In article , Larry wrote:
Leave the AC run all summer and the dehumidifier running all winter to
keep the boat dried out. Your problem goes away as soon as the air
inside the boat is DRY, not like a North Carolina swamp.

Out of interest, is it possible to keep the air in a boat dry? OK, if
you've got a de-humidifier running 24/7, and the boat is closed up then,
yep, I expect it'll dry out, but what about a boat that's used
regularly? Can you ever dry it out?

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

Justin C wrote in
:

Out of interest, is it possible to keep the air in a boat dry? OK, if
you've got a de-humidifier running 24/7, and the boat is closed up then,
yep, I expect it'll dry out, but what about a boat that's used
regularly? Can you ever dry it out?

Justin.


Here in Charleston, we run the ACs only at the dock. It dries out the boat
all the time it's at the dock. Starting dry, the mildew and bacteria
aren't growing on everything you see as you cast off the lines and it takes
a long time for the swamp air blowing in to start that growth going. The
stuff in the enclosed spaces remain in dry air until you open the cabinet
door, extending the time the clothes keep away from the swamp condensate
and its load of growing biology. So, for many days, you get to wear clean
clothes.....usually long enough to get to the next outlet and get the AC
pumping it all out, again.

For those living like hermits on an anchor or mooring ball, just like
sleeping with the flashlights and doing without many other things, living
in the swampwater is just another stick inconvenience in a long string of
hermit inconveniences.

"Justin C" wrote in message
...
In article , Larry wrote:
Leave the AC run all summer and the dehumidifier running all winter to
keep the boat dried out. Your problem goes away as soon as the air
inside the boat is DRY, not like a North Carolina swamp.

Out of interest, is it possible to keep the air in a boat dry? OK, if
you've got a de-humidifier running 24/7, and the boat is closed up then,
yep, I expect it'll dry out, but what about a boat that's used
regularly? Can you ever dry it out?

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

The two most important words, IMO, are, "Insulate and ventilate." Insulating
both above and below the waterline wherever possible keeps condensation
down, while ventilation keeps the humidity inside the boat close to that of
outside the boat, but prevents stale air and heat build-up. Solar-powered
Nicro Day/Night vents work very well if properly placed, combined with
passive vents belowdecks. The problem is not heat and humidity per se, but
differences in heat and humidity.

KLC Lewis wrote:
"Justin C" wrote in message
...
In article , Larry wrote:
Leave the AC run all summer and the dehumidifier running all winter to
keep the boat dried out. Your problem goes away as soon as the air
inside the boat is DRY, not like a North Carolina swamp.
Out of interest, is it possible to keep the air in a boat dry? OK, if
you've got a de-humidifier running 24/7, and the boat is closed up then,
yep, I expect it'll dry out, but what about a boat that's used
regularly? Can you ever dry it out?

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

The two most important words, IMO, are, "Insulate and ventilate." Insulating
both above and below the waterline wherever possible keeps condensation
down, while ventilation keeps the humidity inside the boat close to that of
outside the boat, but prevents stale air and heat build-up. Solar-powered
Nicro Day/Night vents work very well if properly placed, combined with
passive vents belowdecks. The problem is not heat and humidity per se, but
differences in heat and humidity.


If you're living aboard, however, in a temperate region such as NC where
night temps are known to drop into the low 20's, keeping inside and
outside air equal would be quite daunting! Gives a whole new definition
to "frostbiting"!

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:11:47 -0500, katy
wrote:

KLC Lewis wrote:
"Justin C" wrote in message
...
In article , Larry wrote:
Leave the AC run all summer and the dehumidifier running all winter to
keep the boat dried out. Your problem goes away as soon as the air
inside the boat is DRY, not like a North Carolina swamp.
Out of interest, is it possible to keep the air in a boat dry? OK, if
you've got a de-humidifier running 24/7, and the boat is closed up then,
yep, I expect it'll dry out, but what about a boat that's used
regularly? Can you ever dry it out?

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

The two most important words, IMO, are, "Insulate and ventilate." Insulating
both above and below the waterline wherever possible keeps condensation
down, while ventilation keeps the humidity inside the boat close to that of
outside the boat, but prevents stale air and heat build-up. Solar-powered
Nicro Day/Night vents work very well if properly placed, combined with
passive vents belowdecks. The problem is not heat and humidity per se, but
differences in heat and humidity.


If you're living aboard, however, in a temperate region such as NC where
night temps are known to drop into the low 20's, keeping inside and
outside air equal would be quite daunting! Gives a whole new definition
to "frostbiting"!

Kati, are you a troll? You should be able to figure out what to do
when the A.C. is too cold...
Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
...

"Justin C" wrote in message
...
In article , Larry wrote:
Leave the AC run all summer and the dehumidifier running all winter to
keep the boat dried out. Your problem goes away as soon as the air
inside the boat is DRY, not like a North Carolina swamp.

Out of interest, is it possible to keep the air in a boat dry? OK, if
you've got a de-humidifier running 24/7, and the boat is closed up then,
yep, I expect it'll dry out, but what about a boat that's used
regularly? Can you ever dry it out?

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

The two most important words, IMO, are, "Insulate and ventilate."
Insulating both above and below the waterline wherever possible keeps
condensation down, while ventilation keeps the humidity inside the boat
close to that of outside the boat, but prevents stale air and heat
build-up. Solar-powered Nicro Day/Night vents work very well if properly
placed, combined with passive vents belowdecks. The problem is not heat
and humidity per se, but differences in heat and humidity.


