[Rhodes22-list] Condensation

[Michael D. Weisner]

David,

This has been an interesting problem with boats.  When I first had some 
odors and possible mold in my Rhodes, the first thing that I thought of was 
MORE VENTILATION!  It wasn't enough to leave the vents open.  I added solar 
panels and another battery (this was in the mid to late 80s so it was real 
special then) and several fans to circulate the cabin air when the craft was 
at anchor on the mooring.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the 
companionway door after a couple of weeks to find more moisture than ever, 
even big drops on the ceiling of the cabin!  The problem appears to be 
caused by the warmer moist air drawn in from outside being cooled by the 
interior space which is in contact with the hull (and the cooler water 
outside the hull.)  The condensation was significant.  We shut down the fans 
and closed the ports and the condensation problems disappeared.

The only way to assure that the boat doesn't get musty is to sail her 
regularly and often, at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Mike
s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
Nissequogue River, NY

From: "David Bradley" Monday, November 16, 2009 10:42 AM
> Has anyone experienced condensation forming inside the cabin to the extent
> that it produced a few gallons of water in the bilge?
>
> I have been hoping to get some more sailing in before stripping the boat,
> but we've had about a month of rain and some windy storms.  Have been
> keeping an eye on the boat throughout but didn't go inside until this
> weekend.  Found the ceiling beneath the pop top and bow covered with
> condensation and about 4 gallons of water in the bilge (after being bone 
> dry
> for a couple of years).  It may be that the wind blew water in around the
> pop top but I didn't see signs of that much water on the companionway 
> step.
>
>
> Just mopping the condensation off the ceiling produced about a gallon of
> water, so I guess a month of that could produce a few more gallons.  But I
> didn't see signs of it having saturated the cushions or PFDs stored on the
> vee berth or the carpet below the pop top.
>
> I had the anchor line tray installed and and a bunch of stuff stored on 
> the
> vee berth, so the circulation was poor.  Got all that out now and 
> hopefully
> the Nicro fan can keep it vented for the rest of the winter - it has 
> worked
> fine in past years.
>
> Any similar experiences or speculation to help solve the mystery will be
> appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave
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