Condensation in the cabin

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Dr. Peter, Apr 25, 2011.

  1. viking north
    Joined: Dec 2010
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    viking north VINLAND

    Ya -Ya- you've got two of them, :) --Geo.
     
  2. CatBuilder

    CatBuilder Previous Member

    No no... I *bought* two of them but have zero of them right now.

    Both of them were sold with the boats I sold. One went with my old monohull and one went with my old Catamaran.

    Fantastic stoves. A bit pricey, but better than a diesel heater, IMO.
     
  3. viking north
    Joined: Dec 2010
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    Location: Newfoundland & Nova Scotia

    viking north VINLAND

    Good, I thought you had two and we had none---:) Now go read your thread and see how we old boatbuilders cut out bulkheads pay my way down and get me a little cod stove and i'll cut out your bulkheads :)---Geo.
     
  4. ancient kayaker
    Joined: Aug 2006
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    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

    Is it feasible to make use of that by arranging an interior surface that is coolest - least well insulated - and having a drip tray underneath?
     
  5. Submarine Tom

    Submarine Tom Previous Member

    Most correct.

    So, in two words: ventilation & heat.

    -Tom
     
  6. Squidly-Diddly
    Joined: Sep 2007
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    Location: SF bay

    Squidly-Diddly Senior Member

    Catbuilder is right about need to vent under mattress.

    Your body gives off an amazing amount of moisture just laying on a mattress, even if you aren't a bedwetter.

    I've seen perfectly good hardwood floors destroyed in a month of some college kid laying a mattress on the bare floor.

    Also, in construction there is a weird phenomenon where if the fiberglass fluff insulation in the first floor above the vent/crawl space gets wet it can stay wet forever(or until it rots all the joists) because it hits some "sweet spot" where evaporation cools it enough for it to gather a lot of dew, and it also insulates enough to make that all work. These have been known to stay wet for years even in fairly warm and dry South San Jose hills with well vented crawl spaces in droughts lasting over 2 years.


    Don't you remember in the classic movie "Mister Roberts" the captain ordering "port side will positively air bedding", etc? I believe this was the routine and required hanging of mattresses up to dry.

    You might ask at an RV camper shop about how they do their mattresses in places like the bed over the cab in front.
     
  7. CatBuilder

    CatBuilder Previous Member

    Yes. This is exactly how an electric dehumidifier works.
     
  8. Dr. Peter
    Joined: Mar 2010
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    Location: Zeerust, Victoria, Australia

    Dr. Peter Junior Member

    Looking to Submarine Tom's comment, our last night was our most successful. We opened the front hatch a crack and did the same with the companionway hatch. We also left a citronella candle going in the V berth area. Note we are talking about an 18 and a half foot unlined fibreglass trailer sailer. There was still condensation in the morning but it was much reduced - it wasn't dripping just moist. The night was as cold as any other but it was not raining. We did have a boom tent up.The V berth area where we had the candle was almost dry.
    Peter
     
  9. hoytedow
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Would hammocks be practical in your boat?
     
  10. DianneB
    Joined: Jan 2010
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    Location: Manitoba

    DianneB Junior Member

    My aluminium cruiser makes an incredible dehumidifier in the spring when the air is warm and damp but the water is still cold - EVERYTHING metal inside sweats buckets! The first spring, I thought I had a leak in the hull until I followed the trickle of water in the keel forward from the transom and realized that it was the accumulation of hundreds and hundreds of drips running down the inside of the aluminium hull. :(

    I don't know if there is a solution but I learned to keep any fabric away from the metal and just let it sweat.
     
  11. CatBuilder

    CatBuilder Previous Member

    The solution there is expensive Armaflex type insulation like the Dashews put into their aluminum boat, or... get that thing down to the tropics! :cool::D


    http://setsail.com/hull-insulation/
     
  12. TeddyDiver
    Joined: Dec 2007
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    TeddyDiver Gollywobbler

    Amen to that.. and without insulation (whatever you do with ventilation and heat) there's condensation somewhere..
     
  13. ancient kayaker
    Joined: Aug 2006
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    Location: Alliston, Ontario, Canada

    ancient kayaker aka Terry Haines

  14. Submarine Tom

    Submarine Tom Previous Member

    FYI: a candle produces about 20 watts of heat.

    -Tom
     

  15. Frosty

    Frosty Previous Member

    So your saying you should insert a candle.

    lattice planking for beds.

    Steel and ally boats in the tropics will cook you if its not insulated,

    Sprayed on normaly with wood battons inserted at the same time to pick up interior wood finishing.
     
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