Mildew - Again ?

[Bill]

I've got a question(s) that revolves around a short story.

I just got back from a sunny ( read that as hot/humid ) week in coastal NC  where the price was so low  that I just had to buy this 27 yr old sailboat - a virtual bargain since wind is free ?  Ok fiberglass hull is fine, engine well its 27 yrs old and works sort of, but the cabin has teak, holly, ash and a bit of mahogany thrown in for good measure. There's the problem - the prior owner - well less said the better but the expression rode hard and put away wet comes to mind. So now I've got this really neat sailboat that I just spent a week fussing over ( read that as in no A/C but did bring a 20" box fan as I lived and worked on the boat  :( ) except for the cabin wood. I got the mold/mildew off fiberglass but when I went through the archives didn't really see recommendations for mold/mildew on existing - interior lining/furniture.  I see bleach mentioned alot - and I surely have used it when I wasn't too concerned about the surface it was on.

So do I go with bleach and don't worry about the finish ? Is there something else ? I'm sure that I need to remove the wood to treat the backside ? What can I do to hold off the mold/mildew from coming back ? ( I'll try putting in a vent that won't let rain in and I've heard tell that old timers leave some  mothballs about when they're not there so the mildew won't grow back ) Please don't tell me that I'd be better off bleaching all that fine wood and covering it up with a coat of paint !

Thanks for all comments and suggestions  -

[beenthere]

The bleach solution shouldn't hurt the wood. It will clean off the mold, and then after rinsing with water, you will need to sand the wood back to smooth, and refinish with a marine finish or marine oil (I'd use Watco Marine oil, and when putting it on, use wet-dry sandpaper to get a good smooth finish, and keep re-oiling it lightly every year or two).

You also might use Oxalic Acid or an equivalent (poke around places that sell marine finishes) to remove stains in the wood.  But these cleaners will expose the fibers of the wood that have been weathered by the sun and the raised grain from being wet, so sanding will be in order to restore the wood back to normal like you want it.

If the wood is decayed, then two choices would be replacement or using a marine epoxy to fill the voids.

How about some pics?  Sounds like an interesting project you have going, and one with some hard work associated with it too.

[sprucebunny]

In the sawing and drying sections here, they talk about borax and borates for preventing mold and mildew but I haven't tried it yet.

I'm a boat owner/repairer and have just scrubbed with bleach and rinsed well then sanded and varnished. Most of the oils I've seen and tried will oxidize and get black so I'd recomend varnish....low gloss for floors so it won't be slippery or you can add non-skid granules.

[CHARLIE]

Salt water and salty air is hard on boats.  Once the mildew is  off, I'd varnish it with a top quality Marine Varnish with UV Ray resistance.

If you store it over winter or something like that, wadded up newspaper will help keep the mildew down.  Or, you could rig up a little low voltage fan to keep the air moving inside. Just a thought.

[Bill]

beenthere, sprucebunny and charlie - thanks for the suggestions - I'll be bleaching and sanding. The strips along the hull are screwed on so they'll come off but the "bulkheads" are glassed to the hull and they're not as bad so they'll be done in place. This is supposed to be a low budget boat - the price was like that of a smaller model and just couldn't be passed up - looks like I'll make up for it with sweat equity - which I can afford  ;D - its the other equity that I have trouble with .

I'm posting a couple pics of the mildew and one kinda of the outside - though I got the image size messed up a little on the outside one trying to keep the file size down. BTW these pics are prepurchase so things are already looking up !

[Don P]

I need to get out the door, but if you have time google up Dave Carnell or "Chemotherapy for rot" he wrote a piece on the borates Joan was talking about in relation to boat repair. I've had good luck with the waterlox marine varnish compared to other spar varnishes etc. but thats on land, a whole nuther world.

[sprucebunny]

I hope I'm wrong, but some of those spots look more like water damage than mildew.

Before you work on the interior, make sure there is no water seeping in around deck fittings, hatch mounts, etc.. The water can seep a ways horizontally so the leaks aren't always right above the signs of damage.

I guess I'm obsessive but I'd rebed and reinforce every deck penetration particularly the cleats as many production boats had cleats that were too small and not attached with good backing plates. By now, any chaulk they used on deck fittings will have disinigrated or become unbonded. 3M 5200 is the chaulk/adhesive to use. Very, very sticky ;D

PS my boat is 31 years old. I had to replace the deck core for starters ......

[Bill]

Thanks also Don and sprucebunny again.

I'm maybe going about this slightly backwards - I figured that by cleaning it up I could live on it when I'm there to work ( so no motel/restaurant bills  ;D  ) and with it clean I could chase down water leaks onto the now clean surfaces. Least it seems like its a plan. There are alot of deck penetrations and some crazing - which I would like to address ASAP so I don't need to work on the deck core . I figure this is part of the reason the boat was priced the way it was and its that old cliche - you can pay the man money or put in the time - so I'm picking the time . . .

[Quartlow]

This is supposed to be a low budget boat

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Ok now that I got up off of the floor, there aint no such thing. It's just a hole in the water you throw money into.   ;D

I bought one of those "low budget" boats once. A 14 year old Formula Thunderbird. 28 foot, closed bow, twin 350 chevies. $3000. I knew the prevoius owner. he had it winterized right after he had both motors overhauled. Only thing is the guy took the money and didn't winterize it. When it came to me both blocks where cracked, 3 out of 4 heads and all 4 exhuast manifiolds. Another $3000 and the motors where good to go, then another $1000 in the outdrives and we finally got to go boating.

I can say one thing though it was bad fast. I did get lucky and sold it for more than I had in it. I wouldn't want to fill it up today  :D

[Dale Hatfield]

I have been told that bleach is a pulping agent.  ( turn your wood to mush if you used it to strong) or didn't wash it away.
I have also been told that bleach is like  fertilizer for molds. knocks them down and gains strength from it to grow back ?????
Being told this I use the strongest Vinegar that i can buy as its an acid so it kills the mold an wont grow back.
Also their are some pretty good mold  removers  at the paint stores.


Dale