A kick up the eighties.....the scent of a Sigma.

[doug748]

There are three key sources of stink, I think:

Many boats have lockers that are vented directly into the cabin so you get the benefit of all the niffy stuff thrown in there; the smelly lines, wet fenders, old fishing tackle handy rags, cans of fuel etc.
Engines - they stink of oil when hot and, as they age, fuel. Again, they are often directly open to the accommodation. Even worse, very old boats frequently have no engine trays.
Sea toilets.

Over the years the whole boat is marinaded in this miasma and that's your lot. I once had a plastic Folkboat with no sea heads, all the lockers were isolated from the cabin and it had an outboard in a well. It was as sweet and dry as home.

 

[capnsensible]

Old boat aromas.....

You ain't seen nuttin' until you've had a whiff of one of the RAF's old wooden 'Windfall' wrecks. Decades of blood, sweat and tears! And fried onions.... You didn't want to stand on the downwind end of one o' they for long....

Imagine an old diesel submarine returning to Fort Blockhouse after a couple of months patrol...:nonchalance:

 

[Kukri]

Imagine an old diesel submarine returning to Fort Blockhouse after a couple of months patrol...:nonchalance:

In 1990 or thereabouts I was in Copenhagen to negotiate a charter for a couple of ships that we had built on speculation, to AP Moller. As I walked along the wharf with the Blue Lubianka on my left I saw, berthed immediately opposite the entrance, HMS OTTER, with her crew clearly having been offered the use of the office showers. On her fin were, as usual, the battle honours of her predecessors of the same name, including Copenhagen ... This bit of chutzpah by the Navy buoyed me up considerably and I reckon it was worth US$200 a day on the rate.

 

[capnsensible]

HMS /M Otter. Eats roots and leaves......

 

[erich27]

Hello

Just wondered if that SIGMA 33 was called Whangdoodle sail # 4371 my old boat now in Lanzarote and sailed last week by her new owners Chris & Adam ?

 

[capnsensible]

Hello

Just wondered if that SIGMA 33 was called Whangdoodle sail # 4371 my old boat now in Lanzarote and sailed last week by her new owners Chris & Adam ?

Yeah! And guess who had to use the VHF to call Spanish marinas with the name repeated much more than three times!

I would say she is now one of the best known boats around here.

 

[Resolution]

Yeah! And guess who had to use the VHF to call Spanish marinas with the name repeated much more than three times!

I would say she is now one of the best known boats around here.

Know the feeling. I once crewed on a Cornish Shrimper called "Bibyn Bubyn" down in Cornwall. Memories of harbour masters collapsing in laughter before gathering enough breath to speak "Say again....?"

 

[erich27]

Small world ! we had 10 fun years sailing Whangdoodle around the Irish sea and Scotland and she certainly had that distinctive smell about her ( bilges , heads & fried food long gone ) Had a great video clip of Chris & Adam sailing her last week in sunny Lanzarote and hope to have a sail on her sometime next year ?
We also had fun with her name over the VHF and usually got the least experienced member of the crew to call the coastguard etc. and pronounce her name phonetically

 

[capnsensible]

Small world ! we had 10 fun years sailing Whangdoodle around the Irish sea and Scotland and she certainly had that distinctive smell about her ( bilges , heads & fried food long gone ) Had a great video clip of Chris & Adam sailing her last week in sunny Lanzarote and hope to have a sail on her sometime next year ?
We also had fun with her name over the VHF and usually got the least experienced member of the crew to call the coastguard etc. and pronounce her name phonetically

It was a great week. All sorts of weather and they certainly did more than enough to earn their day skipper course completion. The yacht is only three berths along from mine so if you make it over, let me know if you want to know about the area......and beer shops!

 

[Ruffles]

SWMBO used to call it "Boat Breath".

I have a pair of Shell Channel Pilot books on the bookshelf. Both reek of boat yet haven't been near the sea for 10 years.

 

[erich27]

Yes it would be great to have a sail in her again and thanks for the offer just need to have a think about suitable dates etc. Sounds like earplugs would be a good idea in the marina :ambivalence:

 

[capnsensible]

Ah, we are down in the sophisticated south, none of the rowdy flat cap stuff there!

 

[UK-WOOZY]

my boat in my signature had a musty oily smell when i bought her, it took a lot of ventilation, cleaning and use of the dehmidifier to get rid of it, but no smells now

 

[Kukri]

All my boats have had a howling draft through them when on a mooring or a marina berth. Habit started with wooden boats. Locker doors open, a floorboard up, etc. Present boat has big Dorades, which actually work.