[C320-list] Ventilation Best Practices

[Martin Bayly]

Hey C320 Owners

 

Very proud and excited this weekend to join your throng.  Got the keys for
my first boat which is a 2005 320, hull #1023, Serendipity.

 

We're at Bowen Island, near Vancouver, BC Canada.  Anticipating many years
of fun family cruising.

 

But anyway first question, of which I'm sure there will be many, as even
though I sailed for many years with my family when I was a kid, still most
definitely a newbie at being skipper!

 

As may be well known, given the comments over the last few days regarding
sailing in Puget Sound, we have lots of moisture up here in the North West
and so I'm wondering whether I should be concerned about the lack of
apparent inbuilt ventilation in the Catalina 320.  The boat is basically 4
years old and still surprisingly fresh smelling given I don't think it's
been used much to date.  

 

However, from what I've read the best way to combat mildew is by keeping the
temperature in the interior similar to the exterior through good ventilation
and by ensuring the air continues to circulate and exchange.    However, my
320 doesn't seem to have any ventilation other than a 3 " by 1/2 " slot in
the main hatch boards.  The current owners have a couple of West Marine Air
Dryer Dehumidifiers (see link below), but the guy who runs the marina
suggested that they may do more harm than good if they warm the internal air
too much.

 

So interested in people's experiences and best practices for keeping the
mildew at bay and the air flowing sweetly.

 

West Marine Dehumidifier:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/
245832/377%20710%201663/0/Dehumidifiers,%20Air%20Purifiers/Primary%20Search/
mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710%201663
<http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001
/245832/377%20710%201663/0/Dehumidifiers,%20Air%20Purifiers/Primary%20Search
/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710%201663&Ne=0&Ntt=Dehumidifiers,%20Air
%20Purifiers&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenU
RL=true&storeNum=5002&subdeptNum=12&classNum=380>
&Ne=0&Ntt=Dehumidifiers,%20Air%20Purifiers&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&page=C
ategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5002&subdeptNum=12&classNum=3
80

 

Cheers

Martin Bayly

Serendipity #1023