Storage and damp?

Ventilation is the first priority without shorepower. Then make sure the bilges are absolutely dry.
I used to keep my boat in the UK a few hundred metres downstream of you but only got there for a week or so every 3 months and then lived on board while there. All bedding and clothes were kept in vacuum bags so they were completely dry when opened. (Saved a lot of space too!) I still used to get condensation during the winter until I realised the bilges had to be dusty dry at all times. My anchor locker drained into the bilge and rain could get in via there but once that was sealed up problem solved. Arriving late on a winter night from Heathrow after a long flight was so much better when I could make the bed inside 5 minutes and know everything was dry.
 
solent clown said:
As our mooring is walking distance from the house we have been giving lot of thought to keeping the Trident completely ready just to slip the lines and go (Yes, once we have it in the water).
We will be going out for long days, and one or two nights initailly.
Apart from bringing fresh food we do not really want to be walking with a ton of ballast, so anything that can stay on board we wish to leave there.
I have as a matter of extremely high priority designed a storage system for beer, wine, ale, and spirits as such comforts are of course essential, and worth dedicating some precious cabin space to.

Main concerns are bedding, clothes, shoes. My idea is to keep those items in sealed plastic pickle barrels, unless there is an easier way to store such items. I am way too thrifty to buy dry bags, and frankly we have several boxes of clear plastic bags at work, and gaffer tape if that would do the trick.

Any tips? Am I worrying too much about damp. I suppose every boat is different but some general advice might help us get going in the right direction
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Get some vacuum bags, they keep the moisture out and and keep things nice and small for storage, of course if like me you don't have power for a vacuum, you can use batteries or just sit on them while the air escapes...

effectively a dry bag and they're usually £0.50p each

but as others have said good air flow / ventilation, prop cushions up to allow air flow underneath them, works for us, but every boats different i guess
 
Don't be tempted to use any of the magic crystals that absorb moisture. They only work in confined spaces about the size of a biscuit tin before they need baking to drive out the moisture. There's little point in trying to dry the whole of the Solent area.

The key as has been pointed out is ventilation. Have you a dorade box on the cabin top ? This allows lots of wind in, but keeps out the 'oggin. Easy enough to make up a steel one, I suppose, with a scoop on top, and certainly if you are sleeping on board, it's worth it to keep a clear head in the morning. It means when you leave the boat, it can be locked up, but with fresh air.

https://www.diy-wood-boat.com/Dorade.html
 
thanks chaps, from that myriad of advice we have distilled things down to some form of a plan. The Trident has an inbuilt vent in the main cabin. and we will be fitting a couple more which came with the boat. There is one of those little solar ones, but it is non functional so I will replace that with a standard one. Our main battle at the moment is getting the topsides watertight. I have yet to seal the windows properly - and despite the boat having a brand new set of windows supplied with it, there are not enough as this uniquely from the factory had a couple of extra windows. I need to get that sorted, then seal a few holes and flanges. The fuel filler cap is not sealed to the deck, and leaks, a broken bilge pump on the other side of the cockpit also leaks which allows water to the engine bilges. It took me a good while to work that one out as there was no obvious path for the water. Sneaky things these boats.

I guess once it is watertight we need to sponge it all out till its properly dry, then give it a really good heating with nothing in there to try and get it dry before we move it. I have a bunch of PSU fans and speed controllers, so I might add one or two for positive ventilation, maybe put them on a timer so they come on of a couple of minutes and hour. Vac bags sound good for the clothes which will be more emergency spares than to use. Dry bags sound good for stuff we will need to get to more often. Fortunately I go to the marina every day without fail, so I should be able to monitor and develop a regime based upon the advice received here.
 
All sounds sensible and I would add that once you've sealed the boat then salt is you enemy as it absorbs water and never truly allows things to dry out. So no point in drying anything full of salt. So curtains, cushions etc etc should be thoroughly washed clean of salt then dried.
 
RupertW said:
All sounds sensible and I would add that once you've sealed the boat then salt is you enemy as it absorbs water and never truly allows things to dry out. So no point in drying anything full of salt. So curtains, cushions etc etc should be thoroughly washed clean of salt then dried.
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fortunately the cushion covers and curtains came in kit form - still on a huge roll of material in a sealed bag with a load of zips!
 
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