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Marina smoke pollution


Piratepete

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Good evening all, i am new here so please forgive me if this subject has already been covered.

 

I am quite new to boat life and new to living aboard but I'm very much enjoying it. This is my first winter on my new build in a marina and I have a bit of an issue with the smell of wood smoke lingering in my boat coming in from my mushroom vents. My neighbours boat is constantly pouring out wood smoke day and night and I am smelling this inside my boat in all of the rooms. I have carbon monoxide monitors and these have not gone off yet (not the digital type) this is giving me a sore throat and it's very unpleasant. I would be so grateful if you could advise me on this as I am worried about my health. Thank you.

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One marina I moored at used to try and intersperse lived on with leisure boats and not have liveaboards side by side.

 This was one of the reasons. The current one has lots of residential moorings, so not an option. Smoke from lots of fires in a confined area is always going to be a bit grim in some weathers. As above. Talk to your neighbours and/or move berth.

 

Jen

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Hi,

 

Check your mooring conditions about fuels that can be burnt when moored in the marina, See if you neighbour is burning sawn up palletts as some of these are coated treatments that can be dangerous to heatlth when burnt. Have a word with the marina staff.

L

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1 hour ago, roland elsdon said:

Stiff letter to the council

Why ?

 

The relevant legislation is the Clean Air Act 1993

This act contains 2 specific prohibitions;

 

Section 1 is a blanket prohibition on the emission of "Dark Smoke" (Dark smoke is >40% black) from chimneys. This applies to all buildings, regardless of the existence or otherwise of a smoke control area. Exemptions allow for dark smoke whilst a fire is warming up.

 

 

Section 20 is a prohibition on the emission of ANY smoke from a building in a smoke control area.

 

 

Section 44 specifically extends application of section 1 to vessels, but does NOT mention section 20.

 

 

So, we can see that whilst canal boats *are* covered by the requirement not to produce dark smoke (other than when they have just lit the fire), the part of the act which prohibits the emission of all smoke (and requires the use of smokeless fuel) does NOT extend to canal boats."

 

Edit to add (extract from the act)

 

The waters to which this section applies are—

(a)all waters not navigable by sea-going ships; and

(b)all waters navigable by sea-going ships which are within the seaward limits of the territorial waters of the United Kingdom and are contained within any port, harbour, river, estuary, haven, dock, canal or other place so long as a person or body of persons is empowered by or under any Act to make charges in respect of vessels entering it or using facilities in it.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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2 hours ago, roland elsdon said:

Stiff letter to the council

 

Highlighting your problem, is that going to work?

If you are paying council tax as a resident boater, well I suppose you are "entitled", but don't expect it to work in your favour, if at all.

I am not sure if you are over-sensitive, in which case you are probably going to have to give up live-in marina life  You don't say why you decided to buy a boat to live in a marina, but now you are in the marina, are you wanting to make it permanent, in which case I would ask the manager for his assistance.

btw, smokeless fuels give out the most horrid fumes, I'd rather have a slight aroma of woodsmoke than breath in SO2, or whatever. I am assuming that the wood is natural stuff not chemically treated and not green or wet, which will cause excessive smoking and tars.

P.S. Your mushroom ventilators should not be drawing in fumes the intakes are low level vents, high level vents should extract the air. Are the vents adjustable, you must have an airflow, but you may need to a adjust your ventilation. There are incense sticks to identify the air flow.

Edited by LadyG
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7 hours ago, Piratepete said:

Good evening all, i am new here so please forgive me if this subject has already been covered.

 

I am quite new to boat life and new to living aboard but I'm very much enjoying it. This is my first winter on my new build in a marina and I have a bit of an issue with the smell of wood smoke lingering in my boat coming in from my mushroom vents. My neighbours boat is constantly pouring out wood smoke day and night and I am smelling this inside my boat in all of the rooms. I have carbon monoxide monitors and these have not gone off yet (not the digital type) this is giving me a sore throat and it's very unpleasant. I would be so grateful if you could advise me on this as I am worried about my health. Thank you.

Although I don't liveboard,I do spend quite a lot of time messing about on my boat. There is a boat moored opposite and I do smell their smoke but only when the wind is from the North or Norwest.

Suggest you ask your marina management for a different berth,or ask your smokey neighbour if you could swap places,and then you can pickle him!

