Cabin Odor

[jackson]

I have read several post regarding odors, mostly related to organic issues tied to the head or holding tank. We are pretty sure our odor is not organic in nature. I am curious if others have odors that have been or not been identified unrelated to the head / holding tank.

We live in Southwest Florida and purchased our 25' 2020 Ranger last year. From day 1 we smelled a distinctive odor in the cabin. Our primary use for the boat is over nighting at marinas for several days at a time along Florida's west coast. After staying on the boat for several days we found that we started getting headaches, we now have to open the hatch or a window while we are in the boat. We just had a commercial company come in to see if they could give us an idea what the odor could be. They told us the smell is not organic and probably something such as an epoxy gassing off. They also stated that it would be unusual for something to be generating an odor such as ours for such as long time, unless something was wrong. They are referring us to a company that specializes in identifying toxic odors in order to finally figure out the smell.

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

I'd go with outgassing from the fiberglassing process... so epoxy resin or glue used in the interior. Your boat is new so, you have new boat smell. If you're not running an air conditioner in the summer, the outgassing smell would be worse. Another culprit could be POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants)... I'm presuming you're an outboard so it wouldn't be from an inboard diesel.... If you're storing POL in an enclosed space that has airflow into the cabin, that could also be part of your source.

When we bought our first boat with a cabin (Macgregor 26M trailer sailor), my wife complained of the "fiberglass smell" all the time when we first opened up the boat every time we launched.... no headaches though.

 

[BradOwens]

Whenever possible, store and use the boat with as many hatches open as possible. If it is an odor from the manufacturing process, it will dissipate over time.

 

[Hydraulicjump]

Agreed. On our 2011 27 the new boat smell lasted years, probably because the boat was always closed up tight. Perversely, I liked the new boat smell (outgassing fiberglass) probably because my mental association with having a new toy. Just like a new car, the smell is not great for you, but it does remind you of fun. Our 29CB will still occasionally give off a bit of fiberglass outgassing, but after six years it is done. Now we have the permeated black water tank line smell in the stateroom every now and then. That is another project.

A reminder that boats cover four of the five senses. If you need to taste your boat, well…

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

A reminder that boats cover four of the five senses. If you need to taste your boat, well…

My boat tastes like rum :lol:

 

[jackson]

Thanks for all the feedback on the odor issue. I suspected that any "new boat smell" would deteriorate in a month or so, but that's obviously not the case. After doing some additional research on fiberglass gassing, I'm pretty confident that's my problem. The heat in Southwest Fl just compounds the problem. As soon as the weather cooperates we will open up the boat completely and run a fan to help with the process. Thanks again for helping to put me into what I believe is the right direction.

 

[FlyMeAway]

The heat in Southwest Fl just compounds the problem.

A while back a friend of mine relocated a 2-year-old boat from Oregon to Florida. The boat was done noticeably outgassing in Oregon, but not in FL...

 

[Ralf H]

Hi Jackson,

To back up what everyone else has already mentioned, your situation does appear to be outgassing of the gel coat/fiberglass. This will dissipate over time, but as others have mentioned it will leave a bit of a "new boat smell" for a while. I do hope the headaches will go away for you and your wife.

Cheers,

Ralf

 

[Brian B]

You may want to consider Marinco Solar vents. My 25SC had two installed. The forward one over the V berth was intake. The second one in the overhead inside the cockpit door was exhaust. Air was constantly moving through the boat year round. They even worked when it was shrink wrapped for RI winters.

 

[Fishmagnet]

Check to see if you have a battery off gassing.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk