Cabin Mold/Mildew

[U20CarpeDiem]

For the past couple of Fall seasons since I purchased #134, I've been cleaning the mold and mildew out of my cabin using a 50:50 solution of vinegar and water in preparation for winter storage.  It's quite labor intensive and especially hard to get at in the aft spaces.  Michigan summers tend to be hot and humid.  Does anyone have any better ideas for cleaning mold/mildew and its prevention?  The boat comes from the western states of CA and UT where there's low humidity.

[Travis Gregory]

Hello U20CPD (name?)

In Utah the only place you get mold in my experience is the sealed locations like the rear hatch area.  Usually occurs if moisture is left in there with the door closed for a long time.  If you open it up, no problem.

One of the Bay Area skippers shared a tip of using a small electric heat source inside the boat to avoid the problem in humid conditions.

[Tac Boston]

I bought a small dehumidifier and used it all summer long. Has a 1 liter capacity and that seems to work just fine. Biggest issue I all all year was the amount of rain water in the aft cockpit floor locker. I would have thought that was at least "water resistant" but oh no. Going to build a boom tent over the winter to solve that

[Bob Abelin]

The stock aft hatch is pretty awful.  To be fair to Bomar the description of that hatch states “not waterproof on horizontal installations.”   I replaced mine with a Tempress hatch and so far it’s pretty leak proof, especially in the rain.  Keeping the interior vent holes open seems to be really important for letting that aft compartment dry, but they are a pain to take in and out every time you go sailing.  I may replace those with something that opens easier.  Anyway, there is a description of how to replace the Bomar hatch in the Maintenance section. 

[Dean Nelson]

I put a new Tempress hatch in the back of my boat several years ago.  Put some silicone caulk down to seal the lip to the hull.  Then, leaving the hatch cover open, put a bead of silicone caulk around the underside of the hatch cover; let this dry before closing the cover.  This creates a very nice seal to the cover.  My back compartment stays nice and dry.

[U20CarpeDiem]

Thanks all for your responses.  However, the conversation has seemed to have regressed to leaky rear hatch issues.  I've since resolved this issue from advice from Don Corey to purchase a section of carpet runner from the local hardware store larger than the hatch dimensions and place it over the hatch and covering the seams.  I use my main sheet and a coil of dock line to weight it down.  It has kept my aft hatch dry. 

As for the cabin, I've considered the dehumidifier, but would probably need to empty it every day.  Also, one more item to disconnect and remove from the cabin prior to racing.  I wonder if there exists dehumidifiers that simultaneously remove and pump out the water?  Hanging chemical bags might also work but not last too long.

Any safe cleaners you could recommend to remove mold/mildew and maybe leave a chemical residual on the surface to prevent mold/mildew? 

   

[Travis Gregory]

I just decommissioned an evaporative cooler for the season.  Dial makes a pump that turns on every 8hours and pumps out the evaporation tray to replace with fresh water.  That may work for your purposes.  Or another electric pump on a timer. 

Thought to keep it dry without something that uses electricity. 


With regards to the rear hatch, mine warped in the sun!  Wondering if others had that problem.  I plan to replace it this winter and I'll look into the suggestions here.