dehumidifier advice?

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Topic: dehumidifier advice?

Posted By: MyBMW
Subject: dehumidifier advice?
Date Posted: 29 September 2025 at 15:35

How do you dehumidify inside?

dry season is nearly finished here in The Bay and we noticed the table salt starting to clup together. Been hearing/seeing various ways to control the humidity on other vessels. Curious to hear/see some clever ways others here have addressed this.

(we do not have air conditioning, as an option)

Thank you!

Brent

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Jumeirah
San Francisco
(458 #253)

Replies:

Posted By: DCJ
Date Posted: 29 September 2025 at 16:37

We have a Meaco DD8L Dehumidifier £200. Drains through the DST hole when on the hard.

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Colin

Posted By: marsella
Date Posted: 29 September 2025 at 17:21

I didnt see problems with salt but all my fuxtures get rusty while leaving the boat for long term storage in the boatyard, especially the ones in the bathrooms. I tried to fight with that using12V dehumidifier (plenty on Amazon), leaving sink drain seacock open to dischage the water. With local wifi I programmed 12V outlet to turn dehumidifier on/off so that it only operates when solar energy is generated. I also tried to monitor the level of humidity via wifi sensor. Unfortunately all this had very little effect on those fixtures. I ended up using some anticorrosion paste which somewhat helps. Still need to do a lot of cleaning once I am back on water.

Posted By: Ananda
Date Posted: 29 September 2025 at 21:07

I used four tubs of this desiccant:

DampRid Fragrance Free 2.5 lb. Hi-Capacity Bucket - Moisture Absorber for Fresher, Cleaner Air in Large Spaces (FGAM50)

It's available on Amazon and works good -- had boat on land storage last winter.

DampRid Hi-Capacity Moisture Absorber Bucket attracts and traps excess moisture, eliminating musty odors from damp areas.
The hi-capacity design features a unique Moisture Lock spill resistor technology with a sealed safety cover for a mess free solution.
Ideal for larger spaces like basements, garages, and stored boats or RVs, where stagnant air and excess moisture is a problem.
This 2.5 pound bucket lasts up to 6 months, depending on temperature and humidity levels.
To use, remove the plastic lid exposing the sealed safety cover. Discard once the moisture absorbing crystals have fully dissolved.

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Hanse 460 2022 "Ananda" Annapolis Maryland USA

Posted By: Ian Coverdale
Date Posted: 30 September 2025 at 10:00

When away, we use a Delonghi dehumidifier placed on top of the galley fridge with drain into the sink. Amazing how much water goes down the drain.

Just beware, read an article some years ago of a dehumidifier aboard a boat that caught fire because the unit froze up in cold weather. Our model stops working below 5C which must be a common feature these days.

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Ian & Andrea
SV Gabrielle (H445)
Liveaboards - currently Montenegro.
www.facebook.com/sailinggabrielle

Posted By: MyBMW
Date Posted: 30 September 2025 at 14:24

yes, noticed this on our lamp fixtures recently as well

What paste are you using?

looking forward to have you aboard

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Jumeirah
San Francisco
(458 #253)

Posted By: marsella
Date Posted: 30 September 2025 at 19:03

Hi Brent, pretty much any metal polish and wax is ok, I stoked up with some German brands while the boat was in Greifswald, but now just get those at a local marine store, they have plenty of choices, car polishing stuff for chrome and stainless steel ok too. Also anticorrosion spray like CorrosionX, spraying on seacocks for long term storage.

Posted By: Martin&Rene
Date Posted: 03 October 2025 at 16:47

This is yet another area where the answer depends on your circumstances.

We do not have a dry season in Scotland, as even in the "summer" we may have months with 4-5ins (100-125mm) of rain. When we were on board for 4 days earlier this week, we had 2.5ins of rain. We always have a dehumidifier on board and will shut up and put it on when we are in a marina and it is cool and moist outside and we are cooking. So we aim to keep our yacht dry all year.

I think the Scottish winter is fairly similar to yours, as it is wet, temperatures around 10 deg C (48deg F), no major diurnal variations and only a few days with frost.

We are due to be lifted out on to the hard in a couple of weeks and that is where the yacht will stay as we live 250 miles form our home port. Our normal procedure is that for a couple of days after the yacht has been lifted out, we will not live on it and we will run a heater and the dehumidifier in the various cabins to really dry everything out. We take paperwork and food home, but leave mattresses and cushions propped up.

We not leave a dehumidifier on over the winter. The only air gap is the entry hatchway. I take the shore power lead into the cabin to a junction board on which are mounted 2 timers. One is set for around 6hrs a night and runs a small greenhouse tube heater which gives a bit of heat and moves the air around. The other timer feeds back onto the yacht shore power input and is set for 30mins a day, just to run the battery charger. We put a couple of the dessicant units in the saloon and in in the switchboard panel.

That is it. We have done that for 15 years and the yacht has always smelt fresh when we get back on board 5 months later.

I do not know whether that regime would be sufficient if the yacht was left in the water. If you do decide to have power on the yacht in the water all winter, then make sure you have a galvanic isolator. Earlier this year, a yacht (not a Hanse) was lifted out at the marina with major corrosion damage to the saildrive

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Martin&Rene Hanse 341 Dipper Wheel steering, 3 cabin layout, normally based in Scotland

Posted By: MyBMW
Date Posted: 07 October 2025 at 02:28

our neighbor who livesaboard recommended Eva Dry.

We will probably order this to get started.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082B2PCN6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A1U15KGKMWGEMN&psc=1" rel="nofollow - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082B2PCN6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A1U15KGKMWGEMN&psc=1

Plan is to set over the fridge and drain into the sink

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Jumeirah
San Francisco
(458 #253)

Posted By: MyBMW
Date Posted: 15 February 2026 at 01:34

been running this dehumidifier for a couple months now and am very satisfied. It sits perfectly in the bigger side of the sink and drains in the smaller (can use the smaller side if needed). Then the power perfectly stretches back to the corner. for now we keep the unit in the sink when we sail and it stays perfectly upright. Then set down into the shower after arrival. So far so dry:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/A8ZFVAf8Hw3FY9Rk7" rel="nofollow - https://photos.app.goo.gl/A8ZFVAf8Hw3FY9Rk7

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Jumeirah
San Francisco
(458 #253)