Belowdeck stains, stench and grime

[Rob L]

I recently bought a 1977 S2 8.0B, a little pocket cruiser with shoal draft. Not too bad for a production boat, but certainly not a Triton. Here?s the dilemma: My boat's the engine compartment is not sealed well from the cabin of the boat. The entire boat is permeated with diesel stench, and the engine compartment is exceptionally grimy. (The engine compartment encompasses the whole area under the cockpit, except for the quarter berth, and is accessed through the starboard cockpit locker).

I tossed all of the cushions, and plan on whacking the sides of the hull and bottom of cabin top (all carpet-like stuff) with a rug doctor (using upholstery attachment), but the plywood and fiberglass areas (engine compartment, under the v-berth, inside drawers) have me scratching my head. I'm considering painting these areas with Bilgekote (or maybe not), and I want them clean and grease free.

Should I:
1)Use buckets of water/household detergents and a scrub brush? If so, any recommendations on the type of detergent?
2)Spray the engine compartment with Gunk engine degreaser and go crazy with a power washer?
3)Put solvent in a garden sprayer and soak the grime? Sounds explosive...
4)If it gets clean enough, can it be painted with Bilgekote, or should that only be done if the fiberglass has been sanded?
5) Is regular rug doctor detergent good enough for the carpeted areas, or should something like laundry detergent/bleach be used?

Thanks in advance!

[Tim on the road]

Live, from New Mexico on the road...

Rob,

I've had good luck with regular Simple Green. Buy several gallons, fill your bilge up with the detergent and water, and let it soak for a few days. Scrub as needed, both in the bilge and the other areas as needed. It smells good, and is strong as well. Use lots for best results.

Commercial degreasers are also good for heavy duty grease. But the Simple Green has always managed to cut the nastiest bilge scum and grease. SOme serious elbow grease may be needed as well, of course, and a couple soakings may also be needed.

Clean bilges make all the difference in the boat. They really do. I recommend Bilgekote because it will seal the fiberglass and make it much easier to keep clean in the future.

Tim

[Bob L]

Thanks Tim! I've just spoken with another owner of the same model and he said he had a fuel tank leak. I thought I was smelling burned diesel, but now I'm sure it's raw diesel. I'm like you, I need to know it's tidy, even if I can't see it. Any suggestions for the carpet/upholstery?