What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

[Ryanhdd]

I have a 175 bayliner br and have a really nice custom cover, I give her a good wash after taking her out and let it dry as best it can for a few days before i put the cover on it,(this is only if i know i will not be able to take her out on a weekend, otherwise i leave the cover off) I then get out my shop vac and suck all the water out of the bilge, the left over that it does not get. Then wipe it down. Now the carpet is still damp but i put the cover on anyways. I do go out and take the back of the cover off when its a nice day outside. Anyway I do have a cover vent i just have not installed it yet. what do you guys do?

 

[Capt'n Chris]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

Run a dehumidifier under your cover. And if your cover is not vented, there are vents that you can add to it. Air has to circulate or you'll end up with a mess!

 

[woosterken]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I have one of these and it works great!!..............

http://www.bilgewizard.com/

woosterken

 

[werthert]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I have one of these and it works great!!..............

http://www.bilgewizard.com/

woosterken

You know that has given me an idea... I have a few small fans on my boat... gonna see if I can rig something up via undoing a few snaps and securing a fan in the opening... I'm in a covered slip, should work.

EDIT: Hooked it up, looked at it working.... then disassembled. Yeah... on second thought I don't want to leave a fan plugged in while I am not there... you guys post too many "marina in flames" links for me to even think about it.

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I like my bilge-Wizard, when the motor burned out ,I replaced it with a computer fan from walMart, its the housing that they sell that is special.

 

[ziggy]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

1st, i try not to get it wet inside the boat. i got carpet. if i do, i also let it sit in the sun till dry. then i vac. the carpet. usually i don't get the inside wet though. but i do get horrible condensation as i overnight onboard and everything gets damp. anyways. the cover i got alleges that it's a breathable cover, it must be. as i don't have problems with wet inside. even if a little damp. the cover still lets it breath enough to let the moisture evaporate. i don't seem to have mold or mildew problems either. a good, breathable cover i think is a real step in the right direction.. that bilge wizard thing looks like a pretty good idea..

 

[nitsuj]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I like the bilge wizard thing. But I'm not sure it would help me with fuel vapors. My drain plug is outside of the dog house. So it would vent moisture out, but not fumes from inside the engine compartment.

 

[woosterken]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

yes,but if the boat is under cover you could leave the dog house open a little bit

woosterken

 

[tboltmike]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

The Wizard is an interesting concept.

Do you have any trouble with debris, spider webs, etc, clogging it?

 

[VTmurtha]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

Will the BilgeWizard pull (humid) air through from the cabin into the engine compartment? There don't appear to be many passages between the open air cabin and inside the engine compartment/bilge. I have a Stingray 192RX.

 

[jprice]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

Has anyone ever tried tried this? http://www.damprid.com/
I've seen the commercials, but no idea if it actually works.

 

[rbh]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I know with our boat we just insure that it gets dried out before we put it away, if your thought are going more towards winterizing, put the boat under cover shed, barn, etc. go to the RV shop and get the silica beads that they use to keep campers/trailers dry "but remember silica also attracts moisture"
so make sure the boats in a dry place.
rob

 

[jennis9]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I read a thread on this here once and one idea I found was really cool...

Using a flexible dryer vent hose and ran it out from under the cover and pointed it toward the ground - the air movement naturally vented the boat interior and kept air flowing.

cheap and easy fix if you're worried. My boat doesn't have that problem with the custom cover - but the new trailerable cover seems like it doesn't breathe as easily as the canvas. I will try this method to keep air moving.

And dryer sheets to keep the spiders out.

 

[bluebird]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

you could also try moth balls around in side the boat. it not to expensive.and it keeps the animals and insects out. my husband says it works. good luck.

 

[cyberfighter]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I read a thread on this here once and one idea I found was really cool...

Using a flexible dryer vent hose and ran it out from under the cover and pointed it toward the ground - the air movement naturally vented the boat interior and kept air flowing.

Seems like a good way for the rodents to get in though...
I have more problem with the squirrels than anything else here.
Between my cruiser and my fishing boat, I filled up a large garbage bag of pine cones and leaves
Mothballs and fabric softener sheets did nothing to them.
Not true, I had a half full box of bounce in the cruiser and they seemed to like to pee there.

Back to moisture,
I like the bilgewizard, but how does one keep the snow off of the solar panel?
Surely the battery operated one would drain the battery after a while.

The dehumidifier sound like the best way to go but then.. wouldn't the water coming out of the hose freeze at some point and render it useless?

 

[woosterken]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

how does one keep the snow off of the solar panel
I don't know if its me or what but I put the solar panel at an angle that the sun can hit it but the snow don't build up.
and I brush the snow off the boat every few days any way.

woosterken

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I know a lot of guys use this for winterization but I use it year round, any time the cover is on.

http://www.iboats.com/No_Damp_Dehumidifier/dm/*******.643232138--**********.968765191--view_id.39989

 

[baggersteve]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

Has anyone ever tried tried this? http://www.damprid.com/
I've seen the commercials, but no idea if it actually works.

This will do the trick, or just throw in a few silicone drying packets in there. It's a boat, it gets wet, don't lose sleep over it.
One of the funniest things I have ever seen was when my father in law sold his fishing boat. He said to the buyer, and I quote "better get it home quick, looks like it might rain."
The buyer looked at him like he was retarded and said, " it's a boat, water won't hurt it."
Sometimes we tend to over think things because they cost us a bit of cash. Feel free to bash the crap out of me because I don't baby EVERYTHING I own. I use my stuff the way it was intended, for fun, not as an investment. I have a portfolio for that.

 

[RepoMan207]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

I use vented support poles with my boat covers during the season. When winterizing I make sure it is shrink wrapped in the blue wrap instead of the white (The dark wrap attracts the suns rays causing the snow and ice to fall right off on those clear days), then when I get it home I install a solar vent that I have been using for a few years now (I save a $20 charge for doing it myself.)

 

[amanphoto]

Re: What do you do to keep moisture down with covered Boat

How does the Bilge Wizard work if any water gets in the boat?