condensation

[jeb_lee]

We've been living aboard a 46ft narrow boat for almost two years and I've constantly struggled with the condensation and damp all this time.

I've tried a big dehumidifier but it only works with the air just around it, i've also resealed a couple of the windows as I thought they could be leaking but that hasn't worked. Its getting so bad now that black mould has stained our interior wood, it can be removed with a lot of sanding but i get the feeling that next winter it will just return.

 

Is there anything I can do besides ripping the whole lot out and re-insulating it?

 

Any help is appreciated.

[David Schweizer]

You will probably never eliminate condensation but the secret of minimising it is good ventilation. Just relying on the BSS minimum will not keep your boat dry in the winter. I keep all the window hoppers open all the time to ensure that there is sufficient air ciculation, and even then then can still be some condensation.

 

If the condensation is also on the timber cladding as well as the windows, then your proposed solution may be the only remedy. when it is a bit warmer try removing one panel to investigate the insulation. it should cover all the steelwork and should be dry. If it is damp, or there are gaps it may need either replacing or suplementing with more insulation.

Edited April 3, 2009 by David Schweizer

[Ex- Member]

If it as bad as you say I would think the insulation might need looking at. Assuming you are ventilating the boat properly.

 

Do you konw what insulation you have? the reason I ask is some older boats were insulated with fibreglass wool, this stuff eventually gets damp making it heavier then it sinks to the lowest part of the cavety, usually in a soggy clump of fibreglass and leaving the cavety void. So that might be worth checking.

 

Check your bilges also.

[David Schweizer]

If it as bad as you say I would think the insulation might need looking at. Assuming you are ventilating the boat properly.

 

Do you konw what insulation you have? the reason I ask is some older boats were insulated with fibreglass wool, this stuff eventually gets damp making it heavier then it sinks to the lowest part of the cavety, usually in a soggy clump of fibreglass and leaving the cavety void. So that might be worth checking.

 

Check your bilges also.

Ihave heard that from other sources. My boat is insulated with Fibreglass wool, and I have had most of the clading off at some time in the past five or six years for re-wiring etc. and after 27 years, it is all still perfecctly dry and in place.

 

I suspect that it may be more to do with the quality and original thickness of the wool, that determuines its longievity rather than it being wool. My boat was expensive when it was built, and the builder was fastidious about quality, so I guess he would have used the best that was available at the time.

Edited April 3, 2009 by David Schweizer

[Keeping Up]

Our previous boat was insulated with rockwool. That also showed no sign either of absorbing the damp or of shifting its position.

[nb Innisfree]

We've been living aboard a 46ft narrow boat for almost two years and I've constantly struggled with the condensation and damp all this time.

I've tried a big dehumidifier but it only works with the air just around it, i've also resealed a couple of the windows as I thought they could be leaking but that hasn't worked. Its getting so bad now that black mould has stained our interior wood, it can be removed with a lot of sanding but i get the feeling that next winter it will just return.

 

Is there anything I can do besides ripping the whole lot out and re-insulating it?

 

Any help is appreciated.

If the problem is just the windows then you need to fit some sort of secondary double glazing, just a sheet of glass/plastic will do it doesn't need to be airtight just as a draught blocker, but for it to work you need to keep outer window ajar, the ventilated space will act as a thermal cushion. In our case we also painted the iside of porthole brass with anti- condensation paint. It has worked very well for us

[nb Innisfree]

If the problem is just the windows then you need to fit some sort of secondary double glazing, just a sheet of glass/plastic will do it doesn't need to be airtight just as a draught blocker, but for it to work you need to keep outer window ajar, the ventilated space will act as a thermal cushion. In our case we also painted the iside of porthole brass with anti- condensation paint. It has worked very well for us

Doh! just realised this is an oldish thread and I am repeating myself. I am 62...

[sueb]

You will probably never eliminate condensation but the secret of minimising it is good ventilation. Just relying on the BSS minimum will not keep your boat dry in the winter. I keep all the window hoppers open all the time to ensure that there is sufficient air ciculation, and even then then can still be some condensation.

 

If the condensation is also on the timber cladding as well as the windows, then your proposed solution may be the only remedy. when it is a bit warmer try removing one panel to investigate the insulation. it should cover all the steelwork and should be dry. If it is damp, or there are gaps it may need either replacing or suplementing with more insulation.

If you have your hoppers open all the time how do you heat the boat in winter? You must freeze

Sue

[mrsmelly]

We've been living aboard a 46ft narrow boat for almost two years and I've constantly struggled with the condensation and damp all this time.

