Best way to vent a 'bu cover

[GrantD]

Got a decent cover last year...tie down type as boat sits in drive.

Issue is after a day in and out of boat, dampness in carpet and then when you cover boat, heat and humidity builds and I believe that is what caused some black mold spotting.

The cover doesn't have any vents built into it. Saw the solar fan one but comments on Overtons ripped it.

Could do those pop in kind with the poles...but wonder if those will circulate enough air.

Thoughts?

[Chia]

Got a decent cover last year...tie down type as boat sits in drive.

Issue is after a day in and out of boat, dampness in carpet and then when you cover boat, heat and humidity builds and I believe that is what caused some black mold spotting.

The cover doesn't have any vents built into it. Saw the solar fan one but comments on Overtons ripped it.

Could do those pop in kind with the poles...but wonder if those will circulate enough air.

Thoughts?

You need to uncover the boat to get rid of that kind of wet. what is your cover made of? Sunbrella breathes as does canvas, just not enough to get rid of wet in a short period of time.

[WakingMeHappy]

Define a “decent cover”? What is it made of? Is rain water pooling on it?

[Bill_AirJunky]

Probably something like Sharkskin that doesn't breathe as well as Sunbrella. They usually put vents in them. I suppose you could install them now.

Probably a good idea to use dehumidiers like the Dry-z-air baskets.

[Wayne]

I have 3 of the vents that attach to the support poles. Like the upper picture that Bill gratiously posted. They do not circulate enough air for the boat to dry out if it's damp. Even small puddles in the carpet take for ever if the cover is on. Even on hot, sunny and windy days it stays humid under my black cover.

I wonder if it would be possible (and safe) to put one of those little 120V household type dehumidifiers inside. My father runs one in his second garage with no concerns. Since they don't generate heat, I can't see them being much more dangerous than a fan. Find a small one with a hose for the drip tray or modify it so you can attach a hose and run that through one of the hull drains. That takes care of replentishing the hygroscopic crystals since they saturate quickly if enough moisture is present.

[MalibuTime]

My last boat spent some time outside while I finished my basement and at my prior house was outside and had some mold after the winter so I rigged up a system with 4" drain. I put a 110v 6" fan from an old IBM computer (a big, old computer to be sure) at the front end of the pipe on a 110v light timer, stuffed it all under a 5 gallon bucket (I think I put a hole in the bucket for the tube)to keep it dry and ran it under the cover to the bow. In the stern I put another 5' section and ran it out, with a screen over it to keep critters out. This system forced air through the boat for as many hours as I wanted each day as set on the timer. This would also evacuate moisture if the boat was covered wet, but you'd have to pop all of the seats to get circulation.

Anyhow, this forced air system worked great all winter. I set the fan to come on in the afternoon, so any condensation created by the afternoon heat would be vented.

[Bill_AirJunky]

I've used these fans to keep things dry under the cover. Not really sure how well they work though, because there is no tray to empty. I used it when I lived in Seattle, where it rains terminally.

Now we live in a semi-desert area and it's pretty dry to begin with. So the boat tends to dry out pretty easily.

WEST MARINE BOAT AIR DRYER DEHUMIDIFIER FAN/CIRCULATOR