Best tips to keep your gear dry in your boat

[RNSkeeter]

So I just switched to keeping my boat on a hydrohoist over the water vs dry storage. (ca delta) What are the best ways to try and keep rods and gear dry? So far it seems if I have my factory skeeter cover on it (which is solid 'plastic' and doesn't breathe at all like canvas might), it really traps in the moisture and I'm seeing it collect all over the reels and bait boxes. Anyone keep their boat and gear on the water all the time? How do you keep it dry? (Or is this a lost cause and I need to bring my gear in every day?) 

[Lead Head]

Try putting a small electric fan under the cover and leave a gap for air to move (I'm assuming you have power to charge batteries). I've never tried it but it couldn't hurt.

[Jaderose]

Don't get it wet.

 

 

 

(I'll show myself out)

[gim]

Do you keep your rods/reels sitting out on the deck are they accumulating moisture while they're inside the rod box?

 

My rod storage compartment has a nice rubber seal on it to keep moisture out, as does my primary tackle storage compartment.

[GaryH]

What year Skeeter ? All the boxes should have nice seals and a dock fan built in to circulate air threw all the compartments. 

[RNSkeeter]

11 minutes ago, GaryH said:

What year Skeeter ? All the boxes should have nice seals and a dock fan built in to circulate air threw all the compartments. 

 

It's a 2021 FXR, so it does have the dock fan. I'll try that and in combination with the small electric heat/fans I've seen like @Lead Head mentioned. I'm not always there physically to turn on and off the dock fan, but I can put an electric fan/heater on a smart plug or something.

 

I'm curious about the lid seals -- it's the foam lid with the aluminum lip style that skeeters use. Does your's keep moisture and condensation out? This seems like it's water vapor and humidity thats trapped under the cover first, and then gets trapped in the boxes themselves -- probably happens overnight. Running water (like rain) it's great at keeping out though.  I'm currently running an experiment by leaving the cover off and I'll check back in a day or two to see if the condensation is able to evaporate out. 

[GaryH]

If you have power at the dock your good with the dock fan. It will turn off by itself. I can’t remember the time frame.

As for your cover I’m wondering why yours is plastic and why it doesn’t have vents. 
I’ve never have any moisture in mine. Keep in mind when not being used mine is in a garage. But it still sits out when on the road for days. I believe if you run your dock fan and let your gear dry off you may fix your problem. Good luck and keep us posted.

I just checked your dock fan will run for 15 minutes then shut down for 30 minutes and keeps repeating the procedure until to turn the switch. So as long as your charger is plugged your good to go.

[cyclops2]

All good boat covers HAVE plastic Clam Shells sewn into the covers at the highest area of the cover. That allows air to be drawn in at lowest points. It will cause a slight air movement upward on warm / sunny days.  If you boat in stagnant areas.  Very little natural breeze ?  You are out of luck. HUMID areas ?  Need to have everything sTORED in air tight GASKETED lockers.   DO you ever have standing water in the bottom of the hull ?  HUGE ....MOISTURE generator CONSTANTLY.   If you do ?  Get a gasketed seal for your rod lockers. 

 

NEVER ever let someone LIE TO YOU about it is O K to have water in the bottom of the boat.

Crappy boats & drivers have water in the bottom.  If you BLAST ALONG ? taking in water ?  You now know your choices. None of my covered boats ever had water in the bottom.  Found where it came in & had a canvas guy repair a factory screwup. Water in the bottom / bilge ?  RUSTS & JAMS starters.

[the reel ess]

Don't go fishing in the rain. Cover your boat when not in use.

[cyclops2]

I fish in the rain.  BBUUTT  I then leave it uncovered on the first good day. Includes getting on plane & bow high up. Pull the drain plug To drain most of the water. Put plug BACK IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Before slowing down.  The get the mop ready for bow up again to remove the last bit down there.  Worth it

Rainy weeks . Go  a little longer before mopping.

[RNSkeeter]

3 hours ago, GaryH said:

If you have power at the dock your good with the dock fan. It will turn off by itself. I can’t remember the time frame.

As for your cover I’m wondering why yours is plastic and why it doesn’t have vents. 
I’ve never have any moisture in mine. Keep in mind when not being used mine is in a garage. But it still sits out when on the road for days. I believe if you run your dock fan and let your gear dry off you may fix your problem. Good luck and keep us posted.

I just checked your dock fan will run for 15 minutes then shut down for 30 minutes and keeps repeating the procedure until to turn the switch. So as long as your charger is plugged your good to go.

 

Oh awesome that's great to know! I will test the turn on/off feature then try that overnight. I think I'll still try those low voltage fan/heater for the floor of the boat to make sure there's circulation there too. All of these things together should really keep it dry. Thanks!

2 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

I fish in the rain.  BBUUTT  I then leave it uncovered on the first good day. Includes getting on plane & bow high up. Pull the drain plug To drain most of the water. Put plug BACK IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Before slowing down.  The get the mop ready for bow up again to remove the last bit down there.  Worth it

Rainy weeks . Go  a little longer before mopping.

 I DO have water left down in the bilge. It was because my old dry-storage place HAD to be the ones to pull it out of the water and put it away -- so I didn't always get the chance to drain the boat easily unless I waited around. Your trick of doing it on the water is a good one! Now that I have my own hydrohoist, I can drain it EVERY time I fish! I'll use your mop idea to ensure the bilge is bone dry as well.

3 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

All good boat covers HAVE plastic Clam Shells sewn into the covers at the highest area of the cover. That allows air to be drawn in at lowest points. It will cause a slight air movement upward on warm / sunny days.  If you boat in stagnant areas.  Very little natural breeze ?  You are out of luck. HUMID areas ?  Need to have everything sTORED in air tight GASKETED lockers.   DO you ever have standing water in the bottom of the hull ?  HUGE ....MOISTURE generator CONSTANTLY.   If you do ?  Get a gasketed seal for your rod lockers. 

 

NEVER ever let someone LIE TO YOU about it is O K to have water in the bottom of the boat.

Crappy boats & drivers have water in the bottom.  If you BLAST ALONG ? taking in water ?  You now know your choices. None of my covered boats ever had water in the bottom.  Found where it came in & had a canvas guy repair a factory screwup. Water in the bottom / bilge ?  RUSTS & JAMS starters.

Thanks for the info. I've been having water in the bilge, so that makes sense it's a big cause of the problem. The cover does have good air vents, but I'm betting that bilge water would still be generating so much moisture that it still collects in these lockers. Unfortunately skeeter does not use rubber gasket lids. The lids have foam on the roof which wouldn't seal if there was a rubber gasket so not much I can do there I think.

[WRB]

The Delta has brackish water and tidal changes so a lift is a good plan. Water is created by condensation of dew when humidity = air temps, it’s like rain under the boat cover. Vents help air flow, warm air helps to prevent dew point. Desiccants help to absorb moisture in the tackle lockers. 

Boats take time to maintain, neglect them and it get costly.

Tom

[cyclops2]

Frost King makes FANTASTIC open & closed cell foam gasket TAPE.  The big center floor locker on my bowrider is now air tight when the lid is down. VERY thin adhesive backed ,closed cell foam tape, Super soft rated.

The lid closes FLAT with the floor. NOT a tripping hazard. I used the narrowest & thinnest tape. I called Frost King & asked for Tech Support. Got the right #. Hardware store special ordered a roll. I also used some on all the tackle boxes that got damp & rusted lures & hooks.