So the boat sank....
"barret bonden" wrote in message
...
So the boat sank , and was raised , and now sits on the hard where I can
buy it for 1/40th of it's prior cost. Hull is fine, sails are good,
friends tell me they can save the engine and the whole cabin is covered in
fine teak; beautiful.
My girlfriend told me the cabin smelled horrid , and I ignored her till
yesterday when I brought an old sailor on board and he said : " It smells
horrid, it's oil and fuel, it's everywhere, and you'll never get it out of
the teak. Never. You'll have to strip it down to the fiberglass. Throw the
boat away."
Is there any way to get diesel fuel out of wood ? Any way to clean the
inside ?
Don't worry about it. Give it a good scrub and going over with acetone using
lots of rags that you toss into the trash before they get saturated with the
oil. Then live with what smell remains in the wood.
If you know anything about old sailboats that have a diesel auxiliary they
all smell like diesel fuel and fumes anyway. To me, they all reek. That's
why I wouldn't have a smelly diesel power plant aboard my vessel. But,
owners seem to get used to the stench and don't even notice it themselves
after a while (or they just put up with it because they're dullards). But
the smell of diesel oil and exhaust pollution is responsible for much of the
seasickness that visitors often suffer.
Wilbur Hubbard
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