I keep my Beneteau 321 in Kemah, Texas on Galveston, Bay. If you've ever been to east Texas after May and before November, you have a fair inkling of what hell would be like if the humidity was 100%. When I'm gone for a week or two, I typically run my a/c unit on a dehumidifier cycle which is supposed to keep the cabin relatively tolerable. I'm planning on being away for about 4 months next summer. What would happen if I just shut it off? Would I return to find a cabin full of mildew? Would the 130 degree heat inside the cabin destroy or discolor everything? I'd sure to hear from you sailors south of the Mason Dixon line who've done this before.
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No problem...
provided that you have sufficient ventilation. If your boat is stifled and can't breath, you will find white mold covering the interior, and many more problems to boot. You should have a solar vent or two, cowl vents, or some sort of vents fore to aft so as to allow moisture to reach equilibruim with outside conditions. I can't imagine running your a/c unit 24/7 on dehumidifier mode. The humidity here on the gulf coast is off the scale too and scorching temps as well, but I never have any problems. You can't have too much ventilation. Good luck.....Gary
provided that you have sufficient ventilation. If your boat is stifled and can't breath, you will find white mold covering the interior, and many more problems to boot. You should have a solar vent or two, cowl vents, or some sort of vents fore to aft so as to allow moisture to reach equilibruim with outside conditions. I can't imagine running your a/c unit 24/7 on dehumidifier mode. The humidity here on the gulf coast is off the scale too and scorching temps as well, but I never have any problems. You can't have too much ventilation. Good luck.....Gary
use ventilation
as suggested you needs lots of ventilation.If possible I would put a fan inside the boat and let it run (put it on a timer if your are not comfortable with 24/7)This will help with circulating the air and ventilation.You might want to think about taking the soft gooods (cushions and mattress etc) and store them in a temperature controled area or at least put them on end so that there is lots of air circulating around them.Have a freind check the boat(maybe open hatches on a nice day and air it out.Also have the freind check the boat stand to see that they are tight against hull. Good luck !
as suggested you needs lots of ventilation.If possible I would put a fan inside the boat and let it run (put it on a timer if your are not comfortable with 24/7)This will help with circulating the air and ventilation.You might want to think about taking the soft gooods (cushions and mattress etc) and store them in a temperature controled area or at least put them on end so that there is lots of air circulating around them.Have a freind check the boat(maybe open hatches on a nice day and air it out.Also have the freind check the boat stand to see that they are tight against hull. Good luck !
no ac
If I may ask what brand ac is in your boat, and why don't you want to use it to its full capacity. Suds
If I may ask what brand ac is in your boat, and why don't you want to use it to its full capacity. Suds
keep the fresh air coming in
I have a catalina 30 at Kemah, and don't even run on the dehumidify cycle. It only takes about 30 minutes to cool the cabin and we have not had any problems yet. As everyone has said, the most important thing is the ventilation. John
I have a catalina 30 at Kemah, and don't even run on the dehumidify cycle. It only takes about 30 minutes to cool the cabin and we have not had any problems yet. As everyone has said, the most important thing is the ventilation. John
Rick, If you burn up your AC, you're still ahead,
compared to what that humidity will do to your boat. It ruins everything. Run the AC. Sorry guys, but I've seen what even a month will do to my boat in the tropics in those conditions. Our tropics were in the third world and we didn't bring a shore side AC unit. Ugh!
compared to what that humidity will do to your boat. It ruins everything. Run the AC. Sorry guys, but I've seen what even a month will do to my boat in the tropics in those conditions. Our tropics were in the third world and we didn't bring a shore side AC unit. Ugh!
Disagree with Fred
Well, uh no. NOw that I read it he is right, but he's always right; hate guys like that, eh must get tired of that... Rick, I been into Kemah, the throat coming into Galveston is the busiest port I have raised, SF, Seattle, Miami, NY, Rotterdam... Rick, From the best surveyors in this great democracy, Dick Frenzel stands out above the rest as, a teacher, mentor, and red-neck nice guy; exemplary in his chosen field. (don't tell him), he is in Kemah, you would be fortunate to meet this man; he's a legend.
