Protecting Your Boat

Most people store their boats over winter, sometimes in a marina on the water and sometimes on land, but use of the boat is greatly reduced in the winter and most sailors wait for calmer waters and warmer weather in the spring.

Problem is that sometimes when you come back to your boat in spring you get an unpleasant, musty smell that tells you straight away that you have a problem. The smell is probably a sign of trouble and a warning that you probably have a damp problem that is doing some damage to the boats contents.

The smell comes from mold spores that are in the air. The mold spores come from a mold patch on something organic in the boat and the mold patch is there in the first place because something is damp.

Mold will form on any organic surface where there is too much moisture, and the higher the relative humidity in the boat, the larger the mold patch will grow and the more mold spores that are released into the air.

Organic materials that you might have on your boat include:

• Cushions
• Seats
• Upholstery
• Books
• Papers
• Maps
• Wood
• Leather

Other materials that can also be affected by high relative humidity in your boat include veneer, which can crack or warp if the humidity is too low or too high.

The excess humidity can get trapped very easily in the boat over the autumn/winter months and when you come to open up the boat in spring, first you get hit by the smell and then you find that you have to replace materials because they are too damp to use again.

The way to avoid this is to place a dehumidifier in the boat when you are not using it. Normally you place the dehumidifier on the galley side and let the water drain away via a hose and down into the sink. Alternatively, you could use a shower tray.

To get the best out of the dehumidifier seal up any ventilation holes in the boat (open them back up again when you next use it), leave all internal doors open and set the humidistat on the dehumidifier to 50%rh or 55%rh and leave it to switch itself on and off as required.

By keeping the relative humidity in the boat below 68%rh you will prevent mold from growing and you should come back to a much fresher boat the following spring.

Find out why boat owners in Europe love the Meaco desiccant range and the multi-award winning Meaco DD8L Zambezi in particular here.