Florida- Dehumidifier or Moisture Absorber

[Fiftybucks]

Finally buying 35' boat in St Pete. Me new to Fl climate. Survey completed, results next week. I need to put boat on the hard for the summer. Are the HD moisture absorber tubs sufficient or do I need to purchase dehumidifier... suggestions on dehumidifier model? Any long term 6 month storage suggestions on systems, ventilation, etc. Packing up sails so they don't get mold?

Boat will be moving next fall.

[ThereAndBack]

No recommendations on units, but I can tell you that the moisture absorbing tubs will not work. There is just too much humidity out here. They'll become spent very quickly and cease functionality.

[Woodland Hills]

We tried the absorbers and they can’t pull enough water out of the air to do any good. They have a place in closets and cabinets, but you need a dehumidifier to dry the air in the whole boat.

We have two 30 pint Frigidaire units for our 63’ Hatteras and are very happy with their performance. The internals are the same as the much more expensive 70 pint units, just the tank is smaller, in our case we need to empty the tank once a 24 hour day once we dried out the boat. If you hook up the hose with the included adapter and drain into a shower they will run indefinitely. BTW, Amazon has refurbished units for sale for $149 now and I just got one for the master stateroom saving over $30.

The atmosphere in the boat feels and smells better, no musty aroma anymore, and we find that we don’t need to run the ac as cool either. In fact since we can dry the air without chilling it, we don’t run the ac at all for much of the day and night. A dry stateroom does not need to be as cool when sleeping as a humid one.

[HopCar]

I used a smaller version of this on my 28’ boat. It worked very well. I drilled a hole in the tank, stuck in a small hose and let it continuously drain out through the sink drain.
https://www.eva-dry.com/product/edv-...-dehumidifier/

Without the overboard drain, the tank would fill in just a day or two.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Fiftybucks

Finally buying 35' boat in St Pete.

Don't be shy, what boat did you buy?


Congratulations!

[mabowers]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

Don't be shy, what boat did you buy?


Congratulations!

Yes, congratulations! My wife and I just bought a 39' Southern Cross in Palmetto. Where are you you pulling yours out?

We've decided to sail in the area for about a month to get used to her, then try to get around to the east coast and N of 31 before July. (Insurance)

[Woodland Hills]

Originally Posted by HopCar

I used a smaller version of this on my 28’ boat. It worked very well. I drilled a hole in the tank, stuck in a small hose and let it continuously drain out through the sink drain.
https://www.eva-dry.com/product/edv-...-dehumidifier/

Without the overboard drain, the tank would fill in just a day or two.

We tried one of the Peltier units, but found that it couldn’t keep up. It just couldn’t pull enough water from the air to make a difference. The compressor type would remove over 60 pints a day over the first and second day dropping back to 20 or so after that and that was far beyond the ability of a Peltier unit.

[a64pilot]

Get a good compressor unit, set it on the counter and let it drain into the sink.
If leaving it in the water the Air conditioner of course does a great job of dehumidifying, and keeps the boat cool inside.

Of course any dehumidifier adds heat to the inside of the boat, not much I know of that you can do about that.

[S/V Illusion]

Take everything off the boat and run a dehumidifier. Also, make sure there are no leaks or the dehumidifier will be ineffective.

[redneckrob]

I'll pile on the idea of a compressor humidifier. Our boat is mold and odor free with it and the thing pulls gallons of water out or the air(it's in the galley sink so it can drain continuously). Very cheap insurance against the dreaded "boat smell" that is inevitable otherwise.

[captstu]

I purchased a small household air-conditioner and mounted in a hatch near the center of the boat. At 5000 BTUs per hour it keeps the boat a little cooler than the outside temperature and keep humidity about 45%. It cost about $100 and took about an hour to install it. I take it out during the sailing season.

See the Boath’s website Shearwater-Sailing.com in the Underway Air Conditioning section for details.

[rbrentp]

Having been a Gulf Coast sailor for a LONG time. Humidity can't really be fought only lived with. I keep ventilation moving through the boat with a couple of Walmart fans. About ten bucks a month for electricity. Keep the air moving.


Stopped mold and smells.

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

Here on the panhandle I have had great success with a generic dehumidifier such as this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-30-pt...30LW/300734665
I have it hosed to drain water into a sink since the reservoir is worthless unless you are a liveaboard. One unit makes a terrific difference for my 34' basic boat.

[sailingchiro]

A dehumidifier is one of the best things you can do for your boat. Get a non-electronic (no digital display) from Wal-Mart or where ever. We have a turn dial on ours that will restart after the power goes off. We have a digital controlled dehumidifier for our house and it will not restart if there is power interruption

Also, get one that is able to drain from the back with a hose. A short washer hose is long enough and set on counter and let drain into sink. .
We set ours on #7 out of 10 on the dial. It stays very dry and no mildew at all. It will suck the water out of the bilge. Our bilges are dry when we return.
Last, the water will stain your sink with a rust color. You can apply some vaseline to the drain to prevent the rust color.
My wife tried the water sucker things and did nothing.
You will never regret using a dehumidifier. Except for trying to find a place to store it.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Fiftybucks

Finally buying 35' boat in St Pete. Me new to Fl climate. Survey completed, results next week. I need to put boat on the hard for the summer. Are the HD moisture absorber tubs sufficient or do I need to purchase dehumidifier... suggestions on dehumidifier model? Any long term 6 month storage suggestions on systems, ventilation, etc. Packing up sails so they don't get mold?

Boat will be moving next fall.

I put the absorbers on a boat in FL, came back in two days just before flying out and the inside stuff was already gone. They are useless.

-A humidifier would be nice, if you can ensure that electricity will keep on. Maybe drain to bilge if you can keep the bilge pump battery full.
-You need a bilge drain plug, or to ensure the pump stays working. It can rain 12 inches in a day in Florida at times.
-If you have covering over some ports or etc, air flow is your best friend. A cabin gets steamy hot every morning by 10 am. It's like a terrarium in there without air flow. But you need screens to avoid critters.
-Turn up all cushions on edge so they get air flow.
-Tape over your tank vent fittings on the outside of the hull, little bees love to nest in there clogging your vents!