is dehumidifier needed in winter in southwest florida

Me and my friend have electric dehumidifiers on our 34ft mainship trawlers. I leave it on ( on set at 65%) all year round. He takes his down during fall winter months ( Oct-april)'

Can someone advise who is correct. Is dehumidifier needed in Southwest Fl during Wintero

Only way to really know is to monitor humidity without it or see how much water the dehumidifier collects at a reasonable humidity setting. Personally, I'd say if you have a way to power it, just run it. It won't hurt.

We run our dehumidifier year round...it’s Florida.

Does your friend get mildew growing in the winter?
You can get a hygrometer for less than twenty bucks. You want to keep the humidity at 65% or less.

Up to you but even in reasonable humidity areas closed up boats can develop problems with mildew/mould. Most boats have areas where the air is stagnant and add a bit of humidity and mould can develop.

Use of a fan will help also as the forced circulation will push air past the dehumidifier so that air can be dried and the circulation will reduce or eliminate stagnant areas.

In our summer I don't use them but I am at the boat many times a week or we are using it.
In winter the humidity is higher, the boat is opened less so I do use two small units.

Stagnant air is a good point. I keep a couple of fans running all the time on the boat when it's in the water. And in hot / humid weather, I leave one A/C unit on to control humidity. In the winter on the hard, it can't stay plugged in. So no fans or dehumidifiers, just a few things of damp-rid placed throughout the boat. And mattresses, etc. propped up for air circulation. That's always been enough to do the trick up north.

I keep my boat (see avatar at left) closed up and in the water during the winter months in SW Florida. I got a little mildew on the interior last year. I may consider using a small dehumidifier.

But I keep the boat on its trailer in a storage yard in the summer and there is no power. I suspect when I get down in a few weeks and take a look, the mildew will be lots worse.


David

David, I used one of the little Peltier Effect dehumidifiers on Possum. I rigged it with an aquarium air hose to drain in the sink. Worked great. Kept the humidity at around 65% all summer in Miami.

At least one of the storage yards in PUNTA GORDA offers power. You might want to use that option and let the dehumidifier run all summer.

I am currently at Crystal Cay on Taylor in Punta Gorda and there is no power. Another storage yard I checked out is Burnt Store RV and Boat Storage and I am sure they don't either. One that may have power is Charlotte RV Storage on Rio Vila but they are about double the $700 I pay to Crystal Cay for year round use- trailer only in the winter and trailer and boat in the summer months.

But hey I am cheap. A little clorox and water takes care of the mold.

David

I winter in Fort Myers and wouldn't be without one or have the AC running. The problem with not keeping the boat dehumidified is that you don't know you have a mold problem till you find it. Then, you don't know if you've ever gotten rid of all of it. Dehumidifiers use little electricity. If you use it half the year already, why would you stop?

Ted

I use one all the time

We found a boat that is well ventilated has no problems.

In some cases we remove a hatch and installed a turbine vent to assist the poor stock ventilation.

These help remove air , there must be enough intake area.


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lomanco-...MIn_fEh_GO5QIVFGyGCh1cUwCGEAQYBSABEgLYQfD_BwE

Use a real small dehumidifier all season, April - November. Seems to work well.
Power is a problem at marina while on the hard in winter. Winter were in shrink wrap or under cover. The shrink wrap has vents but does not provide much air circulation. The DampRid Moisture Absorber helps? Maybe use some type of solar fan? Maybe they can come up with a plastic vent for shrink wrap like FF's idea.