Attack of the killer mold

[Jason]

Aloha Fellow Compac-ers,

Well, after a long Wisconsin Winter, I pulled Lillyanna out of the barn last weekend.  She will be on a walleye mission this Saturday, opening day.  After many event-free winter storage years, I got her home this year and opened up the companionway to find a cabin totally overtaken by a horrible coating of mold that would have been cool and impressive if it hadn't been in my boat. The initial reaction was one of dissappointment in the work and expense that lay before me.  The entire interior, fiberglass, wooden objects, pfd's, aluminum light poles, plastic gear; All was covered in a thick mold that in spots was a very lightweight matrix of mold a couple inches thick, and in other spots was dense and thick on the object it coated.  My disappointment morphed fairly quickly into a determination to rescue my beloved ship.  To skip to the happy ending: by sunset she was cleaned out with a fresh coat of paint on the entire interior. 

Flashback....I looked at my sorry,moldy interior and became concerned about my own health because I didn't know what nastiness might befall me should I breathe too much in.  Any disturbance sent a cloud of mold dust/spores drifting lightly into the air.  I put on my canister gas mask and got in there and pulled every object out of the cabin.  Then I scraped the mold off of the interior, then I scrubbed the surfaces with a very concentrated mixture of mr.clean and bleach and brillo pad, , then I rinsed the interior out and wet-vac'd out the dirty water, then I towelled it all dry.  Anyone that has done work in the fore-cabin of a 16 , and especially in the coffin bunks of a 16, will know what this all entails. The lazarette area was cleaned through the lazarette opening.

Then I opened every opening I could and let it dry, and while drying I got to work cleaning the contents that had been in the cabin.  Sadly and expensively, the big bunk cushions were a total loss , as were the lines/ropes I had stored, and the pfd's.  Plastic parts were ok after scrubbing them, and my electrical box prevented intrusion of mold into the electrics.  Spare anchor was all ok after scrubbing.

I then repainted the entire interior of my fine ship and she looks great.  Replacement lines and pfd's are on order and by Saturday she will be in Bristol shape.

I achieved some satisfaction in taking this mess and punching back to get her into a ship-shape that is a bit better than when she went into storage in fall.  More work than normal and more than I wanted this spring.  I have never had this happen before, but ultimately I can only conclude that it must have been my fault in putting her away with moisture in the cabin.  I do not shrink wrap the boat over winter, and it is not airtight over winter, but I do close 'er up tight enough to keep mice out, and I must have closed up the ship with some moisture in it, that's all I can figure.  I will dry it out with open hatches for a couple days before putting her into storage next winter.

-Jason

[captronr]

Man, that's a scary thought! 

Haven't noticed mold inside our Eclipse, but our previous boat, a Mac26X would grow mold sitting in it's slip if we weren't there for a few weeks.  We used clorox wet wipes and other spray cleaners.  Ours was only on the interior liner, etc.

Ron

[Gerry]

WOW!  Happy to hear you and your boat are in good health.  I store my 16 in a garage in Fish Creek, WI all winter, unheated, hatch open, lightly covered with a tarp.
I empty all equipment to store in my garage loft.  I have no problems.  I think keeping things dry and air circulating is key.  Good luck fishing.  If you ever visit Door County, let me know...we have great sailing.

[Citroen/Dave]

If water gets into the bilge it will saturate the concrete ballast.  There it becomes available all Winter for the mold spores to infect a C16, and other Compacts. 

If water freezes in the concrete, that is another matter.  I had to scoop out some decomposed concrete from anther C16 that I thought I was going to buy. 

Always check the bilge before closing up a C16.  Deal with any moisture, and the leaks before closing the hatch.  If in doubt use a moisture trap like the silica gel used in drug bottles.  Marine supply houses have similar stuff in cans or buckets for boat applications.