laying on the floor where the fly high was, really smelled bad. So it looks like its off to buy a green machine (nice father's day present). Of course it is raining here again, so with the boat on the lift, i won't get back to it today.

[WakingMeHappy]

So my next thought is maybe something crawled into the vents (i usually block those with drier sheets, but forgot this year).

Do you think I can run water through those, or will that cause damage? I can't think of any other way to get in there.

You should be OK. I had ants invaid my boat once and they nested down in one of the vents. The only way I could get them out was with a water hose.