Well, uh no. NOw that I read it he is right, but he's always right; hate guys like that, eh must get tired of that... Rick, I been into Kemah, the throat coming into Galveston is the busiest port I have raised, SF, Seattle, Miami, NY, Rotterdam... Rick, From the best surveyors in this great democracy, Dick Frenzel stands out above the rest as, a teacher, mentor, and red-neck nice guy; exemplary in his chosen field. (don't tell him), he is in Kemah, you would be fortunate to meet this man; he's a legend.
Pirates Cove
Gary, do you know my brother in law, Kenny Menck, also berthed at Pirates Cove? Email me at casmith@jam.rr.com
Gary, do you know my brother in law, Kenny Menck, also berthed at Pirates Cove? Email me at casmith@jam.rr.com
Something to think about
Rick, I also keep my boat in Kemah and we run the dehumidifier cycle when ever we are away from the boat. If your boat is like mine we don't have a lot of ventilation other than ports as that would be counter productive to running the a/c. The last two weekends I was at the boat I noticed that the A/C units were displaying a "Lo PS" when I arrived at the boat. Turned the air conditioning on and did not have a problem. I called the tech support people for Cruisair and they said that the Lo Ps indicator comes on due to either low coolent levels or possibly restrictions in the water intake. They said the air conditioner will work fine but when in heat or dehumidifier mode it will shut itself off. I don't have a problem with water flow so I'm assuming its the coolent level. I tell you this as information if you decide to run the dehumidifier for 4 months. I would definitely have it serviced before you leave. Anyone know a good A/C guy in the Kemah area?
Rick, I also keep my boat in Kemah and we run the dehumidifier cycle when ever we are away from the boat. If your boat is like mine we don't have a lot of ventilation other than ports as that would be counter productive to running the a/c. The last two weekends I was at the boat I noticed that the A/C units were displaying a "Lo PS" when I arrived at the boat. Turned the air conditioning on and did not have a problem. I called the tech support people for Cruisair and they said that the Lo Ps indicator comes on due to either low coolent levels or possibly restrictions in the water intake. They said the air conditioner will work fine but when in heat or dehumidifier mode it will shut itself off. I don't have a problem with water flow so I'm assuming its the coolent level. I tell you this as information if you decide to run the dehumidifier for 4 months. I would definitely have it serviced before you leave. Anyone know a good A/C guy in the Kemah area?
A/C
No way I would even think about running my A/C. The electic bill for several months would be a good start on buying a new A/C! As mentioned, keep it aired out as best you can and forget about it. I put up sun shields to keep the sun off the interior cushions, etc.
No way I would even think about running my A/C. The electic bill for several months would be a good start on buying a new A/C! As mentioned, keep it aired out as best you can and forget about it. I put up sun shields to keep the sun off the interior cushions, etc.
D14
Rick, Maybe you could get those crazies in D14 to open up your boat and air it out while you're gone. You'll have to catch them before happy hour though! MG
Rick, Maybe you could get those crazies in D14 to open up your boat and air it out while you're gone. You'll have to catch them before happy hour though! MG
Not that bad, Bert
I run my A/C all the time and my electric bill runs about $20 - $30/ month. Considering the cost of everything else on a boat I don't think that is too bad for a little confort in the Texas heat. At $150 each for those solar vents I think you can pay 4 months of electric bills. I didn't have A/C on my 23' O'day and fought mold and mildew constantly. Rick, I keep my boat at Portofino, where are you? I check on my brother-in-law's boat at Legend Point on a regular basis as he lives in Atlanta now.
I run my A/C all the time and my electric bill runs about $20 - $30/ month. Considering the cost of everything else on a boat I don't think that is too bad for a little confort in the Texas heat. At $150 each for those solar vents I think you can pay 4 months of electric bills. I didn't have A/C on my 23' O'day and fought mold and mildew constantly. Rick, I keep my boat at Portofino, where are you? I check on my brother-in-law's boat at Legend Point on a regular basis as he lives in Atlanta now.
