How do I dry out my damp boat interior (Off The Grid)

[Kelpie]

How about a small wood burning stove!! Would this work?? Is there a special way to attach the flue so it doesn't scorch the fibreglass? That should dry her out and also be useful for cold nights??

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=111588846031&globalID=EBAY-GB

Well in principle, but not that one!! That's basically a bonfire in a dustbin, and I wouldn't want one anywhere except the garden of a person I perhaps didn't like very much.

A solid fuel stove/heater can work well on a boat BUT care must be taken with the flue. You do need to find a safe way of getting the flue through the deck in a manner which is watertight, which allows removal of the flue, and which will protect the structure of the boat from the heat. GRP will burn quite readily if given a chance.

I had a small charcoal heater fitted to my old boat briefly, it persistently blew smoke into the cabin because of downdrafts and only stopped doing this when I added about a metre of flue pipe above the deck. Not very practical, and it took ages to get any heat out of it.

It would help if you told us a) how often can you visit the boat; b) is the boat in the water on out on the hard?

 

[Venomgrass]

Actually stoves work pretty well for drying out - they provide heat, but the chimney means that they don't exhaust moisture into the interior. And the draw of the fire pulls in the damp air. But of course you have to be on board to run it - I assumed this was a boat that was going to be left unoccupied.

The way to pass the chimney through the deck is called a deck iron:

The trough between the outer rim and the inner pipe is kept full of water so that the rim attached to the deck stays cool.

Remind us what type of boat you have? A full-size wood stove isn't really practical on a small boat, but there are smaller charcoal stoves out there.

Pete

Thanks! So that's how it done!
The boat is a 26ft colvic sun rider GRP hull. It's moored in the dock, not always on water, being a bilge keel it sits on the mud too. I can get to the boat mainly any time after 5 and can be there until around 8-9 at night.

Any recommendations on a smaller ebay stove? Maybe one I can do a burn on and it'll stay hot for ages when I'm not thre once it's burned out??

Thanks

 

[Momac]

Bear in mind wood burning stoves produce a sooty exhaust .
It could make you very unpopular with any nice white boats moored anywhere near your boat.
.

 

[William_H]

Various thoughts come to mind from one who does not have much experience with dampness. I remove every thing and put up with damp when the boat is layed up and as soon as season starts things get dryer. You might just mop out the water and treat the susceptible wood with an anti rot treatment. The moisure in the air will not harm the GRP.
If you want to ventilate by fan then here are a range from my local electronics shop. (1$ =45p)
http://www.altronics.com.au/search/all/?sr=Fan+12v I am sure these are available in UK also.
So pretty cheap and light on current. Mount in a replaceemnt wash board or temp front hatch cover. Protect from rain though. far cheaper and more powerful than a solar vent. Probably similar price to a fan and solar panel like 20w for your battery. (40w might be better for UK winter)
You might also find you can get 240vAC if you invest in a very long extension cord. Worth investigating.
You could also think about having a cooker in the boat. An alcahol (Meth spirtits) stove is safest. Gas is more powerful but difficult/expensive to make safe. If you fit one you might consider trying to fit a temporary flue to cover the flame and take gasses outside. The flue if in ali or copper will give heat off into the cabin and is hopefully not too hot at exit. If you take the flue aft even if temporary to the bulkhead you might need a small fan if winds are contrary.
Similarly a wood or charcoal heater with a flue might be an investment for the future. it would make working on the boat in the evenings more pleasant.
Or finally you might find a generator 240vAC useful for power tools and might power at least for short periods a heater. Maybe extend the exhaust outside and run it inside. All to provide some heat. Not sure how safe that would be. be careful. good luck olewill

 

[prv]

You could also think about having a cooker in the boat. An alcahol (Meth spirtits) stove is safest. Gas is more powerful but difficult/expensive to make safe.

Both of those chuck out lots of water as they burn, though.

