Small critter(s) got into the boat over the winter

[Tomfoolery]

Still haven't been able to get the musk odor out. Washed the interior with Mr. Clean and a hose, and vac'd the water out of all those 'bilge' spaces. Lotta leavin's (looked like black rice), and from the size, I'm guessing chipmunk or mouse. Little devil(s) tore up paper towel and made a nest in the keyhole of a cheap orange PFD. On the table. But not stained, and had no odor. Beautiful work; wrong venue.

I can't find where the smell is coming from. I guess I have to pull the batteries and check under the galley. I can't peak in from the port side settee, as there's a fresh water tank there, and I'd have to cut or disconnect the fill/vent hoses, which I'd rather not do. Unless I really have to. The galley insert needs replacing anyway, but I want to sail it, not spend the summer 'improving' it.

I don't know where else to look. Or what to treat the interior with. A search on this forum didn't turn up anything other than loose references to critters.

Anyone ever deal with this? Especially on an ?

[mrron_tx]

If You can pinpoint the strongest smelling areas .... then maybe a box of baking soda would help absorb it. I have also heard about a product called simple green that is supposed to b a really good cleaner....Best of luck Ron

[reastmure]

This is a timely subject as I have just discovered evidence of a critter in our M. Torn up paper towel in bilge under galley. I think they just got in there recently. So I vacuumed up the start of the nest. Now I see they are chewing up the foam between the cockpit and the rear birth. Bits of styro are falling down on v birth. Those are some pretty tight areas and impossible to get at except for a mouse . I set traps last night and have not checked this morning yet. I I think it would be very troublesome if mice took hold in these boats. Way too many hiding places where only they can get at!

[Highlander]

The smell is most likely urine to bad the critter did,nt use the head !

Lavender scented Pine-sol is what I use to clean the inside of my boat in the spring leaves a nice pleasant smell

if u can find where the smell is coming from try cleaning it first with baking powder , then leave an open box of baking soda there to help absorb it

check out ur cushions if they were left in the boat ?

J

[Tomfoolery]

This is a timely subject as I have just discovered evidence of a critter in our M. Torn up paper towel in bilge under galley. I think they just got in there recently. So I vacuumed up the start of the nest.

I think it was recent in my case, too, as the beautiful little nest in the life vest was pristine, and didn't smell at all. It didn't look like anyone had actually slept in it, let along birthed more.

Now I see they are chewing up the foam between the cockpit and the rear birth. Bits of styro are falling down on v birth. Those are some pretty tight areas and impossible to get at except for a mouse . I set traps last night and have not checked this morning yet. I think it would be very troublesome if mice took hold in these boats. Way too many hiding places where only they can get at!

Same here. Bits of styro in the stern berth, but none in the v-berth. So I'm hoping it/they got scared off when I started fiddling with the tarp and moving the boat and such.

[Tomfoolery]

The smell is most likely urine to bad the critter did,nt use the head !

It actually did, but the PP wasn't in there. I don't even see how it got in there, as there aren't any holes of any size. But mice (and rats, for that matter) can squeeze through some pretty tiny slots or holes.

Lavender scented Pine-sol is what I use to clean the inside of my boat in the spring leaves a nice pleasant smell

I'll have to give that a try. Mr. Clean is a little citrus-y, and not bad, and I only partially rinsed it, then vacuumed out about 10 gallons. Hoping it kills lots of germs as it sits there, drying.

if u can find where the smell is coming from try cleaning it first with baking powder , then leave an open box of baking soda there to help absorb it

I'll give that a try.

check out ur cushions if they were left in the boat ?

Only a few were, but they were untouched, and don't smell.

The sad part is that I had finally gotten rid of the 'boat smell' it used to have by adding some ventilation. Crack open the sliding hatch, and no smell.

Not so this spring.

[reastmure]

Nothing in the traps this morning. Will keep monitoring.

