I have the boat on the trailer and its under a covered area. I pulled the cushions out and brought them in to keep them out of the way and clean during all the winter boat projects, and because of my discovery, Im very glad that I did. my boat has no signs of mildew and dont want to get any started.
during the past few months of windy rainy, stormy weather the boat has remained dry and without issues...
but now that the freezing weather is a steady thing every night, I find that a bit of water will collect in the corners of the liner (in the living area)... as in, I have the bow in the lowered position and the boat leans a bit to the left... so the water collects in the front of the v-berth, and along the wall near the forward part of the port settee.... a couple tablespoons to a half a cup) I have wiped it out several times and it keeps coming back... so it can only be condensate.
as much as I have dealt with repairs due to condensate damage in customers fuel tanks and enclosed equipment cabs, I have never thought about the effects of it in an enclosed boat cabin....
now I can understand why some boats smell as they do and how the mildew starts... when a boat cushion or bedding absorbs a tablespoon of water every week during freezing weather and goes unnoticed, it will surly have a problem before it dries out on its own...
I dont think there would be a problem in areas where it doesnt freeze, or maybe even 1 or 2 nights a year, but when you have a month or more of temps dipping below freezing every night it will become a problem.
and the colder it gets and/or the bigger the temperature swing from daytime to night time, the worse the problem will be, as it will draw more moisture out of the air and deposit it as condensate.
I will ALWAYS pull my cushions every winter now that I have realized how much water is being pumped out of the air and deposited into anything that will absorb it on the boat.
hopefully someone else can realize this before they get a funky smell growing in the cushions
during the past few months of windy rainy, stormy weather the boat has remained dry and without issues...
but now that the freezing weather is a steady thing every night, I find that a bit of water will collect in the corners of the liner (in the living area)... as in, I have the bow in the lowered position and the boat leans a bit to the left... so the water collects in the front of the v-berth, and along the wall near the forward part of the port settee.... a couple tablespoons to a half a cup) I have wiped it out several times and it keeps coming back... so it can only be condensate.
as much as I have dealt with repairs due to condensate damage in customers fuel tanks and enclosed equipment cabs, I have never thought about the effects of it in an enclosed boat cabin....
now I can understand why some boats smell as they do and how the mildew starts... when a boat cushion or bedding absorbs a tablespoon of water every week during freezing weather and goes unnoticed, it will surly have a problem before it dries out on its own...
I dont think there would be a problem in areas where it doesnt freeze, or maybe even 1 or 2 nights a year, but when you have a month or more of temps dipping below freezing every night it will become a problem.
and the colder it gets and/or the bigger the temperature swing from daytime to night time, the worse the problem will be, as it will draw more moisture out of the air and deposit it as condensate.
I will ALWAYS pull my cushions every winter now that I have realized how much water is being pumped out of the air and deposited into anything that will absorb it on the boat.
hopefully someone else can realize this before they get a funky smell growing in the cushions