I've tried a big dehumidifier but it only works with the air just around it, i've also resealed a couple of the windows as I thought they could be leaking but that hasn't worked. Its getting so bad now that black mould has stained our interior wood, it can be removed with a lot of sanding but i get the feeling that next winter it will just return.

 

Is there anything I can do besides ripping the whole lot out and re-insulating it?

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

Hi

We need more info, r u liveaboard ? if you leave boat unattended u will get lots of condensation and damp, have u good insulation ? If liveaboard u need solid fuel stove on 24/7 during winter like mine is, is ur boat a bus or a boat with portholes, having had both over the years it is true to say bus windows are hugely worse when it comes to condensation, r ur bilges clear, hows ur ventilation..do u have gas heating because that is awful for condensation...do u get damp under the bed or in cupboards ? Do u liveaboard full time or now and then ? My boat is always dry and I never let the squirell out between oct and mayish, if u keep the fire in u can open a window that will reduce condensation a lot and u will stay warm enough.

[David Schweizer]

If you have your hoppers open all the time how do you heat the boat in winter? You must freeze

Sue

I do not actually live on my boat, and do not normally stay on it overnight in the winter, so the issue does not arise. But if I did I would instal a decent solid fuel stove, My friends had one on their boat and it chucked out so much heat they often needed the doors open to prevent themselves from roasting.

 

I also have a thing about fresh air, and always sleep at home with the fanlight windows open, and the heat off, something about being brought up as a child in an unheated house, I guess. I would not heat the back cabin though, I usually end up throwing the duvet off half way through the night.

 

 

 

 

Hi

We need more info, r u liveaboard ? if you leave boat unattended u will get lots of condensation and damp, have u good insulation ? If liveaboard u need solid fuel stove on 24/7 during winter like mine is, is ur boat a bus or a boat with portholes, having had both over the years it is true to say bus windows are hugely worse when it comes to condensation, r ur bilges clear, hows ur ventilation..do u have gas heating because that is awful for condensation...do u get damp under the bed or in cupboards ? Do u liveaboard full time or now and then ? My boat is always dry and I never let the squirell out between oct and mayish, if u keep the fire in u can open a window that will reduce condensation a lot and u will stay warm enough.

I leave my boat unattended most of the winter, apart from short one day visits every few weeks, and do not experience any condensation. I guess that if I wound up the heating whist I was on it and left the boat with the inside very warm and the windows closed, there would be some condensation. but I don't, and there is no condensation, although there is some expansion of doors etc, due to increased moisture in the air, but that happens in my house as well.

Edited April 3, 2009 by David Schweizer

[canalbabe]

We've been living aboard a 46ft narrow boat for almost two years and I've constantly struggled with the condensation and damp all this time.

I've tried a big dehumidifier but it only works with the air just around it, i've also resealed a couple of the windows as I thought they could be leaking but that hasn't worked. Its getting so bad now that black mould has stained our interior wood, it can be removed with a lot of sanding but i get the feeling that next winter it will just return.

 

Is there anything I can do besides ripping the whole lot out and re-insulating it?

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

We have the same problem. Not much you can do other than put in double glazed windows. What we tend to do is leave a window or two open at night then use one of those squeedgee things to wipe off the excess moisture in the morning. Find that Bounty kitchen roll is good for mopping up the water that forms on your window ledges as it doesn't fall apart. We've got portholes in our bedroom and have lined the ledge with a little strip of high absorb sponge. Seems to help in stopping the water soaking into your wood work. Hope this helps......

[ChrisPy]

I also have a thing about fresh air, and always sleep at home with the fanlight windows open, and the heat off, something about being brought up as a child in an unheated house, I guess.

 

I leave my boat unattended most of the winter, apart from short one day visits every few weeks, and do not experience any condensation. I guess that if I wound up the heating whist I was on it and left the boat with the inside very warm and the windows closed, there would be some condensation. but I don't, and there is no condensation, although there is some expansion of doors etc, due to increased moisture in the air, but that happens in my house as well.

 

aye, and scraping the frost off the bedroom windows to see out on a cold January morning before setting off to school. Good old days, innit?

 

I s'pose there is no reason why a boat should be any damper than a house or a caravan. I don't suppose the presence of a body of water makes a lot of difference.

[NB Alnwick]

I s'pose there is no reason why a boat should be any damper than a house or a caravan. I don't suppose the presence of a body of water makes a lot of difference.

 

It doesn't - if you have serious evidence of damp or condensation in either - it means you have a problem and it needs to be fixed . . .

