I will be leaving my Sea Ray 185 parked in my driveway this winter (we're
about 50 to 60 miles north of San Francisco.

What do I need to do to keep it from developing a mold and mildew problem
over the winter?

The boat has snap-in carpet and a boat cover. It will get very little use
during the winter, but might see a day or two on the water.

Any tips for my first winter with a boat will be appreciated.

Bryan,
Spread around some anti-mildew packets around the boat. They are supposed to
last about 3 months, but you can extend that by only partially opening their packaging. They are
made by a company called Starbrite and are now on sale at
West Marine for $5.97 a package of two packets. I have used these when storing my boat in the
Florida Keys. You don't want to open the boat while in storage or you will dillute the effect of
the packets, and definitely air it out when it comes out of storage. I was using about 4 to 6
packets for my 22 footer. Now I am back in the
chilly Great Lakes, so I will use much less of the stuff this winter.

Sherwin D.

Bryan wrote:

I will be leaving my Sea Ray 185 parked in my driveway this winter (we're
about 50 to 60 miles north of San Francisco.

What do I need to do to keep it from developing a mold and mildew problem
over the winter?

The boat has snap-in carpet and a boat cover. It will get very little use
during the winter, but might see a day or two on the water.

Any tips for my first winter with a boat will be appreciated.

Bryan wrote:
I will be leaving my Sea Ray 185 parked in my driveway this winter (we're
about 50 to 60 miles north of San Francisco.

What do I need to do to keep it from developing a mold and mildew problem
over the winter?

The boat has snap-in carpet and a boat cover. It will get very little use
during the winter, but might see a day or two on the water.

Any tips for my first winter with a boat will be appreciated.


I bought a large canvas tarp to cover my sailboat last year. Used the
mast as a ridgepole and made sure air could circulate the entire length
of the boat. That is...it was open at both ends for air to blow in. Not
a hint of mildew in a damp seaside climate.

also, put a bucket of Mr. Melt or stuff like it in the boat.
It will absorb all the moisture. Did it for 17 years with
our 34' house boat and had no problems.
Capt. boots
"Don White" wrote in message
...
Bryan wrote:
I will be leaving my Sea Ray 185 parked in my driveway
this winter (we're
about 50 to 60 miles north of San Francisco.

What do I need to do to keep it from developing a mold and
mildew problem
over the winter?

The boat has snap-in carpet and a boat cover. It will get
very little use
during the winter, but might see a day or two on the
water.

Any tips for my first winter with a boat will be
appreciated.


I bought a large canvas tarp to cover my sailboat last year.
Used the
mast as a ridgepole and made sure air could circulate the
entire length
of the boat. That is...it was open at both ends for air to
blow in. Not
a hint of mildew in a damp seaside climate.

Bryan wrote:
I will be leaving my Sea Ray 185 parked in my driveway this winter (we're
about 50 to 60 miles north of San Francisco.

What do I need to do to keep it from developing a mold and mildew problem
over the winter?

The boat has snap-in carpet and a boat cover. It will get very little use
during the winter, but might see a day or two on the water.

Any tips for my first winter with a boat will be appreciated.

Unsnap the snap-in carpet and take it out. Follow with any easily
removed seat cushions. Store them in a dry place, (an attached garage
would be OK).
These items tend to attract and hold moisture, so why push the rock up
a steeper hill than you need to?

Rig a canvas cover that will drain water over the edges rather than
allow it to puddle up in the middle. That's the first key, keep the
boat dry.

Make sure there are some good sized vents in the canvas cover. The
second key to avoiding a mildew mess in the spring is to keep the air
circulating.
If you can rig an electrical cord from the house or the garage to the
boat, one of the low wattage heater/dryers would help ensure a dry
environment inside the boat and will stimulate some air movement as the
slightly warmed air will tend to rise.

Plenty of ventilation. I keep my MaXum under plastic tarps on the
trailer year round while not in use. The tarps are arranged with open
areas at the bow and stern. Under the tarps, I keep the deck hatches
open about an inch, and leave the portholes cracked with the inner
screens in place on all. Here in rainy Seattle, mold/mildew is
practically non-existant. Even so, some mold/mildew is likely on
surfaces that have some organic material, such as hand prints, over the
galley, in the fridge, head, etc. Careful cleaning in these areas before
storage is recommended.
JR

Bryan wrote:
I will be leaving my Sea Ray 185 parked in my driveway this winter (we're
about 50 to 60 miles north of San Francisco.

What do I need to do to keep it from developing a mold and mildew problem
over the winter?

The boat has snap-in carpet and a boat cover. It will get very little use
during the winter, but might see a day or two on the water.

Any tips for my first winter with a boat will be appreciated.




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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

In CT I have the boat shrink-wrapped at season's end. The
shrinkwrappers include vents to allow ventilation and prevent moisture
from being trapped. Come Spring, I don't keep the shrinkwrap on too
long after the first few warm weeks or I end up with a mildew forest
onboard - as I did one year. Ick.

From the end of Oct to middle May it sits on the trailer in the
driveway. I put 3 or 4 Damp-Rids in to help absorb any moisture.

Carpet, lifejackets, electronics, leftover food & soda should all come
out for storage. If your boat won't be used you'd definitely want to
winterize the engine even if the temps don't get low enough to freeze.
The anticorrosive properties of the antifreeze are helpful.