anti-condensation matting

[rays]

At the Boat Show we saw natural matting, ruberised about 15cm thick being sold by all the bedding suppliers as a way of stopping the underside of foam matresses staying damp and, eventually, going mouldy. It looked like a good idea. Has anyone tried this product? We are taking delivery of "pre-owned" boat (that's broker-speak for second hand apparently) this week end and want to make sleeping onboard as pleasant as possible. Have decided that fitted sheets are a no-brainer, but unsure what else would be a good investment. Anyone have any good ideas to pass on?

CD

 

[maxi]

15mm thick, yes. It really does keep the bottom of the matresses dry. There will still be condensation present but it is confined to the ventilation layer and does not create mildew. Highly recommended

 

[Wever]

I used curved plywood slats from IKEA to keep air flowing under the mattress. They come in 70, 80 and 90cm lengths with rubber sides to hold them in place and are very cheap. It works fine

 

[Sailfree]

Air circulation is important. On a charter boat as it is used so much unless the matresses are turned to dry each day without the addition of something condensation and mildew is inevitable.

Cold water tanks beneath the bunks don't help. I went for the plastic spring mattresses that raise the matress off the base by about 25mm. Got them at a boat show from Victoria Boat Co.

They really are excellent and the cleaners remarked how much better our boat is to others in the fleet and shouldn't they all be fitted!

Anything that raises and insulates the u/s of the matress helps but the springs are the DB's.

 

[Abigail]

This is often discussed, incluidng on the liveaboard forum. We have lived aboard for nearly 4 years, including 3 UK winters, so have given this problem quite a lot of thought. Some of these steps are not so necessary if you don't liveaboard over winter.

We used the natural mat coir underlay for a bit (and they made us a fab mattress to put on top of it) but got rid of it because it got soaked and never dried out. Now we use the ventair which works v well and is easily cut and shaped around odd corners. In partiuclar, we have lots of lockers under bunks and if we had to move whole mattresses and then the slats, it would be a major pain. But if you didn't have that requirement, or not often, you might find the ikea solution really effective. Lots of people swear by it.

Also - if you can, insulate the underside of the locker lid with 6mm closed cell foam, especialliy if you have cold water tanks in there, and consider insulating the whole of the inside of the hull, or the area around where you sleep with closed cell foam under the headlining, or under automotive carpet. Some liveaboard pals also put heatshrunk wrap (like thick cling flim) on the inside of the windows which makes a huge difference in temperature and condensation, particularly in a pilot house.

The problem is not cold, so if you can bear to keep your scuttles ajar and/or dorade vents open, you will also help a lot. If not, a small oil radiator from any shop on an inverter or transformer will also make a big difference.

We also use two v small dehumidifiers which are great, but would not do if you're not aboard all the time,because they fill up. But they are v easy to stow.

HTH

 

[FAITIRA]

The "ventair" is excellent, we live aboard, bought it from hawkehead in the UK.

 

[alan]

I second Wever: IKEA Marine has second-to-none prices !! and the slats work fine.

Alan.

 

[rays]

Thanks for the advice all. Just to be clear, what is "ventair" Is that the slats or some other form of underlay?

CD

 

[FAITIRA]

Try Googleing VENTAIR it should come up ok, the material is like a thin, 15mm thick matress, works really well and is easy to move for cleaning or access to lockers, reasonable too, I think it was about 50euros for plenty for a double bunk, including carr to Ireland.