I'm curious what others are running in their 25 CDMA cruisers during the winter to prevent freezing and moisture accumulating.
Boat will be in a covered un-heated she'd and used occasionally during the winter.
What are others running off the shore power plug ?
We have used this combo for years on various boats with great success. It pulls anywhere from a 2 cups to 2 quarts from the boat every few days. It shuts off when full of water but you can easily add a drain hose to have it operate continuously. We are on our third unit in 10 years of constant running, and the only time its doesn't run, is when we have the boat out. 24-7 the rest of the time.
Small Peltier type dehumidifier. Low power use and noise.
Plus a very small heater pointed at the unit above to keep it warm enough to operate below the 40s and keep the boat just a bit warmed. The heater is plugged into a timer to switch it on and off depending on conditions. Leave cabinet doors/hatches open.
If you have a Dollar General in your area, I found the generic canisters comparable to Damp-Rid for a dollar a piece. At that price a person can put quite a few of those canisters inside the cabin keeping the humidity down.
I've never had a problem with freeze damage but low 20s in about as cold as I've ever experienced during c-dory ownership.
-Drain water heater; I have a by-pass installed on the hoses
-Blow all water out of the H2O system w/ compressed air
-Put pink anti-freeze thru the water pump only (the lines are dry remember)
-Place a portable oil heater on low in the walkway
-Place a fan/heater* next to the heater to circulate air
-Open all the cabinet doors, refer, head door to circulate air flow
-Stand up any pillows etc for air flow
-Bag all the bedding in a "Space Bag" and vacuum the air out
-Plug in the shore power and battery charger
-Leave battery hatches open
-Cover boat with Sunbrella cover
-Put a tiny amount of pink antifreeze in head bowl so the seals don't dry out (forgot that part) Don't know if this is good or bad (?)
It has worked for 9 yrs with no mold, mildew developing.
My boat doesn't have a water system and spends the winter outside in a field under a cover.
We take all the foodstuffs and dishes out and remove the bedding. We leave the stock cushions and the curtains we made in place. Where we keep it, there is no issue with mildew inside after the winter. There can be some mildew on the exterior of the boat under places where there is an smallish air space between the cover and the boat. Where the cover touches the boat and where the gap is large (e.g. over the cockpit) there is no mildew.
The boat is unpowered over the winter. The batteries are charged before it is stored and when it is recovered. Over the winter all electrical loads are disconnected or the fuses are pulled. My boat is stored this way for about 5 months.
- Channel water radiator; I have a by-pass introduced on the hoses
- Blow all water out of the H2O framework w/compacted air
- Put pink radiator fluid through the water siphon just (the lines are a dry recall)
- Spot a compact oil radiator on low in the walkway
- Spot a fan/heater* alongside the radiator to flow air
- Open all the bureau entryways, allude, headway to the course wind stream
- Stand up any pads and so on for wind stream
- Pack all the bedding in a "Space Sack" and vacuum the let some circulation into
- Attachment in the shore power and battery charger
- Leave battery hatches open
- Spread vessel with Sunbrella spread
- Put a small measure of pink radiator fluid in the head bowl so the seals don't dry out (overlooked that part) Don't have the foggiest idea if this is great or awful.
This week I wish I had a humidity problem when storing my boat in Alberta. -38C a couple of mornings this week with daytime highs around -30C and almost no humidity. No worries about mold or mildew here. If this is problem for you, maybe you should consider storing your boat here.
Only problem is that if you want to winter boat here, you need to do it online.