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| View from our mast top |
For a couple of weeks now there has been a peculiar smell every time I open the cabinet under the galley sink. At first I didn’t think much of it and tried to remedy it by getting rid of an old sponge and looking for a leak for possible mildew. Everything was dry and clean. Odd.
Yesterday I decided to investigate further. Below the cabinet (in te bilge) is our main canned goods storage and I thought maybe a can of food had leaked. So I started removing all canned goods and washing them. Before breakfast. I figured it would be a quick task in the cooler part of the day and we could have breakfast after I was done. Au contraire.
After removing all cans and deeming them in good condition the smell seemed to be getting worse. I started digging deeper and removed more items from the cabinet (wait, didn’t I just do this last week?). Soon the entire galley was filled with stuff. Mike brought in the dock hose so “while we were at it” we could rinse the entire bilge.
After much rinsing, scrubbing, spilling water and sniffing around we figured out that the big stink was coming from the sink drain hose. Apparently after 12 years it needs to be replaced. Who knew? So instead of putting everything back we went into town to try to find replacement hose. Of course they are not available at the local chandlery but luckily my folks are currently in California and will bring us some new hose when they get home. We finally did have some lunch in town.
Lesson learned: Never think a boat project will be quick!
Do you ever get BOAT BRAIN? While I was soaking up the rest of the water from the bilge into a bowl I got a case of boat-brain. I dumped the entire contents of the bowl back into the galley sink – the galley sink we had just removed the hose from.
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| Mid-investigation |
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| The inside of 12 year old galley drain hose. I promise I won’t post our head hoses when the time comes…. |
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| I didn’t want to leave you with that last image so here are some pretty palm trees |
Good thing you finally found the source of the stench! You’re right about the corrugated hose…they seem to ‘grab and hold’ more stuff than they drain.
Seriously funny ‘boat brain’ comment! Makes me think of times when we inadvertently put the milk in the pantry or one time when I put my car keys in the fridge!
Mike
http://www.siochana.us
LOL. Yeah, boat-brain will get you every time! 🙂
Oh my goodness! I had to laugh about ‘boat brain’. Been there! I guess it makes sense that the hose would begin to smell after awhile, like the hoses in the head do. But I wouldn’t have thought of it.
Yeah, we get boat-brain all the time. Seems to get worse with higher temperature too! 🙂
have you tried closing the thruhull and filling the hose with vinegar. let soak. It may buy you some time (better smelling air) till the new hose arrives.
We tried the vinegar… no improvement. After we took the hose off we rinsed it at the dock. For now it’s better.
Once you get your new hose installed, every other week or so put a 1/2 box of baking soda in your sink and run a quart or more of vinegar over it. Keep pouring till it stops fizzing. It bubbles and fizzes and cleans out the hose better than any caustic drain cleaner and it’s safe for the water.
Deb
S/V Kintala
http://www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com
Thanks Deb! I had tried that before but I think this hose was just too old. Not to mention it was corrugated so I think everything stuck to the insides. When we get new (smooth walled) hose I will be do it more often!
I feel you Verena, it’s bad enough to do this under a bathroom sink, I think I stay away from what you are up to.
Yeah, not much fun… especially in this heat!
LOL, Thanks for the last picture. It makes it all better.
So you literally have a 1/4 inch thick of gunk in your drain hose?
Yup. Gross, huh? I think the problem is that it is corrugated hose. The replacement stuff we’re getting will be smooth on the inside which will hopefully make for a better “ride” 😉