Getting the stink out of your boat

There are two horrible smells on a boat. A holding tank and diesel. Two months ago the holding tank was taken out of Cool Change, our Bayliner 27. It stunk real bad! It was so strong it was like smelling ammonia. The pipes had gotten plugged 2 years ago and we were unable to dump the tank and flush it out. Nothing leaked, the smell just permeated through the hoses. Two years it went through the seasons. Freezing, thawing, over heating and back again. Oh my gosh it was so awful I couldn't go on the boat and you could smell it just walking up to the boat.

Now that the holding tank and toilet are gone the smell still lingers. Some days it smells just as strong as when it was still in the boat. Something had to be done. We are heading out fishing and I couldn't imagine staying on the boat with this smell, let alone bring along friends. So I Googled how to get rid of odors in boats. It came up with all kinds of suggestion. I had to choose one out of the many. I was pretty skeptical and so was Mark. But what did we have to lose? What I ended up with was pure joy on my part. It worked so well that I couldn't even tell that there was once a smell.

 

1. Fill a couple of bowls with charcoal briquettes and place them inside your boat and let them sit for a couple of days. I filled about 5 cereal bowls. I probably went crazy but it is not like it cost me anymore to overdo it. The charcoal absorbs odors in the air and should remove most of your smells relatively quickly.

 

2. Clean every surface of your boat with a vinegar and water cleaning solution. I wiped down all of the lockers, the walls. the floors the countertops and the teak. I cleaned every surface in the head as well. I didn't scrub crazy like, just a once over. I also used it to clean out the refrigerator. As a side NOTE straight vinegar also removes rust.

 

3. Because the holding tank was located in the engine compartment and it still smelled while standing in the cockpit. I also put a bucket with a bowl full of charcoal briquettes in there.

 

I am thrilled to report there is absolutely no smell anymore! I know it sounds too easy to be true....but it works! And what did it cost me? A small bottle of vinegar and the time I would have spent any way to clean the boat. The charcoal briquettes we will  reuse in the grill.

 

Give it a try and tell me how it works for you.

 

Charcoal in the bucket. Just like 10 briquettes did the trick.

With the extra space, from the holding tank being removed, Mark has made a holder for the extra kicker motor!

Blue bowls of charcoal sucking up the stink!