Keeping Critters Out of Boats

[Dutchman]

Could shaved Irish Spring Soap stain the fiberglass on a 2008 Montauk 150?

I just winterized my boats and stored them in a temporary type garage building. In order to keep the critters out I have always used Irish Spring soap in the past with my "woodies" with great success. I once made the mistake of using mothballs and had to live with that awful smell for three-quarters of the season. I have tried dryer sheet which the mice use for bedding but the soap seems to work, and they never left a stain on my painted bilge, varnish, vinyl or carpet.

My wife is worried that the soap will stain the fiberglass gel coat. I'm not a chemist so I don't know.
What is your opinion? I don't want to discover five months from now that the green soap did leave stains.

[Hoosier]

This is interesting. I use mothballs when I put my boats away in my barn in the UP. Something that smells better is welcome. I wonder if only Irish Spring works or whether any deodorant or antiseptic soap would work. You ought to rename this thread to "Keeping Critters Out of Boats."

[jimh]

I have not tried them, but I was told that BOUNCE-brand dryer sheets were effective in repelling small animals from taking up habitat in a boat stored for the winter.

[SwampYankee]

If you have had good success in the past why not set the soap on a soap dish or a plate to keep it off of the gel coat. I feel that it would be just as effective on a dish of some sort as it would be sitting on the gel coat .

[Dutchman]

If you have had good success in the past why not set the soap on a soap dish or a plate to keep it off of the gel coat. I feel that it would be just as effective on a dish of some sort as it would be sitting on the gel coat .

That is what my Admiral said and if I were as smart as she is I would have done that, but now I have shavings all over the boat and the boat tidied up and closed up in the dark without a vacuum available.
Hence I want to know if I screwed up! Next time I will sheet it (aluminum foil, baking sheet).

Jim--I heard about the dryer sheets too and used that in my old MG once, The mice ripped [the dryer sheets] apart and used it for nesting. Apparently the smell dissipates after a while, making dryer sheets ineffective for longer than seven months. They might work for a shorter lay-up here in Michigan.

Hoosier--I heard (for whatever reason) that Dove, Dial, Tone, etc. don''t work as well as Irish Spring. I use a sheet-rock rasp to shave it. You could break up the bars too. In my bigger boats the clean-up in the bilge was easy: some water, a little scrubbing, and drain, which I was planning to do this spring with the Boston Whaler.

[Gerry123]

Use GOOGLE to search on the phrase "EarthKind." Read about Fresh Cab, the mice repellent packets that confuse a mouse's sense of smell, and he stays away. --Gerry

[AZdave]

I think the gel coat in Boston Whaler boats is polyester resin. If you do a search for "polyester resin vanity", it appears that many vanity tops are made of [polyester resin] material. Most vanity tops have bars of soap left on them, so it shouldn't be a problem.

[Hoosier]

http://www.earthkind.com/how-to-use/fresh-cab-auto-marine-rv#.VkH4EYQshrU