Do Boats Cause Cancer ?

[barnakiel]

If we knew what causes cancer, we could just remove the carcinogens and there would be no cancer. Neither on the boats nor elsewhere.

b.

[delmarrey]

Well, if the boats going to kill me, then so be it. At least, I'll die doing something that I enjoy!

[Fast Forward]

Rumour has it that for every day you spend cruising you gain a year : you have none of the stresses and strains from daily life on land!! What a bonus!! The sun is always an issue and one can never wear or cover up enough or have enough shade. But quite frankly I'd be far more worried about getting cancer from living on land than applying 3 coats of anti-fouling...

[flysci]

Yeah, at least on the boat you're only dealing with your own collection of possible cancer causers, not a whole city full of everyone else's!

[SaltyMonkey]

Ahh, but are these positive comments about "just being out there is good" just a deflection of the truth...a denial of what we know are the cold realistic facts?

BTW if there is anyone here whom I scared to death and wishes to sell me their Fisher 30, 32, 34, or 37 please contact me ASAP.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Err...didn't say it caused the most deaths...just cancer...

The prototype stories I am running into all the time:

- Recent retiree or close to retirement...fixing his/her boat up for a few years...then ditches cruising plans due to serious illness.
- Cruisers out there for a short while who have to give up the life due to serious illness, sell their boat in some port and return home.

G'Day Monkey,

On the off chance that you are serious, the thing to note in your examples is the short time between exposure to the boat and the development of the cancer.

Owning a boat, while being a very very healthy thing to do, can't make up for the years of previous exposure to the slings and arrows of life in our modern world. A medical friend once told me that if I lived long enough I'd probably get prostate cancer... but that I would not likely die from it. I think that he was serious. Point is, I think that you are worrying too much about trivial risks.

On the other hand, if not serious...
Not only are boats surrounded by dihydrogen oxide, but that substance is laced with Sodium Chloride. Sodium, as you may know, is a toxic and explosive metal, and Chlorine is a very toxic gas, used as a weapon in WWI.
Yikes indeed!

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Towlers Bay, NSW, Oz

[roverhi]

A few Westsails had teak decks over the FRP deck. They were vastly in the minority however. The FRP layup had a plywood core but so do most homes. Personally, think you are nuts if you actually believe that boats cause cancer. If you are serious about the cancer thing, suggest immediate suicide as something is gonna get you eventually. If you live long enough, you will get prostate cancer, guaranteed. It's doubtful it will be what does you in, however.

[tager]

Yea, boat things cause cancer. Best way to deal with it is recognize the hazards and minimize them. No need to be laying up a new transom inside a sealed paint tent naked in 110 degree weather without a respirator.

Although I am under the impression that this is the way most boatyards operate.

[s/vfootloose]

An old guy goes to the docter for a physical. They take a bunch of tests. After they are done he asks if he will live another twenty years. The dr. asks if he drinks "no,I don't touch the stuff" The Dr. asks if he smokes "never" Do you go out sailing, have fun on the water? " No I live in a retirement community but I do play bingo 3 times a week" The Dr. asks do you chase wild women? " are you crazy I've been married 50 years and would never do something like that" The Dr. says "so why do you care"
And with that it's time for bed so I can leave in the am to the keys for a couple of weeks on my boat to work on getting cancer. By the way I have a Westsail.

[VirtualVagabond]

Worrying about cancer causes cancer...
and Fisher 30s, 32s, 34s, and 37s...

[agrainofsand]

You are going to die sometime somewhere of something. Might as well be on a boat, you cant smell any worse then dead fish.

[S/V_Surya]

I have often smelled worse than a dead fish. Or so I'm told.

[flysci]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

A medical friend once told me that if I lived long enough I'd probably get prostate cancer... but that I would not likely die from it.

SaltyMonkey,

This is true, because it's such a slow growing cancer.

On the other hand, there is research indicating the the more often you ej@cul&te during your lifetime, the less likely you are to have prostate problems. So get busy!

Margo

[agrainofsand]

research indicating the the more often you ej@cul&te during your lifetime, the less likely you are to have prostate problems. So get busy

Well this will give me something to do on a lonely night watch.

[rebel heart]

That "everything causes cancer" stuff is garbage. The vast majority of cancer causes are understood, and the majority of them are completely inside your control (and of course some, like growing older, are not):

What You Need To Know About™ Cancer - National Cancer Institute

Growing older
Tobacco
Sunlight
Ionizing radiation
Certain chemicals and other substances
Some viruses and bacteria
Certain hormones
Family history of cancer
Alcohol
Poor diet, lack of physical activity, or being overweight

It's usually someone who eats horrible food and doesn't excercise who throws out the "whatever! everything causes cancer!" statement. If it makes you feel better, keep saying it. But don't think for a minute that the plural of antecdotal is data.

More to the original thread's question, I decided to review the MSDS for epoxy and fillers to make sure I was using the right cartridges for my ventillation mask, and to get an idea of how toxic they were and what I could do to help myself.

And what a shocker, they don't cause cancer. It's a good idea to review the MSDS of any chemicals you routinely work with on your boat.

Safety MSDS

If you're doing a lot of things in your life that make you a high risk case for cancer, that's your life choice. Don't pretend you can't do a lot of things that can dramatically improve your risk profile.