Will the mold smell go away?

[Janiree]

I have an important, although possibly stupid, question for all you Hatteras owners. We are thinking of buying a 1995 48' Cockpit Motor Yacht that has lovely bones. It needs a lot of work in the interior for my floating condo to be liveable. I love the whole floorplan of the salon, galley & cockpit, but the smell of mold is all over the boat. If we fix the leaky windows, replace the carpet, re-upholster the couch and replace some of the woodwork that has been stained, WILL THE SMELL GO AWAY? My fear is that if the smell is in the inside of the fiberglass or something like that, we will be stuck witha yacht that I am cannot be on for very long!
Thank you for answering a novice boat owner.....
J&M

[Canuck Dennis]

In my experience it will go away, however, you MUST get all of it, even a strip of wood a foot long that is impregnated with mold will give off odor, so, you are facing a major operation, perhaps asking some "professionals" as to an opinion of what you are contemplating might be worth the effort.

[akintosyali]

I went through what you plan to do. It is a 3 step process, and cant skip any pieces:
1- figure out the source of moisture. Fix that issue before you do anything else, and use the expensive caulk while doing it.

2-This is where you can go cheap if you need to: replace all carpeting. Replace any fabric shades. Replace the ceiling cover (good time to add more insulation and LED lights if you want). any wet wood, replace. Wipe all exposed surfaces with a deodorized bleach (clorox has a bunch of smells you can go with) Spray Lysol through out all lockers, engine room, bilges etc.

3-Keep the boat air conditioned at all times. I leave the AC at 80 when I am not there, and 74 when I am there.

If you do all 3, you will get rid of the smell, and keep it that way too.

[saltshaker]

Is it moldy or just musty? Hard to say without knowing the extent of the problem and what is affected. Replacing all the fabric will typically get rid of most of it but you need to know what the source is and where the mold is growing. The fiberglass can be cleaned and won't get impregnated with mold like more porous materials. Wood can usually be cleaned up but it needs to be thorough. Take a good look at the headliner. There may be mold growing between the headliner and the underside of the deck. Most likely you can clean it up without issue but without seeing it we can't say. There are a few here that do this type of work professionally. I would seek their advice and if in your area their services as well. At the very least have a professional look at it before you get too deep into it. I would do that before spending the money on surveys. A simple clean up can turn into a big expense if the boat needs to be torn apart to get it properly cleaned.