Best option for keeping the bottom of the cushions dry

[Roy M]

I think all of these solutions miss the point. Air contains moisture. Warm air can absorb more. Still air, caused by a closed up boat and stuff being packed so tight it can't "breathe", can become saturated with moisture. A simple, traditional (as in several thousands of years of human experience) solution is to open up the boat to air flow. Even if it's raining outside, allowing fresh air to enter at the upwind side of the boat, and exit downwind, actually lowers the internal humidity. It's all "relative", that's why the weather guys call it relative humidity. If the relative humidity is greater inside than out, fresh air actually dries your mattress, dish towels, and wet socks. But you have to make it easier for the air to get into those closed-in spaces. I use the swiss-cheese technique on my mattress supports, coupled with a plastic product I picked up at Downwind Marine, which looks like very loosely scrunched brillo pad, only stiffer. I have air vents all over the place. Some are in the cockpit lockers that allow air to flow into the bottom of the bunks. Others are on deck, dorade style. I leave lots of small ports open where water won't cause damage if it enters. I even have some computer fans that use solar energy to move air in still areas. If I'm going away for a while, I prop the mattresses up with a tool box or some books to get air completely around the cushions. We make lots of moisture in the air by breathing, boiling the pasta, washing our hair, and having water in the bilge. By moving LOTS of air through every part of the boat, we reduce the mildew and other damage that could result. As a result, things smell "fresher", also.

[Brent Swain]

35 years ago I gave up on fabric covers after a wet cruise in a BC winter. I stapled Vinyl covers over a plywood bottom and cruised happily ever after. The pvc coated 3 ounce dacron is far stronger and cheaper than any vinyl upholstery covering, and comes in greater widths.
If you don't want to lie on plastic, throw a blanket over it.
Brent

[yelnats69]

Originally Posted by lolanreg@smartc

Dan Leach, We had this problem and got rid of it simply by making mattress covers out of heavy duty rubber backed curtain material.you can pick some really nice designs. Never had another problem and it was cheap too.Wife sowed up the covers, not hard to do. Boy it was bad before that, tried holes in the base etc etc nothing else worked. Natureboy.

Hello,
we will soon be making covers for our forward berths, the mattress is high density foam, can you tell us where you got the rubber backed curtain?
Thanks
Stan & Karen