Boat cushions in winter

[Halo]

At my yacht club, and I believe many others, it's prohibited to leave mains power connected to an unattended boat, due to the fire risk - so electric dehumidifiers are not a possibility.

I have fabric covered berth cushions and wrap them in cling-film over the winter - no damp, no pong.

Do you switch of the mains at the incomer at your house when you go out? Do you sleep soundly with a house full of electric gadgets?
With modern circuit breakers there is surely an acceptable level of risk associted with leaving power to boats over winter. I suspect whoever is doing your club's risk assessments or insurance is causing unecessary ristrictions to members.
I would put the boat somewhere where the management has common sense.
Having had the pleasure of really drying her out with a de humidifier over winter I would not give this up lightly

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

When laying up in winter everyone (including me) always takes the boat cushions home.

As you can see from the replies your base assertion is incorrect. Most people do not take them home. They either dehumidify, or do as we do which is to provide a little heat and ventilation.

 

[Zagato]

Thanks. I agree with all of that, but my query is really this - if you leave just the foam rubber insides of the cushions on the boat and take the fabric covers (probably man made) home, will you have a problem then? In other words, does bare foam rubber suffer in dampish surroundings?

Yes they may get damp/mouldy as well. It all depends on your boat/ventilation etc. Not everyone takes the seat squabs out of caravans or boats. You could try leaving them in and keep an eye on them. I will probably do this as space is also limited at home especially for two boats. I used to leave my seat squabs in all our caravans and they were perfectly OK. I don't have any wet bilges inside the cabin and have good ventilation so I'll see how they fare - any signs of mould and i'll whip them out!

 

[KREW2]

It depends whether the foam is open or closed cell.

Not all sponge is the same.

Didn't know that.
So much to learn and so little time.

 

[pvb]

When laying up in winter everyone (including me) always takes the boat cushions home.

I don't! Always leave them in the boat, and the boat in the water. No dehumidifier; no heater. Just natural ventilation. Never a problem.

 

[Georgio]

I tend to take the base cushions home but the seat backs are are a bit more of a faff to remove so stay on. If I didn't have the space at home it wouldn't worry me too much to leave onboard as long as there is plenty of ventalation.

If I'm doing any internal sanding/painting/varnishing work over the winter having the cushions off does make life easier.