[rszobel]

there are lots of products on the market that will help -- I have used several in past and critical thing is that it is an enzyme based product. here is a link to one available at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Anti-Icky-Po ... lsrc=aw.ds

also - I did a google search for: clean rodent urine --- and came up with lots of products and found this enzyme product at home depot -- it is called "anti-icky-poo" LOL

hope this helps

[Bobglas]

The year before I had found a few mouse pellets, after searching the boat it seemed they (or it) got out. This past winter I wrapped the tarp as usual but hung a bag of mothballs from the horizontal mast to just in front of the hatch - hatchboard opening ( not wanting too much mothball odor inside). No mice and less bugs. Will do again next winter.

[Don T]

Hello,
We experienced what we now refer to as "The Great Cat Caper" where a feral cat was locked inside the boat for a month. With no food or water it survived but left behind a horrible smell with feces and such but the worst was the flea droppings all over the boat. We had to replace the foam in the cushions cuz there was no way to get them smelling OK. Washed all the covers in the washing machine with bleach which lightened the material but they were spotless and smelled new. The entire insides was washed down with bleach after taking everything out and cleaning or replacing it. The smell continued cuz there were places fleas could get to that I couldn't to scrub. Final solution was to run an ozone generator inside the boat for a few days (with everything still removed). I removed all rubber parts because ozone will eat those to nothing in short order. I did forget the center ballast grommet and had to replace it. The boat smelled fresh as a daisy after that and that new boat / fiberglass smell returned. I love getting a whiff of that when I open the boat the first time each year.

Good luck with your "Caper."

Don T.

[Ixneigh]

The enzym stuff works best. I use it for doggy messes. I'd buy several gallons and slosh it though out the boat.
When I left my old 23 at a boatyard for six months they told me to put something called di-gas in it. Kills everything.
Mothballs sound like the way to go for shorter durations.
Ix

[sailboatmike]

If you check out NappySan or similar products they work by oxygenating which kills bacteria which causes the smells, thats what we use in out porta potty and it never smells.

I would think it would do a good job and is cheap as chips

[Highlander]

I use cedar scented moth balls inside little plastic vented containers in all my house cloths closets & in the boat around the head but I have a bilge blower built into my boat that vents all the bilges from bow to stern including the head when ever necc .

J

[Tomfoolery]

there are lots of products on the market that will help -- I have used several in past and critical thing is that it is an enzyme based product. here is a link to one available at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Anti-Icky-Po ... lsrc=aw.ds

also - I did a google search for: clean rodent urine --- and came up with lots of products and found this enzyme product at home depot -- it is called "anti-icky-poo" LOL

hope this helps

I hope so too, as I ordered a gallon of it from Amazon. Should have it Friday. I'm going to use my weed sprayer to get into all the nooks and crannies, and basically just wet the whole interior down with it. I pulled all the access panels, including the one across the back, and the ones in the v-berth that keep the foam blocks in place, and found no other signs of rodent nesting other than what I already cleaned out. So hopefully all I need now is to treat it.

The boat can't go into the water until I get the OB lower leg back on, and I'm waiting for an o-ring for the water pump housing which should be here Friday. I'm not quite sure what the weather will be this weekend, but I really want to get it in the water and out of my driveway.

[Tomfoolery]

Bought a gallon of the (expensive) Anti-Icky-Poo, and after pulling every cover and panel, vacuumed again, vac'd out what little standing water I could find, and used a garden sprayer (air-driven, pump-up kind, with wand on a hose) with fine spray adjustment and sprayed everything in sight. And everything out of sight. Including all white finished surfaces. Everything. Probably used a quart or so.

Closed the boat for the night, and this morning . . . wait for it . . . NO SMELL, other than the perfumey smell of the AIP.

I guess I can put the boat in the water today.

I'm keeping most of the hatches open, and leaving out the cushions for a while (I don't sit on them anyway). I'll treat it again in a week. Just to be sure. And again if I feel like it. 'Boat smell' is ok. Animal smell gives me the heebie-jeebies, at least in my boat.