You are reading a single comment by @hoonz and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@hoonz
You have Narrow boat! Great stuff.
This mildew problem is most likely caused by condensation which in turn is caused by the warm air inside your boat coming into contact with a cold steel hull. Running a heater constantly and installing fans will only ever provide a mediocre and band-aid solution to what will be a constant menace. What I am about to suggest would be a long term solution but you need to cover the entire inside of the hull with some kind of insulation and a vapour barrier.
I don't have a boating backgroud but I work in the construction industry and the same problem you have happens in old uninsulated houses with solid brick walls. Infact, the idea of insulation combined with vapour barriers is probably one of the least understood concepts within construction.
On my travels I have found an amazing insulation that is flexible, thin (around 10mm) and outperforms everything else by a factor of better than 5:1 for insulation performance. Link here:
http://www.proctorgroup.com/products/thermal-insulation/spacetherm
It's not cheap compared with other insulations but given you will have a relatively small area to cover the cost wouldn't be too extortionate. It also resists mould growth. Above the insulation layer you need a vapour barrier - basically a plastic sheet fully sealed and taped everywhere to prevent the water vapour suspended in the warm air inside your boat coming into contact with the insulation (which is not air tight) and in turn the hull and condensing on the hulls inner surface and creating a wet zone under the insulation.
If you wanted to try this concept first without spending much cash you could use regular frost blanket - flexible foam sheet used for protecting newly poured concrete in winter from freezing whilst setting - available from most builders merchants. Even using this stuff you will see an immediate improvement.
Pm me if you want.