Books On Board

[Bubba the Pirate]

In your fiberglass boat, Do you do anything special to protect the books on your bookshelf from condensation?

TrT
~~~~~~~/)~~~~~~~
Eat When You're Hungry,
Work When You're Broke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[AdriftAtSea]

My boat is pretty dry, so I haven't really had to do much about condensation.  Also, the cabintop and deck are cored, which helps insulate the boat a bit. 

Condensation doesn't seem to be much of a problem provided you keep the interior of the boat dry.  if you've got water sitting in the bilge, it becomes much more of a problem, since the water is generally warmer than the air during the times when condensation is going to be a problem, and forces the water in the bilge to evaporate, where it will condense out on the cold surfaces, usually the hull and cabintop that are cooled by the exterior temperatures. .

If you can keep the bilge dry, then you shouldn't have much of a problem with it.  If your bilge is wet and you can't really do much about it, using shelves that have a wire or mesh bottom and back will help keep the books dry—since air can circulate around all four sides of them.  Also, not putting the bookshelves right up against the exterior hull will help a lot too.  The interior transverse bulkheads don't get condensation on them as a general rule, since they're heated to cabin temperature on both sides. 

[Lynx]

Vent your cooking. I found that cooking will build up more condensation than any other thing.

[AdriftAtSea]

Good point Lynx.  Not only does the cooking generally release moisture, but the stove usually does too.

I have two solar-powered ventilators on my boat.  One brings air in down by the mast compression post, the other is mounted near the companionway, over the galley, and pulls air out. The two fans run about 90% of the time.  The one by the mast is new this year, and should help air the boat out even more than last year. 

[Bubba the Pirate]

Thanks, guys.   I should be up to the boat next week.  It has been sealed up in storage for a little over a year, there is condensation down below.   

I can remember when I lived on an Irwin 25 in Florida, I had condensation issues.   Of course, I was just getting by then.   I suppose I didn't have as much ventilation as I should have.   

My experience probably overemphasizes condensation.

Thanks again. 

TrT

[s/v Faith]

Thanks, guys...... 

My experience probably overemphasizes condensation.

Thanks again. 

TrT

  No, I do not think it does.  Boats are damp.  'Theory' is all well and good, but should not be confused with experience.  Boats that live in a marina may stay dry, but boats used get wet. 

Lynx's post about cooking was right on the mark.  Spray, rain, dew, and the moisture from your breath are all working together to ruin your stuff.  :o

  Ventilation is important, but in practice you have to be able to regulate it when underway.  A nicro solar vent is a wonderful thing for a marina queen, not so nice when it is blindly sucking in fog, or damp air.

  WRT books, I have mine sitting on some plastic grid (from a vegetable packing crate) that allows some air flow under them.  My good old Chapmans was ruined by the moisture when it sat on the painted wood 'shelf' for a year.  I think that airflow in and around where things are stowed, and control of ventilation are important to keeping things dry below.

FWIW.

[AdriftAtSea]

I store alot of my books in Coca Cola carrying trays... I have a pile of them sitting around from my friend's coffee shop... and they're basically trays with a three-inch high wall around the edges and made of plastic. 

Even if the Nicro is pulling in damp air, it is better to have the air moving continously, than to have it just sitting, since a boat is a condensation pump.  In the daytime, the sun heats up the interior, and the air increases its capacity hold water, and then at night, the air cools and the moisture usually condenses out on any cold surfaces.  On my boat, the biggest offenders for condensation are the ports and the compaionway drop boards.  The hull isn't much of a problem and either is the cabin top AFAICT. 

The hull may be less of a problem in my case because it is somewhat sheltered by the amas, ama decking and netting.

Proper ventilation is really the key to keeping condensation, mold, and mildew at bay.