Pete

 

[Bobc]

Get a little 4-stroke generator and use it to power a fan heater or oil-filled radiator for when you're on the boat. This will help to dry the air out inside the boat. Then it's all about keeping a bit of ventilation going (solar vents are good for this).

 

[sailorman]

Both of those chuck out lots of water as they burn, though.

Pete

post 3

 

[sailorman]

Get a little 4-stroke generator and use it to power a fan heater or oil-filled radiator for when you're on the boat. This will help to dry the air out inside the boat. Then it's all about keeping a bit of ventilation going (solar vents are good for this).

might be counter productive as the OP will be breathing out water vapor when ob

 

[Gordonmc]

Wood or charcoal stoves won't get rid of the problem long term as they should only be used when you are on board. As others have said, ventilation is the key and solar vents won't cut the mustard (and will likely fail after a few months).
The solution for me was to build a timber box which fitted over the forecabin hatch big enough to allow the hatch to be left open. The box had louvers on the side facing the prevailing wind and stopped rain and critters getting into the boat.
By replacing one of the washboards with another with more louvers there was a constant through-draft. It kept my old wooden boat with constantly wet bilges comfortably dry through several winters on a swinging mooring.

 

[BlackPig]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XemVuvaOgqg

Solar heater, no risk of fire, can be left on all the time, cheap to make, loads of air going through the boat. win/win.

Our dinghy club now has one in each changing room to keep them dry.

 

[temptress]

Hi all,
Looking for tips and the best way to dry my boat out off the grid, I have no mains power in the dock where my boat is moored. I'm going to add a small 12v solar vent and consider an option to dry her out. Will ventillatiob alone do it or do need a parafin heater, tiny 12v dehumidifier driven from the battery, maybe swap 2 batteries charging the other at home and swapping daily?

Any tips? Thanks.

Ventilation and air movement. Get the air circulating from inside the boat to outside the boat and this will keep her dry while not letting water in. Solar powered fan and maybe run from batteries at night will create the circulation. You will be amazed at hoe effective this can be. Paraffin heater will create moisture.

 

[lw395]

When the air outside is 100% humidity, ventilation doesn't help.

The main thing is fix all rain leaks.
If you are serious about wanting a nice dry boat, get an eberbasto.
It's like demisting your car, warm air is a million times more effective that sodden cold air from the drizzle outside.

Otherwise seal the thing up and get several of those chemical dehumidifiers.

But damp is often not the real problem, that's mould/mildew etc.
Regular cleaning will help that.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I'm surprised no one has suggested tea lights and flowerpots.
Seriously the answer must be seal leaks and ventilate. That's as good as it gets in UK.

 

[Niander]

Genny and heater get it really warm in there
better than a flowerpot.

 

[smb]

I was told once that Scandinavian types dry out several sizeable logs in their airing cupboard/boiler room and once dry put them on board to absorb moisture, rotating them between boat and airing cupboard as necessary.

Not sure if it's BS, but cheap to try and easy to prove by weighing them at different stages I guess.

Steve

 

[longjohnsilver]

Genny and heater get it really warm in there
better than a flowerpot.

But surely just getting it warm doesn't actually get rid of the moisture. You also need ventilation, but then you lose the heat.
I'd suggest that if you get a genny you then run a dehumidifier. I hate to say it, but from your pics and description, you really do have a huge battle on your hands, particularly without a permanent power source.

 

[ostell]

This sort of thing keeps my boat dry. Need to empty the trays every so often. From the local hardware store

 

[agurney]

As others have said, plenty of ventilation and fresh air. Remove cushions and open lockers. Burning gas/meths/candles makes it warm but damper.

I've never had any success with silica gel crystals, either in the boat or at home, but as they can be dried out and reused there's nothing to lose; they might be OK in enclosed spaces, but useless if you're getting the through draught that you'll need to remove damp and keep the mildew away.

A couple of posts have suggest hauling out , however I've found that overwintering my Vega afloat is far drier than ashore, presumably because the sea is a tad warmer than the outside air, so less prone to condensation.