[Ex- Member]

Ihave heard that from other sources. My boat is insulated with Fibreglass wool, and I have had most of the clading off at some time in the past five or six years for re-wiring etc. and after 27 years, it is all still perfecctly dry and in place.

 

I suspect that it may be more to do with the quality and original thickness of the wool, that determuines its longievity rather than it being wool. My boat was expensive when it was built, and the builder was fastidious about quality, so I guess he would have used the best that was available at the time.

 

Fair point if yours has survived then clearly not all fibreglass will do this, good fitting as you say would help might even have been glued and they did do fibreglass in rigid bats i believe although rolls were most common, it's probably the rolled stuff that can have this problem.

 

Rock wool won't do this as the bats are woven differently and a substance added that bonds the weave and keeps them rigid, a bit like hair lacquer if you like but longer lasting LOL

 

The damp described sounds pretty bad if turning to black mould and a humidifier can't cope with it, so IMO the first place to look I think is the current insulation start, at the beginning basically.

 

Edited to add condensation and damp are 2 separate things really, but excessive condensation can lead to damp and vice versa.

Edited April 4, 2009 by Julynian

[David Schweizer]

aye, and scraping the frost off the bedroom windows to see out on a cold January morning before setting off to school. Good old days, innit?

I s'pose there is no reason why a boat should be any damper than a house or a caravan. I don't suppose the presence of a body of water makes a lot of difference.

Add to that counting to ten before jumping into a freezing cold bed at night!! being able to see your breath when you got up in the morning, and putting on freezing cold clothes. Who needs central heating?

[ChrisPy]

Add to that counting to ten before jumping into a freezing cold bed at night!! being able to see your breath when you got up in the morning, and putting on freezing cold clothes. Who needs central heating?

blowing warm breaths under the covers to warm the sheets up ......................

[David Schweizer]

blowing warm breaths under the covers to warm the sheets up ......................

Or fighting with your brother to see who got the only hot water bottle that didn't leak!

[ChrisPy]

.............. hot water bottle .......................

SOFTY !

[David Schweizer]

SOFTY !

Only when I won, and it went cold overnight, becoming a cold water bottle!

[ChrisPy]

we should really wear Canadian Arctic anoraks under such conditions

[mrsmelly]

I do not actually live on my boat, and do not normally stay on it overnight in the winter, so the issue does not arise. But if I did I would instal a decent solid fuel stove, My friends had one on their boat and it chucked out so much heat they often needed the doors open to prevent themselves from roasting.

 

I also have a thing about fresh air, and always sleep at home with the fanlight windows open, and the heat off, something about being brought up as a child in an unheated house, I guess. I would not heat the back cabin though, I usually end up throwing the duvet off half way through the night.

 

 

 

 

 

I leave my boat unattended most of the winter

 

Hi David

 

I have to ask why u leave ur boat all on its own during the very best time of the year to cruise ?

[David Schweizer]

I leave my boat unattended most of the winter

 

Hi David

 

I have to ask why u leave ur boat all on its own during the very best time of the year to cruise ?

We used to go off for short cruises in the winter when the boat was moored on the K&A, but it is now nearly a hundred miles away, and we do not have a stove, so it wopuld get seriously cold at night. My wife also has a disability which makes walking or standing still on hard surfaces very painful, so working the boat or Locks in cold weather would be more hazardous for her.

 

If I was on my own, I would probably instal a stove and take advantage of the peace that winter affords.

[mrsmelly]

We used to go off for short cruises in the winter when the boat was moored on the K&A, but it is now nearly a hundred miles away, and we do not have a stove, so it wopuld get seriously cold at night. My wife also has a disability which makes walking or standing still on hard surfaces very painful, so working the boat or Locks in cold weather would be more hazardous for her.

 

If I was on my own, I would probably instal a stove and take advantage of the peace that winter affords.

 

Hi

 

Yes its a shame the locks r very heavy on the K and A tho what a fab canal, Bradford on Avon is great had many a meal in the Georgian lodge...

[Ex- Member]

I also have a thing about fresh air, and always sleep at home with the fanlight windows open, and the heat off, something about being brought up as a child in an unheated house, I guess. I would not heat the back cabin though, I usually end up throwing the duvet off half way through the night.

 

I'm exactly the same, my bedroom window in the flat has been open since moving here 4 years, It's been open that long it won't close at all now and it's double glazed upvc

[nb Innisfree]

If you have your hoppers open all the time how do you heat the boat in winter? You must freeze

Sue

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