Sheets?

[soopad00pa]

Yeah, sheets. Everything in my boat is always damp. Are there sheets out there that deal with this better? I miss sliding into crisp dry sheets...

[carstenb]

I don't have an answer for you - but if your boat is always damp you should look for the basic cause. Sailboats should not be continually damp inside.

[soopad00pa]

Huh. I just assumed it's because it's in the water, out on the water. Ahumidity thing. I certainly have a couple of leaks that manifest with a hard rain, but this isn't that.

Even with my hatches open and the breeze flowing, my sheets are definitely...not crisp.

[carstenb]

If you are looking for "right out of the dryer crisp" that probably ain't gonna happen. But we live on our boat and have sailed over 30K nm over the past 6 years in virtually all the oceans of the world and our sheets are dry when we crawl into them.

If your sheets are damp - you have some type of problem - have you checked your bilges? Are they (more or less) dry?

[Sam Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by soopad00pa

Yeah, sheets. Everything in my boat is always damp. Are there sheets out there that deal with this better? I miss sliding into crisp dry sheets...

I think your trying to be funny/trolling. I miss crisp and dry cotton fabrics too at times.

[JPA Cate]

Fwiw, I have fount that combination polyester & cotton sheets feel less damp to me than all cotton; and also, flannel sheets let the sand go down so it doesn't bother me as much. i learned to keep sand out pretty well by having a foot basin to rinse feet in before going below. It makes a difference but it isn't perfect.

My guess is that the OP's sheets ARE in fact, always damp. FL is a very damp place. He or she can dry setting up a de-humidifier that can drain into the sink drain, and see if that will do it for the boat--but gotta have an inverter and a big enough battery bank to run it, so it can turn into a project.

Ann

[Don C L]

One thing that will keep a boat damp inside is salt water. If the cushions got splashed or other areas of the inside and it never got cleaned out with fresh water, the salt will attract moisture so things just never seem to dry out. You might try giving everything a freshwater bath and wipe down the inside and cabin sole etc. and see how it goes. I'm pretty fastidious about getting salt water cleaned up and while I am gone from the boat I set out "Damp Rid" to absorb moisture in the air and the inside of my boat is dry and smells good too.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

... i learned to keep sand out pretty well by having a foot basin to rinse feet in before going below. It makes a difference but it isn't perfect...

What a fantastic idea, so simple, so obvious, thanks Ann. I don't know why that had never occurred to me.

[gonesail]

agree about the cotton content of a sheet. the less cotton in it .. the less it will absorb moisture.

[goboatingnow]

I only sleep on 100 % cotton next to my skin , absolutely zero synthetics.

My boat is dry and the sheets are fine

[goboatingnow]

I only sleep on 100 % cotton next to my skin , absolutely zero synthetics.

My boat is dry and the sheets are fine

[Benz]

Second the cotton blend or no cotton idea. Florida is one of the muggiest places, and cotton just gets limp and stays there.
You coud even try nylon--it's what sleeping bags are lined with, usually, and people sleep in them just fine.
I love cotton for everything land-based, but for boats, the less of it the better.

[soopad00pa]

Salt could be an issue. That's for sure worth checking. I'll also try some synthetic stuff. Currently all cotton.

Appreciate the ideas. It's a small thing, but it is an annoyance...

[Joh.Ghurt]

A 12V heating mattress protector works great. You turn it on 30 minutes before going to bed and you'll have a dry and cosy warm bed. If you have an inverter, you might also go for 220 V. Cheap and efficient.

In a pinch a 12V heating blanket often used for the caravaning people placed under the sheets works nicely too. Truckers use this stuff too.

Stuff like this, although I don't have any actual experience with this product:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H4P74KUHEU

[Benz]

^^yeah, but the last thing you want in S Florida is to make things HOTTER.