my boat stinks

:-)
any ideas ? My boat stinks in the v berth, seems to come from the front behing the hatch ....
prior owner wrapped saran wrap around the hose from the tank , which is most likely not working ...

replace the vent tube ? what tubing should I get ??? dont live near a west marine or any boat shop ?

Should I replace some other tubing as well ? or just start with the vent tube ?

Thor

It sounds to me like your hoses have finally given up the ghost. I replaced all the hoses from the head to the thru hull with hose from West Marine. I don't remember what it was, but it was a solid white hose instead of what looked like vacuum cleaner hose that was on the boat when I bought it. I have yet to replace the hose coming from the holding tank to the pumpout fitting since I haven't been able to make the sharp bend as was done originally. My latest thought is to try and find some sort of J-tube made from hard plastic and splice it in where the the hose makes the u-turm coming out from the aft, bottom of the holding tank. So far, I haven't been motivated enough to try and hunt one down though. Also, you will probably find that the hose from the head to the vacuum breaker, to the Y valve will all be the same size. The thru hull nipple is about 1/8 inch larger diameter. I ended up heating the hose in boiling water to soften it up enough to get it over the hose barb. By far the hardest part of the job. The manufacturer of the hose does not recommend heating it to make it fit, but I haven't had a problem in the three years since I have done the replacement. Good luck! Changing the hoses should do the trick. (You won't believe the crap you will find in them either!)

Thor the white sanitary tubing is available at home depot its the same stuff west sells and its not cheep but worth it,lowes may have it as well,i have also seen it at sears hardware stores.

A good solution to get the hose to go around corners is a hair dryer. Just heat the hose a bit and it will go just about anywhere (-:

David

thanks for the replies
i looked at it and yes I will change all the hoses ... just not yet in the summers heat....
what I did is to transfer my solar vent from the coach roof to the inspection hole in front .... just droped it in and now the smell, which used to accumulate in the front triangle is pulled out , before it meanders into the v berth .. so far so good ...

new hoses in the winter ...lol

thor

stinks; My boat smelled terrible untill I installed an electric bilge pump . Keeping the bilge as dry as possible was the answer.

I've got this same problem on the J/30 I just bought. The surveyor noted it but found that the pump-out hose had separated from the deck fitting and concluded that this was the source of the smell.

The first thing I did was reattach it (it was a vacuum cleaner looking hose that was glued into a fitting which was then attached to the deck fitting, and the glue had come unattached).

After leaving the boat alone for a few weeks the smell seems almost worse. I don't see any leakage anywhere and cant find a single source of the smell.

Someone above mentioned that old hoses can stink. Does this mean the hoses themselves give off the odor, or that they start leaking raw waste (cause I cant find any leaked waste).

I'm trying to determine whether I should start replacing hoses or if my problem could be elsewhere.

Thanks - Dan

Yes - the old hoses become permeable to the odor. They are made of specially treated material for waste system applications, but it breaks down over time and the odor comes through. Use liberal amounts of holding tank deodorant in the mean time and keep the tank pumped as often as possible. I suggest you want to wait until the coldest day of the year to replace these hoses. Solid chunks are much more manageable than the alternative. I did a total hose replacement on Rhapsody this winter and notice the difference in a "sweeter smelling" boat. Before doing the replacement, fill and flush the holding tank multiple times to get rid of everything you can. It will still really smell bad.... I lined the bilge below the holding tank with a garbage bag filled with rags to catch anything that was remaining that didn't freeze. Nose plugs or respirator highly recommended during this evolution.

Note that the sanitary hose is not real flexible when it gets cold. You'll need a heat gun to warm it, and will need to really warm up the ends to make them pliable enough to fit over the couplings. This is a real s#!tty job!

Thanks for the advice, looks like I've got a pretty nasty job cut out for me! I just bought the boat so the, um, waste isnt even my own

The boat is in Charleston which probably doesnt have any days cold enough to freeze up the holding tank - so I guess it will be a respirator and some long gloves!

The hoses seem to be the thick black rubber kind and who knows how old they are. It looks like the white stuff at West Marine is the way to go and I may try dropping a fan in the front inspection hole in the mean time.

Thanks for the info!

-dan

The best way to check if you hoses are permiating the smell is to take a dish towel and soak it in really hot water and then spread it around a section of the pipe and let it sit for a few minutes. Then remove the towel and smell it. It the towel smells, the hoses need to be replaced.

David
#397

If the smell is real bad, a regular paper dust mask with Vicks VapoRub inside it will mask just about anything.

Does any one know the Diameter of the pipe and the lengths I cant get to the boat to check and want to replace them. Thanks

After replacing the waste & vent lines I still had the smell. I went to fresh water supply for the head using a separate small water tank and the smell was gone. YMMV.

No Idea on the pipe diameters

When I had Rhapsody I used Odorsafe Sanitary Hose - 1.5" ID. This old thread has some other info too.

Hose changeout eliminated all odors and is one of the most appreciated projects I have ever done on Blitz.

The hose is 1.5" ID nominal, however, some of the fittings measure larger in the system, which can make it darned near impossible with the standard old white 148 VAC PVC even with a heat gun and hose lube. I used the 148 to and from the vented loop (which I don't use and have never seen liquid since I don't use the overboard discharge), but wouldn't do it again, just based on the level of extra effort. More importantly, 148 is rated only in full draining conditions. Much of the plumbing has standing liquid in it which means that all of your hard work would be defeated in short order. Finally, it is almost impossible to get 148 to make the 180 degree turn out of the tank.

I used Raritan Sani/Flex for the rest of the project which is my recommendation. It makes the 180 degree turn without a problem, installs on any fitting with ease and hasn't permeated at all.

Measurements for my boat follow. My Y-valve is 16" above and 6" to the left of the overboard discharge seacock FWIW.

- Y-valve to tank is 44"
- Tank to pump out is 96"
- Vented loop to Y valve is about 100"
- Vented loop to overboard discharge seacock is about 112"
- Y-valve to the ell just behind the head is about 72"
- The tank vent line is 45". It looks to be about 3/4" OD which I am guessing is 1/2" ID. I haven't bothered with that yet.

GL

Chris

Hi Chris,

Did you need the heat gun and hose lube for the Raritan Sani/Flex or was it just for the 148 VAC PVC?

Thanks,
Paul

Hi Paul,

No. I didn't need the heat gun for the Sani/Flex. I think that I used a little lube, but I don't think that I really needed to.

Chris

Thanks Chris, It worked a treat miles better. A little heavier but worked well