Carver Owners Forum

Hey there,

Just joined and this is my first posting. I have a 1998 40' Cockpit Carver and need some help. I have a smell in my aft cabin that I can't figure out what it is. I want to say a head smell kind of, but not coming from the head, just aft cabin. I replaced the carpet flooring with new vinyl and that didn't work. No matter where I check I can't pinpoint the smell coming from a single place. I purchased the boat a year ago and the previous owner couldn't figure out the smell either. My next area to check was maybe it's the original hoses for the pump-out and holding tanks...any help would be appreciated!

Bill
Canyon Lake, Texas

Check the shower sump first. It needs to be cleaned a couple times a year. It grows some really interesting molds! And the smell gets blown around by your a/c unit as the a/c drains into the sump.

Welcome to the forum Bill........to check the hoses and tanks......damp wet a cloth with hot water and wrap around the hose or line or whatever and let cool, then take outside and smell the cloth, you will know....if all that stuff is original from 98, it is probably time.....good luck man........

Bill, shower sumps would be my first place to look. The only other thing I can think of if you believe its not coming from the head plumbing, is any other possible standing water somewhere.

Welcome aboard Bill.

All the above suggestions are good ones and have proved to be the cause of similar symptoms.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi Bill!
For what it’s worth, welcome! I’m new too, and just purchased a 2000 350 Mariner in October, just in time to put her to bed for the winter. We had a similar “everywhere smell.” I used Noflex Digestor (purchased online at Marinesan.com) for a few weeks. By the time I was inside, draining everything and the final pump out, the odor was mostly gone. May be worth a shot? I’m anxious to see how it works with consistent use this upcoming season.

Welcome Bill. You will find the folks on this forum friendly and very helpful.
I used the warm wet rag technique and it works. Replaced a hose and the smell is gone.
Lots of luck

This is one of the most popular questions on any of the boards I follow/participate in. All of the suggestions are always great advice. In my experience - and it is exactly that, my experience because I have gone through these excercises in my last 2 boats - is that in the end, the only SURE FIRE way of completely eliminating the smell is to replace the sanitation lines. If you can get 10 years on a sanitation line without it "weeping", you have done well. At 18 years, your answer is clear.

Bill, I replaced the hoses to no avail. in my case, it is permeation of the aft holding tank. Why the people at Carver have make up air coming from the bilge is beyond me. I took a roasting pan and secured it in the bilge. Then filled it with powdered laundry detergent. Got me through the summer, then the tank was replaced.