It's Not The Heat
The summer boating season is almost here. For the next few months, you'll spend your workdays counting down the hours until you can get out on the water. Your boat sits waiting - and baking under the hot summer sun. Inside those lockers and cabins, heat is turning damp air into a humid microclimate ripe for growing mold spores and rank odors.
You need to reduce the ambient humidity within those confined spaces. This begins with the items stored in those spaces. Cushions, covers and other items that get wet during use should be dried in the open air before they are stowed in cabins or console lockers. When possible, run with open hatches during the latter portion of each trip to bring fresh air into the cabins.
Airflow can be even more important when your boat is at the dock or on the mooring. Leaving hatches cracked just a few inches can significantly reduce cabin humidity, provided you can rig some sort of rain protection for said hatches. Another solution is to install one or more cabin ventilation fans - solar-powered models are available for boats left on the hook or mooring ball.
Boat owners sometimes cycle their air conditioners combat humidity, but this can get expensive. A more effective solution for those with access to shore power is to install a marine dehumidifier or two. Traditionally, these units range in size from a breadbox to a small microwave and draw about the same power as a light bulb. In addition to moving the air, a dehumidifier heats and dries the air it moves, creating a drier interior environment that is less likely to grow mold and mildew or to produce stale odors.
A popular line of marine dehumidifiers - the Dry-Pal products - is made by Mermaid Manufacturing (mmair.com). Another option that recently came to market is the Air-Dryr by Davis Instruments (davisnet.com), which uses heat and natural convection to warm and dry interior air. With no switch, fan or thermostat, the Air-Dryr is a low-maintenance solution that is compact and draws just 70 watts of power.