I agree. I've got the spaces between the component (inner liner) and the
hull all poured with two-part, urethane closed-cell foam. It makes the boat
stronger, quieter, unsinkable and eliminates the condensation in all but the
most ideal conditions for it. The overhead will get condensation on it when
cooking and boiling water but that's about it and that soon evaporates. Also
keeping the hatches open when aboard, which is most of the time for us real
sailors, helps keep the boat surfaces and air temperature in synch so you're
correct there Karin. When the water becomes colder than the air, regular
uninsulated boats sweat something awful on the inside surfaces below, at and
slightly above the water line. The same principle as a glass of iced tea
'sweating.'

If a boat doesn't have an insulated hull it's going to sweat and their is
nothing that can be done for it bar making a floating home out of it and
keeping it plugged into the grid and running de-humidifiers and air
conditioners. If you have to do that then what's the use of even owning a
boat. Just another waste of resources. Why is it people never even consider
that boats were never meant to be as luxurious as homes ashore. Sail them
and stop complaining or just find something else to do.

Wilbur Hubbard

"katy" wrote in message
om...
We're having some problems with damp seeping in. Both the v-berth and the
aft cabin have wood bins on the sides for storage...these are open and
about 9 inches deep. That's where we store our clothes. The hull side and
bottoms are carpeted with the same fabric as the the liner, a sort of
nubbly burlappy material but more closely woven. It seems the clothes on
the bottom are always damp. I've been rotating them so they won't mildew
but that's getting tedious. Also have damp problems where the cushions
meet the hull walls in the berths. Got some roll out thick paper stuff
from West Marine but as soon as it gets damp, the sheets start picking up
moisture again. I've taken to running fans all the time to keep air
circulating and am cutting back on boiling anything or running the heater
excessively when it's raining so humidity doesn't build up. I've got 3M
window plastic over the ports and the vents are all open and drawing.
Thought of using DampRid, but since NC is in a permanent state of humid,
we'd be going through one of those every other day. Any suggestions on how
to keep damp and mildew from forming (except stopping breathing
processes)?


I like the "stop breathing" idea. I wish you'd try it.

--
Gregory Hall

"Gregory Hall" wrote in message
...

"katy" wrote in message
om...
We're having some problems with damp seeping in. Both the v-berth and the
aft cabin have wood bins on the sides for storage...these are open and
about 9 inches deep. That's where we store our clothes. The hull side and
bottoms are carpeted with the same fabric as the the liner, a sort of
nubbly burlappy material but more closely woven. It seems the clothes on
the bottom are always damp. I've been rotating them so they won't mildew
but that's getting tedious. Also have damp problems where the cushions
meet the hull walls in the berths. Got some roll out thick paper stuff
from West Marine but as soon as it gets damp, the sheets start picking
up moisture again. I've taken to running fans all the time to keep air
circulating and am cutting back on boiling anything or running the heater
excessively when it's raining so humidity doesn't build up. I've got 3M
window plastic over the ports and the vents are all open and drawing.
Thought of using DampRid, but since NC is in a permanent state of humid,
we'd be going through one of those every other day. Any suggestions on
how to keep damp and mildew from forming (except stopping breathing
processes)?


I like the "stop breathing" idea. I wish you'd try it.

--
Gregory Hall


I don't think that will work, Greg, there isn't all that much humidity
coming from respiration, even from an old windbag like her but I'm
definitely all for an "assume room temperature" approach. . . That's a
winner for all concerned.

Wilbur Hubbard

"katy" wrote in message
om...
We're having some problems with damp seeping in. Both the v-berth and the
aft cabin have wood bins on the sides for storage...these are open and
about 9 inches deep. That's where we store our clothes. The hull side and
bottoms are carpeted with the same fabric as the the liner, a sort of
nubbly burlappy material but more closely woven. It seems the clothes on
the bottom are always damp. I've been rotating them so they won't mildew
but that's getting tedious. Also have damp problems where the cushions
meet the hull walls in the berths. Got some roll out thick paper stuff
from West Marine but as soon as it gets damp, the sheets start picking up
moisture again. I've taken to running fans all the time to keep air
circulating and am cutting back on boiling anything or running the heater
excessively when it's raining so humidity doesn't build up. I've got 3M
window plastic over the ports and the vents are all open and drawing.
Thought of using DampRid, but since NC is in a permanent state of humid,
we'd be going through one of those every other day. Any suggestions on how
to keep damp and mildew from forming (except stopping breathing
processes)?


I like the "stop breathing" idea. I wish you'd try it.

--
Gregory Hall

On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 09:57:29 -0500, katy
wrote:

We're having some problems with damp seeping in. Both the v-berth and
the aft cabin have wood bins on the sides for storage...these are open
and about 9 inches deep. That's where we store our clothes. The hull
side and bottoms are carpeted with the same fabric as the the liner, a
sort of nubbly burlappy material but more closely woven. It seems the
clothes on the bottom are always damp. I've been rotating them so they
won't mildew but that's getting tedious. Also have damp problems where
the cushions meet the hull walls in the berths. Got some roll out thick
paper stuff from West Marine but as soon as it gets damp, the sheets
start picking up moisture again. I've taken to running fans all the time
to keep air circulating and am cutting back on boiling anything or
running the heater excessively when it's raining so humidity doesn't
build up. I've got 3M window plastic over the ports and the vents are
all open and drawing. Thought of using DampRid, but since NC is in a
permanent state of humid, we'd be going through one of those every other
day. Any suggestions on how to keep damp and mildew from forming (except
stopping breathing processes)?

I use a small electric dehumidifier - it seems to keep things fairly
dry (unless there's an actual leak somewhere).

My dehumidifier will sit in the sink, and I have taped down the "bin
full" float, so that it won't turn off if the water bin fills - it
just overflows into the sink, then overboard.


--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca