Keeping a Pontoon Dry Under Cover

[Thompsdw]

Ok, so I am relatively new to pontoons - but the boat I purchased had a lot of interior mold so I really want to keep the interior as dry as possible when the full cover is on. I have a pretty tight cover and the carpet is always soaked after a rain. I assume it is coming in under the bottom side panels in the gap between them and the deck. Is this just a futile effort to manage the moisture?

[Bamaman]

Keeping a boat inside a garage or in a boathouse is about the only way to really keep'em completely dry.

I'm fortunate to have my boat hanging in a boathouse. And after 27 years, the thread in my old Starcraft pontoon boat upholstery started to rot. That, and a blown lower unit, were reasons to replace the boat with a Bennington last year.

Even one of those portable metal carports with side walls would be a very good investment in making your boat last longer.

[PlaynDoc]

my opinion.... cloth/mooring covers are mainly for sun protection... and should be WELL ventilated. i think the sun does more damage than water - as long as the boat doesn't hold water anywhere, and the cover is well ventilated.

[cleatus]

open a couple entry gates, ya need some air movement under that cover.
also, here is a solar powered fan you can add:

http://www.wholesalemarine.com/marine-m ... Ogod4zUAeQ



I don't know how much air that fan will move, you may need two.

[BobL]

my opinion.... cloth/mooring covers are mainly for sun protection... and should be WELL ventilated. i think the sun does more damage than water - as long as the boat doesn't hold water anywhere, and the cover is well ventilated.

^^^This.

On my Bentley, it had carpet and a cheap OEM cover that would not breath. Lots and lots of mold.

On my Southbay, it has a nice cover made of Sunbrella and while it breathes, it does not keep water out. I have been under there putting the poles up during a rain shower and you get will get wet (not a lot of water but a consistent drip drip everywhere).

I also opted for snap out carpet in my Southbay and that, along with he cover vents helped a lot. I really think the reduction in mold had more to do with no carpet than anything else.

Crank you trailer jack up as high as possible so all water drains to the rear of the boat. Some folks keep a bucket of charcoal in the boat. Cover Vents (on top of support polls) and the suggested fan also help as well. Also does not hurt to pull the cover off when the sun is shining and let her dry out.

I will caution you to use the proper mold killing cleaners/preventers as many of the stuff you buy at the big box stores will destroy your vinyl.

[lakerunner]

If you have power available buy a plastic box type fan to keep under cover and move the air

[MH Hawker]

You have to treat sumblella ever 2 years to keep it water proof with the 303 fabric Gard stuff. I just got a gallon on sale through amazon for 60.00 with free shipping.

The reason I ordered the 303 stuff is I found my carpet wet a few weeks ago, and yes to slow down the mold I put a PVC tarp over the boat and put in a box fan and while its not the best thing to do it helps.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... yhe306q1_e

[Flanker]

+1 on the fan

[BobL]

You have to treat sumblella ever 2 years to keep it water proof with the 303 fabric Gard stuff. I just got a gallon on sale through amazon for 60.00 with free shipping.

The reason I ordered the 303 stuff is I found my carpet wet a few weeks ago, and yes to slow down the mold I put a PVC tarp over the boat and put in a box fan and while its not the best thing to do it helps.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... yhe306q1_e

How did you apply it? Stretch it out on saw horses and use a garden sprayer? It appears that it may be easier to apply while it is on the boat but not sure about overspray on other parts of the boat.

[rob28]

We had a similar problem with soaking wet carpets after some rain - even with the mooring cover on.
Our simple solution is to leave the front and rear doors open to allow ventilation to blow through. This actually proved to be extremely effective and the carpet will be dry a few hours after rain, whereas before it would still be sopping wet.

[Drago]

BobL, make sure to clean the mooring cover before applying the 303 Fabric Guard. I hang mine over a long tightly suspended cable so that it is off the ground. Then clean it with either the 303 Fabric and Vinyl cleaner or some mild detergent. After it is dry, use a pump up sprayer to fully saturate the material. Ours take slightly more than a gallon of the Fabric Guard. I've done it once while on the boat but have found unless there is NO wind, it is just very wasteful of the expensive 303 products.

[MH Hawker]

You have to treat sumblella ever 2 years to keep it water proof with the 303 fabric Gard stuff. I just got a gallon on sale through amazon for 60.00 with free shipping.

The reason I ordered the 303 stuff is I found my carpet wet a few weeks ago, and yes to slow down the mold I put a PVC tarp over the boat and put in a box fan and while its not the best thing to do it helps.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... yhe306q1_e

How did you apply it? Stretch it out on saw horses and use a garden sprayer? It appears that it may be easier to apply while it is on the boat but not sure about overspray on other parts of the boat.

I haven't put it on yet but yes the directions say to use a garden sprayer and a brush to work it into the fabric.

[Thompsdw]

Yes, I understand the ventilation. But for a boat that is this well covered the amount of water that ends up in the boat is surprising to me. I did just treat the cover for water repellency. So, here is my question - I notice that on my Avalon that the space between the deck and the rail that goes around the boat is open at the bottom. There is about a 1/4" gap. There is one "dry" compartment on the boat where foam was added between the deck and rail to seal water out. Assuming that the cover is very tight (mine is), is that the primary source for wet carpet? Basically wicking into the toon??

[rob28]

Our main source of water seems to be coming under the fence through the drainage gaps - usually by the front and rear doors depending on wind direction. It seems to be a price we pay for drainage.....

[lakerunner]

Better to have the spacers than a swimming pool when hit by big wake or wave.

Before I had dry storage I used the factory cover but in winter storage I added a plastic tarp over cover and past side panels. Kept everything dry over winter. I still used a fan just to keep air moving