T&T: Bilge cleaners

[Rich Gano]

Hey, Jim, I saw your comment about fabrics assuming the odiferous character
of the boat.  Being the owner of a 36-year old diesel-powered wooden vessel
gives me a most unique insight into your problem.

Until a 2004 rearrangement of the aft cabin, all the big drawers under the
aft cabin bunks were suspended over open bilge.  Now the bilge is decked
over (with appropriately placed large inspection plates sealed with easily
pulled-up silicone), and the problem with boat smell permeation has been
somewhat ameliorated.  I say "somewhat" because after a couple of months of
storage, some odor returns.

My best solution has been to buy a bunch of various sized vacuum bags at
Wal-Mart.  I even store our pillows in them.  The wife just laughs out loud
as she watches me apply the vacuum cleaner to the pillow storage bag sucking
them down to a fraction of their previous size.  Sheets and towels don't
shrink as much percentage-wise, but the object was not so much to get extra
storage space (we definitely DO) as to prevent odor absorption.

Rich Gano
CALYPSO (GB-42 #295)
Southport, FL