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Chuck-

I've found that I need to scrub what I can reach of the bilges and hull sides every year to keep the boat smelling sweet.

When dockside, just bring a hose aboard. Spray a cleaner containing bleach wherever reachable (locker fwd of the shower, under the pulman birth, under the salon sole, etc), scrub with a long-handled toilet brush (dedicated to this purpose), and flush liberally with the hose. Repeat spray-scrub as necessary.

Keep an eye on the water level in the bilge. If the limber holes need cleaning (sometimes they are partially clogged with resin), it will become obvious immediately. While there is fresh water in the bilge, pump some through the back-up hand bilge pump to test and clean. This Alum pump can rot out quickly if salt water is left standing inside it. A few times during the season, use a bilge cleaner and the "bilge brush" in the bilge sump.

To minimize mold when I leave the boat for any period, I leave the hatch in the fwd head locked in the cracked-open position, with the hatch to the locker fwd of the shower open, and the head door closed. Air coming into the head is forced to circulate through the bilges and exit through transom vents. I also leave the hatch over the sink (in a 3-cabin) cracked-open to vent the salon. I've had very little rain water come in, but also button the boat up if the weather will be nasty.

Cheers-

Ernie April
WindCatcher (#61