www.iFourWinns.com

Then that's all the more reason to slow down and figure out what's wrong before making things worse.

Here you're at the mercy of whatever the previous owner did to the boat. All bets are off as to what materials are where. It may be time to call in someone local that knows boat construction to have them give it a thorough looking over. That's going to be a lot quicker to properly analyze what's going on than posting questions about it online.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I'd love to find that person! What would I call a person like that when I'm thumbing through the directory?

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1969 Chris Craft Commander 47
1999 Four Winns 328 Vista - SOLD

Well, the first thing would be the dealer, or another one local that can give the boat a going-over. Or perhaps a marine surveyor. I've helped friends with their new purchases, do you have friends with similarly sized boats that could lend a hand?

It strikes me your problem may not be centered on the just the cabinets. As I said, the material in them doesn't really tend to out-gas, certainly not after a decade has passed. It's likely there's something else causing the stink. Now, where that is might be really obvious to someone that's got a critical eye (or nose) for things. Like just knowing how different boating materials smell; some brands of caulk or adhesives have an readily recognizable odor.

It could be a repair was done with something, maybe in or behind the cabinets, and that's where the smell is coming from. But without being hands-on it's really hard to offer specific advice on where to be looking.

That and pulling apart the cabinetry and other interior parts of a boat cabin can be a real pain in the ass. All the parts are custom so any mistakes get expensive to fix in a hurry. So when you talked about removing or painting cabinets I started to think about the complexity of the job and the likely expense.

Another thought that comes to mind, is there carpet glued down? Or a headliner that's been repaired? Might there be an adhesive used on them that's giving off the stink?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Follow up:

Seems the best way to get rid of the smell (at least temporary) was to put some charcoal on a plate in the cupboard - smell was gone overnight. I think it's brought on by heat more than anything else, when you open the top cupboards when you first get on the boat, it's like opening an oven door (in the way you can feel the heat roll out). If I leave them closed overnight the smell starts to creep back, but open while I'm away from the boat and it's not there. I think I may put some vents in the top where they won't be visible but will let the heat escape and see how that works.

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1969 Chris Craft Commander 47
1999 Four Winns 328 Vista - SOLD