Mold and mildew also need 'food' to grow on ....
to retard mildew/mold consider to thoroughly clean the inside of the boat. Also consider to use a 'caustic' spray-on detergent and simply let it dry .... will be equivalent to your great grandmother's 'white-washing'. For extra protection obtain a quantity of 'paraformaldehyde' crystals ... this will slowly release a gas that is very toxic to mold/mildew. Caution: fully hold your breath when re-entering the boat and you can 'open-up', as paraformaldehyde gas is not good for your lungs .... but it wont let mildew grow nor form spores. Once the boat is fully ventilated, and the crystals remaining are repackaged/contained there wont be a problem. ;-)
to retard mildew/mold consider to thoroughly clean the inside of the boat. Also consider to use a 'caustic' spray-on detergent and simply let it dry .... will be equivalent to your great grandmother's 'white-washing'. For extra protection obtain a quantity of 'paraformaldehyde' crystals ... this will slowly release a gas that is very toxic to mold/mildew. Caution: fully hold your breath when re-entering the boat and you can 'open-up', as paraformaldehyde gas is not good for your lungs .... but it wont let mildew grow nor form spores. Once the boat is fully ventilated, and the crystals remaining are repackaged/contained there wont be a problem. ;-)
Clear as mud
Well, guys, it sounds like there's no clear cut answer although I sure appreciate all the input. The simple answer is to let the crazies in the slip across from me at D-14 check the boat but happy hour for them is close to 24/7 so I'm not sure if there'd ever be a good time for them to do that. When the time comes, I think I'm going try it without the a/c on. If all mattresses, pillows and stuff are gone, the worst I'll have is some moldy wood and fiberglass to clean up. Perhaps running a fan on a timer coupled with good ventilation would be sufficient. The benefit of not running the a/c is I don't have to worry about it shutting down and not knowing it. Also, I can close the raw water seacock which is one less thing to worry about breaking and sinking the boat. Tom: the people I use for a/c are at Bluewater Ships Store down the road. They're not cheap but they do a good job. I had them put in a new cruiseair a few months ago and their price wasn't that much different than what I found available elsewhere. There's a guy in Portofino who also does it and Linda speaks very highly of him. I don't have his name handy but if you go to the office, she can get it for you. Rick Supial Slip D-11 (across from the maniacs in D-14).
Well, guys, it sounds like there's no clear cut answer although I sure appreciate all the input. The simple answer is to let the crazies in the slip across from me at D-14 check the boat but happy hour for them is close to 24/7 so I'm not sure if there'd ever be a good time for them to do that. When the time comes, I think I'm going try it without the a/c on. If all mattresses, pillows and stuff are gone, the worst I'll have is some moldy wood and fiberglass to clean up. Perhaps running a fan on a timer coupled with good ventilation would be sufficient. The benefit of not running the a/c is I don't have to worry about it shutting down and not knowing it. Also, I can close the raw water seacock which is one less thing to worry about breaking and sinking the boat. Tom: the people I use for a/c are at Bluewater Ships Store down the road. They're not cheap but they do a good job. I had them put in a new cruiseair a few months ago and their price wasn't that much different than what I found available elsewhere. There's a guy in Portofino who also does it and Linda speaks very highly of him. I don't have his name handy but if you go to the office, she can get it for you. Rick Supial Slip D-11 (across from the maniacs in D-14).
It Could Get Real Ugly
Could you remove the cushions from the boat? A couple of the solar powered fans make a hell of a difference. Some of that calcium silicate stuff in a collander over the sink works great too. If your sink is stainless you do not want to do it that way as it will stain for sure.
Could you remove the cushions from the boat? A couple of the solar powered fans make a hell of a difference. Some of that calcium silicate stuff in a collander over the sink works great too. If your sink is stainless you do not want to do it that way as it will stain for sure.
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