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Catalina Direct Discussion Topics / Catalina 22 Discussion Area / Cabin / Preventing Mildew in the Cabin
 
 
Author Preventing Mildew in the Cabin
Randy Carie
West Lafayette, IN

Boat Name: Randa Sue

Model/Year: C22/1981

Hull No. 10317

Hailing Port: Lafayette Sailing Club
01/04/2009 1:20 PM Pacific Time

I've hung M-G-D Mildew Odor Control Bags in the cabin. I'm now hanging a bag full of absorbent material, cat litter, when not sailing. During the winter months I will place a bucket of plain charcoal in the cabin. What do others do?

Randy

Bill Braun & Christine Sammel
Evanston, Illinois

Boat Name: Da Doo Run Run

Model/Year: 1989 Catalina 22

Hull No. 14840

Hailing Port: Wilmette, Illinois
01/04/2009 4:38 PM Pacific Time

We use DampRid, a product available in supermarkets and hardware stores, during the sailing season. It comes in a pouch with its own hanging hook, and we hang it from the inside supports for the mast. In very humid weather, we'll go through one a week. Usually, though, it's two or three weeks till the water collection reservoir is full. Friends with a larger boat use two - one forward and one aft.
Off season we do what you do -- we put a bucket of charcoal on the cabin floor.
(BTW, to keep critters out in the off season, we also put a bucket of mothballs on the floor, after, of course, completely emptying the cabin.)
Lynn Buchanan
Nevada City, CA

Boat Name: SAILYNN

Model/Year: SWING 1984

Hull No. 11994

Hailing Port: SCOTTS FLAT LAKE, CA
01/05/2009 9:59 PM Pacific Time

Wiping down surfaces with a 50/50 mixture of water and white vinegar also prevents mildew. Not caustic like some products which contain bleach. Try to keep the air moving inside by venting either with solar, cowl, covered small openings or fans.



Boat Name:

Model/Year:

Hull No.

Hailing Port:
01/06/2009 6:45 AM Pacific Time

Hello all,

We use damp rid also, but once the container was empty of its pellets, we refilled with calcium chloride pellets sold at Wal-mart as driveway deicer. Much cheaper than buying more damp rid, even ob sale. It seems to be the same thing. Water collects in the container and we dump it when we get to the boat. we leave the containers ashore when we sail.

If you get the boat pretty dry, we have also found that running an ozone generater (someone around usually has one to borrow, since they are only used intermittently) for several hours in a closed cabin will kill any fungi and mold spores that are waiting to blossom. Even if we get wet, the mildew does not seem to come for most of the season. Some people caution about rubber degrading with high concentrations of ozone, so we only do it once a year.

Tom Beaumont
Quixotic #7555
Chesapeake Bay
Randy Carie
West Lafayette, IN

Boat Name: Randa Sue

Model/Year: C22/1981

Hull No. 10317

Hailing Port: Lafayette Sailing Club
01/18/2009 7:47 AM Pacific Time

Bill and Christine,

Back to the Moth Balls. I've heard that this is done. Tell me about the next season. Does the boat reek of the moth balls? Do you remove the cushions and gear before placing the moth balls in the boat?

Randy
Randy Carie
West Lafayette, IN

Boat Name: Randa Sue

Model/Year: C22/1981

Hull No. 10317

Hailing Port: Lafayette Sailing Club
01/18/2009 7:55 AM Pacific Time

To all,

The products that collect water in a bowl really work. Be sure to place the bowl in a bowl or bucket though. I found out the hard way one winter season. The bowl collected the water, then froze and split. The contents of the bowl then spread over the deck of the cabin when it thawed.

Randy


Joe McElroy
Snoqualmie, Washington

Boat Name: Teasel

Model/Year: 1979 Swing Keel

Hull No. 9014

Hailing Port:
01/18/2009 9:54 AM Pacific Time

We have an old 40 watt flat heater specifically designed for this. We leave it running all year around. The cabin is always fresh and dry and fairly cozy if we want to sleep there in the winter. The boat lives at home under a roof, but this is a damp climate.
Bill Braun & Christine Sammel
Evanston, Illinois

Boat Name: Da Doo Run Run

Model/Year: 1989 Catalina 22

Hull No. 14840

Hailing Port: Wilmette, Illinois
01/18/2009 1:46 PM Pacific Time

Randy,

As we sail on Lake Michigan and the boat is stored outside in the winter, we completely (and we mean COMPLETELY) empty the boat before it's stored. The only things left inside the cabin are the boom and the cooler. It's a royal pain in the neck to have to haul everything on/off twice a year, but seasoned Lake Michigan sailors have advised that, in this climate, emptying the boat is the only thing to do.

That said, the mothball odor (and there is one in the spring) dissipates fairly quickly. It does not linger in the wood. We spend about two days cleaning and reloading the boat in the spring and during that time the odor is gone.

Bill and Christine
 
 
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Catalina Direct Discussion Topics / Catalina 22 Discussion Area / Cabin / Preventing Mildew in the Cabin