moisture/dampness

[Johnboy2004]

does anyone have any suggestion on how to keep dampness / moisture out of a yachts cabin? i know a dehumidifier will do the trick but the yachts only 21' ..

any ideas?

or do i just need a big bag of silica gel?


cheers

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[muchy_]

Ventalation, ventalation and more ventalation.
If you can get a nice airflow through the cabin you wont get the dampness.

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[snowleopard]

forget silica gel, it will absorb half a pint perhaps but we are talking gallons.

apart from a dehumidifier, a bit of heating and moderate amounts of ventilation.

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[paulrossall]

When I first bought my 30 year old boat 4 years ago it used to get damp. I replaced the leaking windows and re seated every deck fitting that was leaking, and when staying on it during/after heavy rain I searched the boat for leaks until I had eliminated them. I have ventilators (the upside-down saucer type things) on the roof. Now my boat is dry and not damp. I don't think you need humidifiers/heating etc to keep your boat dampfree. IMHO.Paul

<hr width=100% size=1>" there is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats".

 

[boatless]

In a smaller boat the best thing to do is a) ventilate as above, but b) take your cushions home. What can't get damp can stay on the boat.

Oh, and ps. Wash it out with fresh water if you even think that there is salt water down below.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by boatless on 04/04/2004 22:41 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Johnboy2004]

hi thanks for info

does anyone know where i can buy online, the solar powered ventilators? the saucer type?
cheers

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[rhc21]

We had a 211 last season (great fun). There were 4 of us on the boat, 2 adults and 2 young kids. After a night sleeping on her we had condensation dripping off the roof in bucket loads. Leaving the hatch slightly open helped.
As for leaving the boat, we just used one of the 'moisture trap' plastic units (£3.99 from Halfords) and emptied it everytime we went down. They lasted about 3-4 weeks before needing replacing. Also turned the cushions to stand on their edges. This worked right up until early November (still afloat) and we had no dampness problems at all.

Have fun.

Richard.

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[Benbow]

I have a 10W solar panel that is normally used to trickle charge the batteries. I have a brushless fan scrounged from a computer power supply screwed beneath a normal vent. When I leave the boat I can choose either to use the panel to trickle the batteries or to directly power the fan. This is many times more effecive than the naff solar fan which I returned as almost useless.

In fact, having done the sums I can *almost* do both, ie use the panel to maintain the batteries and leave the fan running constantly. A 5W panel would be more than enough to power just a single fan (OR maintain the batteries) while a 20W panel would easily allow me to run the fan continually from the battery.

After the boat has been shut-up for a while, there is a major difference in the atmosphere depending on whether the fan has been running or not.






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[extravert]

I have seen them in Mailspeed's shop, so you'll will be able to get one from them online or via phone.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/>http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/</A>

<hr width=100% size=1>One day, I want to be a real sailor. In the mean time I'll just keep tri-ing.

 

[wooslehunter]

Totally agree with ventilation. This winter, I removed everything that could absorb moisture: cushions, warps etc. I put a cover over the top & opened the ports. The boat is alomost totally clear of mould/mildew except in the 1/4 berths where there is no ventiation. The overheads here have a nice crop of blackness. Now I'm considering some way to vetilate this area.

I heard on here that someone painted the overheads with white deck paint. This kept the area clear.

Any other ideas anyone?

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[AndrewB]

This is a FAQ, do a search.

Its all about keeping the air inside the yacht above dew point, avoiding warm damp air inside, cold air outside, and places creating a steep temperature gradient between them. The answers are (1) ventilation, (2) insulation, and (3) dehumidification. A combination is best.

(1) Ventilation alone is generally impractical in an English winter: nothing short of leaving the hatches open will keep the internal air fully circulated.

(2) Insulation works well in a double-skinned yacht but uses too much space in a very small one. A small greenhouse heater can serve the same purpose of keeping the inside air above dewpoint when the outside temperature drops.

(3) A dehumidifier works a treat but requires mains power and is bulky to have aboard. Forget gel, chemical dehumidifiers are a complete waste of money for this purpose.

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[pheran]

When we kept our boat in the UK we tried just about everything. Without a doubt the best cost to effectiveness solution is to buy a 5lb bag of ordinary cooking salt(less than £1.50) and to place soup bowls half full of salt throughout the interior of the boat. We never suffered any sign of mildew etc.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>A convert to steel boats and displacement cruising - the only way to go</font color=blue>

 

[Johnboy2004]

hey thanks for the info.
i just found out that i have access to quite a few of these fans,
i tested one just now, far more power than the solar ones sold in the chandlery shop, also the fan comes in a bracket with screws so that i could mount it to the airvent on the wash board.

the spec of the fan that i got was ->
DC brushless fan
DC 12v
0.18A

i priced a 5W solar panel and it was around 200 euros...

i tested this fan and it works quite well at 6V dc.

so i guess it uses very little power.

anyone know where i can get cheap solar panels?

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[Johnboy2004]

hi folks , can a solar panel fully charge a boats 12v battery?

if so, how long would it take,

cheers

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[Benbow]

200 Euros is too much, 75 pounds is more typical.

Can a solar panel charge a boat's battery ? Of course. How long does it take ? Not easy to give a quick answer - depends on output voltage, power, temperature and sunshine.

But a 5W panel will maintain a small boat's battery at full charge between weekend sails, but won't contribute much when the boat is in use. Also note a 5W panel will not need a regulator on a typical boat battery but a bigger one will.

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[AndrewB]

Start a new thread ...

... or do a search as this too is frequently asked (e.g. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ybw.com/cgi-bin/forums/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=pbo&Number=485878>HERE</A>).

It's always worth searching the forum before posting a simple technical query, because some of the best informed regulars tire of repeating information.