Sods law suggests that if you do swap places,the wind will change direction so in the interest of peace and harmony,move to another berth.

But,bear in mind that in winter practically all livaboards will have their stoves going,but you might be lucky enough to moor next to a boat with gas or electric central heating.

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7 hours ago, Piratepete said:

Good evening all, i am new here so please forgive me if this subject has already been covered.

 

I am quite new to boat life and new to living aboard but I'm very much enjoying it. This is my first winter on my new build in a marina and I have a bit of an issue with the smell of wood smoke lingering in my boat coming in from my mushroom vents. My neighbours boat is constantly pouring out wood smoke day and night and I am smelling this inside my boat in all of the rooms. I have carbon monoxide monitors and these have not gone off yet (not the digital type) this is giving me a sore throat and it's very unpleasant. I would be so grateful if you could advise me on this as I am worried about my health. Thank you.

Most marinas have a smokeless fuel only policy. I would check your terms and conditions.

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In perfectly still air and a heated boat, the warm air in the boat will rise and leave via the mushrooms and be replaced by cooler air from the low-level vents.  With even a slight wind it gets much more complicated, and the air can enter via all the up-wind vents, high and low, and leave via all the down-wind vents, high and low.  Add in local topology, eg roof furniture, and neighbouring trees, and it gets more complex still.  Gusts and wind eddies add to it.  On occasion the wind enters my boat from the down-wind end and exits from the up-wind end in an eddy.  This can be a pain when it brings smoke from my SF stove into the cabin.  The smoke from my stove (which draws well so must be hot) rises very little before streaming back along the boat roof so it obviously doesn't know its Physics.

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1 minute ago, system 4-50 said:

In perfectly still air and a heated boat, the warm air in the boat will rise and leave via the mushrooms and be replaced by cooler air from the low-level vents.  With even a slight wind it gets much more complicated, and the air can enter via all the up-wind vents, high and low, and leave via all the down-wind vents, high and low.  Add in local topology, eg roof furniture, and neighbouring trees, and it gets more complex still.  Gusts and wind eddies add to it.  On occasion the wind enters my boat from the down-wind end and exits from the up-wind end in an eddy.  This can be a pain when it brings smoke from my SF stove into the cabin.  The smoke from my stove (which draws well so must be hot) rises very little before streaming back along the boat roof so it obviously doesn't know its Physics.

Do you have a Chainman's Hat on your stove, I always felt it made things worse.

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What is required for good smoke management is a "H" chimney, no problem with down draught or over firing ie over drawing but that only effects your smoke. For the problem with others smoke try all the suggested solutions.

I have had this problem in the past (my wife has COPD and is badly effected by others smoke) a peaceful solution can be achieved 

Phil

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I'm sure Roland was being humorous.

Just like: - 

37 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Do you have a Chainman's Hat on your stove, I always felt it made things worse.

Which apart from butchering "Chinaman" misses the point completely.  It's not the OP's smoke that is causing the problem, so it doesn't matter what kind of hat he sports.

 

Rule one of life is be assertive.  Talk to the individual who may not be aware of the problem he causes.

How would you feel if a casual comment comes to you via The Management when it obviously originated within a few feet of you?

It sounds as if you're trying to avoid a confrontation without thinking through how much more antagonistic you're likely to come across by involving others.

Either communicate with him

Move within the marina

Put up with it

Leave

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49 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

I'm sure Roland was being humorous.

Just like: - 

Which apart from butchering "Chinaman" misses the point completely.  It's not the OP's smoke that is causing the problem, so it doesn't matter what kind of hat he sports. 

 

 

Which was in reply to someone who had THEIR OWN smoke rolling down the roof into their own boat

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5 hours ago, frangar said:

Personally while I burn smokeless fuel I love the smell of woodsmoke either when afloat or ashore....mind you I also like the smell of diesel fumes and road tar so some might say I’m a bit odd......

Maybe odd but I also like the smell of wood smoke, diesel and road tar...

 

Plus paraffin, 2 stroke, creosote, Jeyes fluid

 

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45 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Maybe odd but I also like the smell of wood smoke, diesel and road tar...

 

Plus paraffin, 2 stroke, creosote, Jeyes fluid

 

The smell of 2 stroke, now that takes me back to my Suzuki 750 GT triple, nicer than fresh cut grass.

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