I delayed boat winterisation as long as possible so that I could really rinse the end of the boating season out. I have been a bit slack at checking up on Scally Wag my Princess Pilgrim motor cruiser, so after some seriously heavy rain and high wind I popped to the marina to check everything was OK. It wasn’t…
Mould, mould and more mould…
As I opened the cabin door I could just see water all over the bow cusions… the Houdini hatch had leaked. This could of possibly been like this for 6-8 weeks. All this water in the cabin means that mould had set in. Curtain, cushions, sleeping bags… you name it it had little black dots of mould on it! Luckily, I intercepted it relatively early and I think there’s no lasting damage. BUT definitely another lesson has been learnt – regularly check your boat over the winter period!
The fix
Preventing damp on a boat is an impossible task, so all you can do is deal with it and try to prevent it as much as possible. The seal on the hatch has been fixed, and a dehumidifier is now in place, a heater is now on a timer within the cabin. And of course I have removed all soft furnishings. This should help a lot, and I’ll definitely be popping by more regularly to make sure she’s OK for the rest of the winter!
If you’ve got any amazing damp proofing tips or tricks, please share them in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.