ports closed or open under shrink wrap ?

[Joel S]

This is my first winter with my CD. RI winters are totally unpredictable. Some years little percipitation, other years 100 + inches of snow. I had the boat shrink wrapped, and my question is whether it is better to leave the portholes open or closed under the wrap ? Also, is it essential to remove the cushions from the boat or can they be safely left on board? Thanks.



joels@ids.net

[Leo MacDonald]

Hi Joel,

I generally leave the portlights, garboard drain and thru-hulls (hoses disconnected) open during winter storage. The hatches are left partially open (on a wooden block) and a modified hatchboard with a screen installed is placed in the main companionway. I also recommend a 'breather opening' at the fore & aft ends of the shrink-wrap.

The object is to keep the air moving

Fair Winds,
Leo



macdore@aol.com

[Neil Gordon]

>>I had the boat shrink wrapped, and my question is whether it is better to leave the portholes open or closed under the wrap ?<<

I'm in Boston... LIQUIDITY gets shrink wrapped. It's better to leave the ports open and get more air flow, but generally, the boat has been wrapped with the ports closed. I've not had a problem. I would in any case get the cover off in the spring as early as possible and get the boat open and aired out. My cover usually comes off mid-march.

>>Also, is it essential to remove the cushions from the boat or can they be safely left on board?<<

If the boat is dry, no problem leaving them on board. Air them out a bit in the spring.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



cdory28@aol.com

[Warren Kaplan]

This is my first winter with my CD. RI winters are totally unpredictable. Some years little percipitation, other years 100 + inches of snow. I had the boat shrink wrapped, and my question is whether it is better to leave the portholes open or closed under the wrap ? Also, is it essential to remove the cushions from the boat or can they be safely left on board? Thanks.

Joel,
I left the ports closed on my CD27 both last year and this year when shrink wrapped. What I did do was this. I took the companionway steps off, which is the everyday access to the engine compartment, and left the engine compartment open to the main cabin. There are two vents on the stern deck that normally bring ventillation into the engine compartment. with those open, and the dorade vent up forward in the head open, air can circulate thru the entire boat, as long as there are some vent holes in the shrink wrap. Don't go too overboard on putting holes in the wrap. Those holes can weaken the wrap, widen and rip in very severe conditions, which will allow all kinds of wind, weather, dirt, sand etc to get into your boat. A couple of small flaps should suffice. Also, the guys who shrink wrap my boat put these moisture absorbing bags throughout the cabin and one in the "icebox". Last spring, when Sine Qua Non came out of hibernation, we unwrapped her and there was absolutely no mildew problems. Hope this helps.

Warren Kaplan
S/V Sine Qua Non
CD27



Setsail728@aol.com

[Larry DeMers]

All the advice is good, and as far as the ports go, I suspect that the best route would be to leave them closed(as a safety backup in case the shrink wrap should fail and allow water to get inside the boat- relatively low chance occurance, no doubt), but provide good air flow thru the boat, using the screen companionway board trick (good idea!) or the steps removed allowing free flow of air fore to aft (another nice idea). For the cushions, we took them home for years..big PITA! So tried leaving them aboard and had no problems, so that is how we do it every year now. We do prop them up on edge so air can surround them however. Also prop open the settee backs..maybe using the cushions themselves to hold them open. The Vberth cushions are the same way..leave them onboard, but prop them up so that air can circulate freely. Lastly, we use Mildew Gas bags in the boat (x4). There is some need for care in handling these bags by the way.

Hope it all keeps you mildew free.

Cheers,

Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior

This is my first winter with my CD. RI winters are totally unpredictable. Some years little percipitation, other years 100 + inches of snow. I had the boat shrink wrapped, and my question is whether it is better to leave the portholes open or closed under the wrap ? Also, is it essential to remove the cushions from the boat or can they be safely left on board? Thanks.

demers@sgi.com

[bob loewenstein]

One caveat about leaving ports open during the winter (even with screens): racoons. This happened to a friend of mine using tarps, not shrinkwrap. His interior was really messed up...he thinks a group lived in there for the winter.

Bob

[Jack Laudermilk]

By all means, I recommend opening all ports, hatches and make sure there is an opening in the shrink wrap fore and aft. The danger is these warm, moist winter days we are having in the NE. Just visited my boat and found all surfaces inside wet to the touch. I opened everything up and installed a fan for two days. It dried out nicely. If it isn't kept dry, you will have ice inside when it turns cold.

This is my first winter with my CD. RI winters are totally unpredictable. Some years little percipitation, other years 100 + inches of snow. I had the boat shrink wrapped, and my question is whether it is better to leave the portholes open or closed under the wrap ? Also, is it essential to remove the cushions from the boat or can they be safely left on board? Thanks.



JLaudermilk@adrus.com

[Warren Kaplan]

This is my first winter with my CD. RI winters are totally unpredictable. Some years little percipitation, other years 100 + inches of snow. I had the boat shrink wrapped, and my question is whether it is better to leave the portholes open or closed under the wrap ? Also, is it essential to remove the cushions from the boat or can they be safely left on board? Thanks.

First, we had this discussion a few months back so you may be able to find it in the "archives" using the search function on this board. That said, you should have ventilation of some sort. This is what I did. I left the ports closed. I have a CD27 and there are 2 vents running from the stern of the boat to the engine compartment, obviously for ventilation when the engine is in use. What I did was simply remove the companionway steps, which is the normal access to the engine, and leave them off. That opens the engine compartment to the main cabin and points forward. I have a dorade vent forward, in the head compartment also. This allows good ventilation thoughout the boat. I did it this way because all these vents are designed to be exposed to the weather and keep rain out. All summer obviously when the boat is out in the elements, it pours and no rain gets in. So, if by chance the shrink wrap somehow tears or blows off, rain , sleet and snow will not enter the boat as it might if that happened with the ports open. I don't get to visit my boat in the winter for weeks at a time. I'd sure hate to get alot of rainwater in the boat through those ports and then have the thermometer plunge to zero thereafter. So, I use the "weatherproof" vents, to work as designed....letting air in and keeping water out. By the way, you should have some small holes in the shrink wrap but not too large. The guy who shrink wrapped my boat says if you make those holes too large it just weakens the wrap and you could wind up with a gaping hole after a storm, letting in all kinds of weather, debris, sand and grit. You shrink wrapped to keep all that stuff out. So don't be overzealous with the holes in the wrap. Hope this helps.

Warren Kaplan
Sine Qua Non
CD27 #166



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