Ice on skylights inside cabin

Mastercraft

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Joined
Dec 4, 2020
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357
Fluid Motion Model
R-29 S
My R29 cabin has ice on skylights inside cabin due to severe cold in Anacortes, WA. It was 50 F in cabin. Now it is melting and dripping. I am going to melt it all and wipe up water. Then put paper towels above screens to catch any remaining drips. A dehumidifier would not prevent this.
 
Mastercraft":3ubixg2q said:
My R29 cabin has ice on skylights inside cabin due to severe cold in Anacortes, WA. It was 50 F in cabin. Now it is melting and dripping. I am going to melt it all and wipe up water. Then put paper towels above screens to catch any remaining drips. A dehumidifier would not prevent this.

I had the same thing happen on Channel Surfing (Everett, WA). I was down at the boat yesterday filming some stuff for an upcoming video about the Garmin Chartplotter... with drops of water falling on my head.

I suspect it's just condensation that collected and then froze on the glass, which melted when I cranked the heat up in the cabin.
 
So Martin, did you have a dehumidifier? I have a whimpy one and it was not turned on.
 
Funny... I did the same panicked paper-towel inserts a few days ago. Then picked up the cheapest fuzzy blanket in the world (Zeller's), chopped it into accurate rectangles, inserted above all 6 screens - works like a charm, with a visible impact on overnight cabin/VBerth temperatures. All windows/doors are canvassed or curtained. Got through last night like a charm despite -11°C low, clear skies & very low tide with sea ice closing in, not to mention 53kmh peak wind. Not too thrilled with my Caframo bilge heater, supposed to kick in at +7C in fact more like +1.6C. A single 1500W heater does the job for the cabin/vee.

/tmm
 
Mastercraft":1705z408 said:
So Martin, did you have a dehumidifier? I have a whimpy one and it was not turned on.

The dehumidifier I have works really well. It fills up in about 7 days here in the Pacific Northwest. We stop by the boat at least weekly to drain it. But one could easily drill a hole in the top of the container to let it overflow out into the sink.

I didn't have a lot of condensation on the ceiling hatches, but did have a little. Boat's aren't energy efficient with their single pane glass windows, humidity about 40% and outside temp around 14 degrees. Then I show up and crank up the heat in the cabin (I usually keep it around 42 degrees), causing what little was there to melt.
 
I thought Diatom's idea of using the screens was a great idea, so I dug up a bit of water-heater foil wrap and a cheap fleece blanket for the skylights. Hopefully it reduces the condensation drips.

53469454010_4d8d192971_z.jpg
 
I wrap my bug screens in plastic wrap and save a bunch of those packing bags from amazon packages and put a layer in between the screen and the glass. I wanted it clear just so we still get the light from the skylights in the cabin.
 
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