Drying the inside of your boat?

[scotttu]

My boat is an outside boat, we have a piece of county property in our neighborhood that we can park RV's and boats in.<br />No electricity there.<br />Home covenance says no boats or RV's in teh driveway unless they are being worked on (That sucks but we have a nice neighborhood)<br /><br />Well we had a mite bit of rain a month or so ago and I finally got a new boat cover since the tarps that come with the boat don't seem to keep the rain out....<br /><br />I waited for a couple of dry days and pulled the covers off and MOST of it got dry....new cover on and everything was good till it snowed.<br /><br />The weight of the snow sagged my cover, then melted and I had a couple of pools on both covers (inside tarp conforms to a down angle, the boat cover went over that)..<br /><br />BOat got wet again.<br /><br />I've got a thermostat controlled heater in there on low right now, and it's fogging up now.....<br /><br />I put the factory boat covers back on just to seal the boat except the vent holes etc.<br /><br />Will this work? It'll take 2-3 days I estimate to completely dry it out but it should as there is sufficient breathing air going in and out.<br /><br /><br />How do you dry out a boat when you don't have a covered place to do such a thing??<br /><br />

 

[EZLoader]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Scott,<br />The continual NW rains and high humidity make keeping an outside boat dry a real problem. Your covers must not only keep out rain and snow but still allow plenty of fresh air to flow so built up moisture and humidity can escape. Trapped moisture will mildew your interior real fast.<br /><br />To get it dry at home try using a large fan to increase the air flow. It should work better than just using the heater to get rid of the dampness. <br /><br />Back at your storage area keep your bow tilted up high and pull the drain plug so any water that gets inside flows out. A raised bow will also help drain off any rain or melted snow on your cover to prevent puddling. <br /><br />Most single boat covers don't do a good job of allowing a boat to breath and also fully keeping out the rain and damp snow. If they breath they leak and if they don't leak they trap moisture. <br /><br />Try adding a second fully waterproof cover above your breathable boat cover but be sure to leave plenty of air space between the two so that it doesn't trap moisture inside your boat. Strategically place some 2x4s under the waterproof cover and above the breathable cover so that the tarp doesn't sag or collapse but continues to shed water and snow outside the boat.<br /><br />You should also consider using an inexpensive product called Dry-Z-Air to make sure any moisture and dampness that does get in the boat is kept to a minimum. <br /><br /> http://www.drytheair.com/why.html

 

[Lou C]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

I use 4 of the large moisture absorber buckets, that's about what it takes to keep a 20' dry inside in our climate, which is damp almost all year long, except in the coldest months. I have not had any mildew problems with the seats, etc, after doing this. You may need to empty them of water and put more of the white pellets that absorb the moisture partway through the winter.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Another way to avoid sag is to take a large beach ball or an upside down laundry basket and put it unter the cover. I use this to keep the cover from sagging.<br /><br />I also had some amount of luck with PVC pipe. Using elbows and pipe I made a kind of pyramid to go under the cover. Cheap, and by just press fitting together I could take it apart for storage.

 

[Major Woods]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Pretty simple, airflow is the key.

 

[scotttu]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Thanks guys - I may do that. It will require removing the factory cover (Summer cover anyway) as it's stretched on tight, but hte $49 cover from wal mart seems to do a good job.<br /><br />EZLoader - Fan instead of heat? I've thought about that.<br /><br />We've got a local shop that does shrink wrapping but I'm not ready to put the boat away while I have work to do on it.......<br /><br />My goal next spring is to get one of those costco redneck garage's or whatever they are called (Like a tent for boats and RV's).....

 

[Surffx]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Here's another cheap idea when you're ready to put her away for the season. Just build the frame out of 2x4's then throw a tarp over the whole thing. Hopefully my crude drawing gets the idea across.<br /><br />

 

[Darkhorse1201]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Like Jack L. I also used the PVC pipe setup up here in New England where we get a fair amount of snow. It was easy to make - cost very little and breaks down great for storage.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Start with a totally air dried boat and cover with a DARK COLORED<br /> cover or shrinkwrap so the sun keeps it warm and a fan on the inside and a few damp dry buckets.Charlie

 

[KRS]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

I say let it get wet, but mine is 18 years old and the upholstery wasn't in good shape when I got it. Hope you have better luck and ideas than my current method.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

az63,gimme a break !! What rain do you get in Arizona?? What you need is protection from the sun and heat.Certainly not the rain.

 

[tommays]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

<br /><br /><br />the a-frame lets it breath and when the sun is out it bakes out all the wet<br /><br />when it rains the heavey 10 mil coated tarp will stay rain tight about 1 year before it breakes down from sun and lets rain drops in again<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[rwidman]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Remember that the "A" frame tarp setup may have a lot of wind resistance so you may want to make it as small as possible and have a sturdy frame and tiedowns.<br /><br />Many people make a frame to fit the boat and have the tarp over the frame and straped to the boat or trailer.

 

[jch7450]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Some people here might try to differ with me,but heres a real cheap way of get moisture out of your boat and beleave it or not.it gets the smell out too.<br />Just buy a few bags of snow salt(yes snow salt). cut slits in the bags from top to bottom. The salt will absorb the moisture.the next good part is, it's biodegradable!

 

[scotttu]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Salt is actually a hazmat in that large of quantity but I have also heard that!<br /><br />I may do that, put it in a bucket and let it go to town.<br /><br />The 12' two by four seems to be kee ping the tarp good now, and I have a dryer vent hoses inside, hanging to the outside facing down

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

I'm guessing it won't fit in the garage?

 

[scotttu]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

hahaha not a chance..my truck BARELY fits in the garage but the boat is another 2.5 or 3 feet taller <br /><br />Where were you stationed when you were in?<br /><br />I was up in Alaska from 86-90, 5/9 Inf bn, ArcticLight

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

Germany, Korea, Ft.Carson Colorado, Ft. Benning and Ft. Stewart Georgia. I would have liked to go to Alaska, but not a lot of M2 Bradley action up there..

 

[scotttu]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

OK Guys i just went to check on my boat, there was 50 gallons of water sagged in the front, and I am not kidding. I put a garden hose on it half an hour ago and started a siphon and i'ts STILL DRAINING!<br /><br />AT LEAST that much sagged in the back and I had a tripod built in my boat.<br /><br />I'm going to pull the F#$ cover off now and just let it rain in my boat, at least it'll dry when the rain stops, there's no fighting 3" of rain in less than 8 hrs........<br /><br /><br />GRRRR My investment is rotting away )

 

[imported_Curmudgeon]

Re: Drying the inside of your boat?

.. there's no fighting 3" of rain in less than 8 hrs.<br /><br />Sure there is - spend the money for a quality, well fitting cover and appropriate support structure. 3" in 8 hours then becomes a mere sprinkle.