That "Boaty" Smell

[Machpoint005]

PS ime with big col, on this as moi uses eco washing products and to be honest moi would be mortified if moi smelt of anything but nicey smells. Moi is the same with my clothes, they have to be clean, tidy and ironed, and yes moi has a tidy shiny boat ( and its still only insulated and battened out..not even lined out yet..soon lol), and No!! Lol moi don't spend all my time washing and cleaning..his done in a flash in the blink of an eye..moi just likes clean and tidy and everything smelling nice and clean. In fact when moi tells people that moi lives on a boat, moi does indeed get some peculiar looks haha..but that could just because moi is me haha

[Starcoaster]

well I'm sorry to spoil the fun but if I ever got a wiff of anything that has been mentioned I'd be throwing away the clothes and scrubbing the boat with carbolic

 

Do you spent any time on your boat?! If so, chances are you smell of it too, whether you know it or not!

[cereal tiller]

well I'm sorry to spoil the fun but if I ever got a wiff of anything that has been mentioned I'd be throwing away the clothes and scrubbing the boat with carbolic

Good idea.

 

Problem being that you may end up smelling like an off-duty janitor from a Leper colony!

[tree]

[Water Rat.]

I love the smell of my boat, it does not smell damp or nasty at all. However, I did have some friends, who are livaboards, who have a very very smelly dog. Their boat just stank of dog, to the point that I found it difficult to go on their boat.

 

No Alan and Catrin, not yours

[tillergirl]

I perhaps should have pointed out that we do not suffer from damp on our boat.......the vacuum bags are a prevention rather than a cure. But when you open them up to get fresh bed linen out boy is there a lovely smell of fabric conditioner! As fr the smell of wood smoke its par for the course at this time of year and IMO its a much nicer smell than smokey coal.

[blackrose]

 

Do you spent any time on your boat?! If so, chances are you smell of it too, whether you know it or not!

 

Not necessarily. I live on my boat and don't get any of these smells. My visitors also concur.

[Starcoaster]

Possibly it is due to your boat being large, and your wardrobes/clothes storage more likely to be distant from the stove? If you have a solid fuel stove of course, if you have a diesel stove I don't know if they smell of anything or not!

[The Wind Lass]

I know this is a really old thread but how could you not have a diesel smell? There's a tractor engine running and separated from your living quarters by a thin piece of plywood. If you don't smell diesel/oil/etc. then your nose might not be functioning well. The smell really settles into my hair. Same smell as when I used to spend the day on my Massey. It's not the very best smell but I'm resolved that no matter what I do in life a diesel engine will likely be part of it. 

[Tony Brooks]

9 minutes ago, The Wind Lass said:

I know this is a really old thread but how could you not have a diesel smell? There's a tractor engine running and separated from your living quarters by a thin piece of plywood. If you don't smell diesel/oil/etc. then your nose might not be functioning well. The smell really settles into my hair. Same smell as when I used to spend the day on my Massey. It's not the very best smell but I'm resolved that no matter what I do in life a diesel engine will likely be part of it. 

 

At least with a dry bilge cruiser stern, the smell is separated from the living area by a steel bulkhead, but in any case if the engine is in tolerable condition and not leaking fuel or oil there should be little smell. That depends upon how well you clean up after a service and how clean you keep the drip tray.

[The Wind Lass]

 

Also, when you run your engine there is nothing between diesel exhaust and your living quarters except for a thin, leaky, single paned window (unless your exhaust from above in which case your get exhaust in your face as you cruise). You are going to smell some engine/exhaust smells no matter how well you maintain your engine. Some people may have gotten used to the smell over the years, also as we age our sense of smell dulls. I just can't see a way that it isn't a factor. I really wish I could easily and reliably access HVO bc I think the smell is less. 

[Tony Brooks]

Once again, that is where a cruiser stern scores, especially if it has a rear exhaust exit. There are normally a few feet between exhaust exit and any widow so the fumes have a chance to disperse.

[Momac]

47 minutes ago, The Wind Lass said:

 

 (unless your exhaust from above in which case your get exhaust in your face as you cruise). 

Which is a ridiculous design from a health perspective .

49 minutes ago, The Wind Lass said:

 

 I really wish I could easily and reliably access HVO bc I think the smell is less. 

I believe HVO doesn't have a smell and the emissions are far less harmful than a diesel exhaust .

Unfortunately it seems HVO available at present is likely to involve palm oil which has  involved cutting down rain forest which is not good.

A great shame as  responsibly source HVO would be the perfect fuel for boats.

 

[GUMPY]

1 hour ago, The Wind Lass said:

 

Also, when you run your engine there is nothing between diesel exhaust and your living quarters except for a thin, leaky, single paned window (unless your exhaust from above in which case your get exhaust in your face as you cruise). You are going to smell some engine/exhaust smells no matter how well you maintain your engine. Some people may have gotten used to the smell over the years, also as we age our sense of smell dulls. I just can't see a way that it isn't a factor. I really wish I could easily and reliably access HVO bc I think the smell is less. 

No single panel windows on our boat and the exhaust is water cooled so no smell there either. And its not because I have got used to the smell we are not on the boat enough for that.  its all down to maintenance.

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, The Wind Lass said:

I know this is a really old thread but how could you not have a diesel smell? There's a tractor engine running and separated from your living quarters by a thin piece of plywood. If you don't smell diesel/oil/etc. then your nose might not be functioning well. The smell really settles into my hair. Same smell as when I used to spend the day on my Massey. It's not the very best smell but I'm resolved that no matter what I do in life a diesel engine will likely be part of it. 

No plywood between me and my tractor engine, maybe I an nose blind as the advertisement says 

[pete.i]

It's highly unlikely that you would smell your own smell. When I was a smoker, over 12 years ago now, I couldn't smell the ciggy stink on me or anyone else. Now I can smell a cigarette yards away and when smokers walk past me they stink. Same with a diesel stink. When I had my boats, and I was a smoker back then, I couldn't smell diesel but now when my son in law visits, who is a smoker and gets involved with diesel and petrol, I can smell him half way down the drive. I probably have my own stenches as well but I don't notice them and I suppose other people are too polite to tell me.

[IanD]

On 08/02/2023 at 08:59, pete.i said:

It's highly unlikely that you would smell your own smell. When I was a smoker, over 12 years ago now, I couldn't smell the ciggy stink on me or anyone else. Now I can smell a cigarette yards away and when smokers walk past me they stink. Same with a diesel stink. When I had my boats, and I was a smoker back then, I couldn't smell diesel but now when my son in law visits, who is a smoker and gets involved with diesel and petrol, I can smell him half way down the drive. I probably have my own stenches as well but I don't notice them and I suppose other people are too polite to tell me.

Don't eat so many sprouts and spickled eggs then... 😉