www.iFourWinns.com

Our boat has the white kitchen cupboards, some sort of High Pressure Laminate (according to the manual). It seems they are off-gassing or something. All the dishes we take out take on the smell of the cupboard and it's driving us crazy. I either need to find a solution or my wife is going to make me rip them out and create new ones!

Please let me know if you have experienced this and if you found a solution.

Steve.

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

Smell like what? Plastic or industrial fumes? Or mold/mildew?

On anything more than a few years old you're NOT getting out-gassing. That dissipates usually within a year, two tops.

So can you better describe the smell?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I have learned (maybe not in this case) is to add vents to anything that is closed up. I have added them to the door of the head and the 2 closet doors too. Before, the head took longer to dry out after a shower. But the real reason was to stop the smell and meldew from the closets. This will help in making the closet breath.

Well, it doesn't smell like mildew, more like the plastic I suppose.

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

Have you tried something like Odor x-it, or Xorb-X? I have only used the Xorb-X myself, not on my boat but in my wifes car where she continues to spill almost anything imaginable in it, the worst being baby formula. It worked perfectly at removing the smell immediately. It does not have a smell itself so it isnt a cover up. It even worked when my wife was out of town and I fell asleep on the couch with a beer in my hand dropping it on our rug...she never knew...he he

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1999 298 Vista [color=#FF0000]Sold!!!
twin Volvo 5.7GXI

Woody: Pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Alright, but stop me at one...make that one-thirty

I need to try that stuff.

Craig C.

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2003 Vista 248, VP 5.0 GXi-C, DP

No, I'll have to look into those. We have spread baking soda around in the cupboard for 24hrs then swept it up. Then rinsed all interior surfaces with vinegar. It helped, but nearly good enough.

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

Does your bilge smell the same way because those fumes can make their way to cabinets and lockers that have openings to the bilge? I used to own a motoryacht and the bilge had a funky smell to it and every time I opened a closet or lower cabinet, you could smell the funk. Kept a spray bottle of clorox and sprayed down the bilge prior to leaving every time.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

No, it's different than the bilge. The bilge smells what I would think of as typical, sort of like a wet, dank crawl space; which would be expected since there is always a bit of water in there.

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

I'm guessing here that high pressure laminate is the same stuff we all have, basically Formica over particle board. I never heard of it breaking down and causing odors. Obviously mold and mildrew are always an issue in damp areas, but your smelling plastic.

I've seen shelf liner material leave a mess before in a house. Could be some residue from the last peoples stuff.

I would try brute force cleaning first. Pick your favorite agressive cleaner and scrub. I'd try TSP first.

If that doesn't work, then a more extreme solution is to paint it. Use a odor hiding paint like Kilz. It should stick to that material, you may have to rough up the surface.

It's some work but less than building cabinets.

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2008 V358 Two-tone Blue V/P Dual Prop 320 HP
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

We've done some serious cleaning in the cupboards with marine spray nine, and yes it's the same material - I took the description from the boat manual.
I think I'm going to have to caulk all the joints and paint it. I'll look into Kilz.

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

It seems very, very odd to have 10 year old material out-gassing. I just can't imagine it would suddenly start causing a smell (nor would it last this long).

Bear in mind that caulk and paint are very likely to smell WORSE. Killz, especially, gives off a fair amount of chemical stink. Caulk too. You may well make matters worse trying to cover it up that way.

Here's a suggestion, pull out a section of what you think is causing the smell. Put it inside a large (XXL) sized Ziploc bag (Target sells 'em). Take the bag home and leave it in a hot place (attic, porch, etc). Let it sit for a day or two and then open the bag. See if the smell is there. If not then it ain't your cabinetry.

What else has been added or fixed on the boat? What's the chance the smell is coming from something else that's new on the boat? Lots of things can out-gas, but very, very few of them would keep doing it for any length of time.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I`ll try the bag idea, the only thing I`ll be able to do that with is the door I suppose. I can`t answer what is new to the boat as I`ve only owned it for 1 week. I can`t see anything obvious.

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

BTW, I know painting is extreme and I don't recommend it, other than one step before building new cabinets.

I also expect that you would paint only the insides and shelves, not the pretty outsides. Do you have any other cabinets in the boat, away from the kitchen area? Do they smell?

The small cabinet near the radio on my boat has a remeovable shelf, if you have something like that, it may be easier to try Bill's bag trick. Speaking of bags, you may try bagging your dishes until you solve the problem, it might take the heat off from the wife.

Are these your dishes or did they come with the boat? I can't imagine real dishes having this issue, but maybe those melamine boat dishes, who knows.

Finally, we use cheap dryer sheets in our cabinets to ward off vermin during winter storage. They leave a strong odor that takes the first few weeks of spring to clear out, could that be the smell?

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2008 V358 Two-tone Blue V/P Dual Prop 320 HP
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

Since the boat is new to you, I would give it some time before taking the drastic measure of painting the cabinets. The plastic laminates that they are made of are very durable and usually maintain their appearance much more so than a painted surface (think re-sale value here). Before long you will be like the rest of us and not notice the funky smells of our boats.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY