How do I prevent mold from growing on my RPS?

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Author Topic:   How do I prevent mold from growing on my RPS?

Conrad posted 09-16-2002 08:50 AM ET (US)
I installed an Reversible Pilot Seat a few months ago, I used to have a Todd cooler seat. My Whaler lives in Jacksonville, FL in my back yard under a cover. The canvas cover is not water tight is just keeps out the leaves, sticks and most of the dirt (it is pretty hot and humid under the cover). Everytime I take the cover off to use the boat, the RPS is covered in black mold (the Todd seat did not seem to have this problem). Is there anything that I can apply to the seat to prevent mold? Will sealing (making water tight) the canvas boat cover fix this problem? If so, how do I seal the canvas boat cover?
Thanks,
Carl
jstachowiak posted 09-16-2002 09:04 AM ET (US)
Canvas doesn't work in Florida. Walmart has a boat cover that is water proof for about $60. It is silver colored very light weight and is trailable, although I have not tried to trailer, yet. I bought additional tie down grippers from Home Depot, they are plastic grippers that add additional tie downs on the cover edge. Then bought all rubber (non marking) stretchy tie downs from Bass Pro, but available from West Marine too, that connect to the trailer. If you have the high Montauk railings just by a bigger cover. Mine I think is 16 to 18 feet size. I have a Newport 17, has lower railing.
To keep the cover from collecting water I used an old sail batten (fiberglass) with railing ends (West Marine) that clip between the rails and bows up so the cover doesn't sag and collect water.
I'm in Jax also. Fruit Cove, launch at St Augustine, Vilano and Trout Creek in St. Johns county. 17 Whaler Newport "The Other Woman" is the name on the side.
raygun posted 09-16-2002 10:54 AM ET (US)
Sounds like your RPS is teak. Best fix is to remove the RPS , its handles and rubber rod holder tops and teak clean it and then varnish it. You can buy expensive teak cleaning kits or mix a half cup of calcium hypochlorite (HTH or pool shock) with 3 squirts of dawn dishwashing liquid in a gallon of water. Wear rubber gloves and scrub the mixture into the wood with the grain with one of those plastic scrub brushes then some brass wool or 3M fake steel wool(cheaper yet). You need to keep it wet with the solution and let it work for 5 min or so, let the chemical do the work. This will kill the mold. Rinse very well to flush the solution. The teak should have some "fuzz" now and the water should run clear, if not, do it again. Don't worry about the fact that it's not smooth. Don't use regular steel wool, it will leave small particles that will rust later and find their way to the deck and you'll get rust spots. Don't use a wire brush either, it will rip the pulp out of the wood between the grain. Once it's really clean sprinkle some oxalic acid crystals on the wet wood and scrub them around lightly. Let it work for 5 min (keep it wet) to brighten the color of the wood, then rinse very well. When dry your wood should have a fuzzy feel, just sand it with 80 grit. Most likely, the bottom of your RPS is plywood, so you'll probably want to seal it with some Interlux Inter-Prime Wood Sealer Clear on it before varnishing. I would recommend using 7-10 coats of Interlux Schooner varnish, just follow the directions on the can. (You can use the Interlux Jet-speed varnish to do 4-5 buildup coats) Don't use hardware store spar varnish. Don't go the teak oil route unless you just want to start an endless cycle of teak cleaning, as the mold will feed off the teak oil. With varnish, you just need to give it a quick sand and another coat or two of varnish down the road.
Conrad posted 09-16-2002 12:01 PM ET (US)
Raygun,
Sorry, I should have been more specific. The mold only grows on the vinyl and is very easy to clean up (soap ,water and rag). But, I was hoping to avoid it all together.
jstachowiak,
Do you ever launch at Sister's Creek? If so, we may have met there briefly about a year ago. I have a 17 Whaler, no bow rail, small console and 90 Johnson. I met someone with a Newport about a year ago. It had a large console, gunnels you could walk on and a 70 (I think).
Thanks for the advice,
Carl
Bigshot posted 09-16-2002 01:21 PM ET (US)
Have vents put in your canvas top, that should allow the air to circulate....no air, and you get mold. Cheap to have done.
tvon posted 09-16-2002 02:07 PM ET (US)
I live just south of Fruit Cove in Switzerland. I have a 21 Outrage. We ought to get together some time.
.....Todd
jstachowiak posted 09-16-2002 04:50 PM ET (US)
It was not me at sister's creek last year. I just bought this boat (Newport) about four months ago. I had a 15 GLS with a canvas cover and had that same problem (mold). This new cover from Walmart is great, and cheap in comparison to others. That's the Newport though. Gunnels like the Outrage with a large side console. I like everything about it. I'm repowering with a 70HP "Evinzuki" 4-Stroke. Hope to have it installed in a couple weeks. Need to run some gas out of the 90HP Merc on it now before I swap.
Tvon/Todd, I put in at Trout creek when I'm just cruising around or want to toss a line under some docks. I need to put a trolling motor on this rig so I can do that again, but a new motor was priority. I live just south of Roberts rd. I hope to get out this weekend, just don't know where I usually decide that morning.
Whalerdan posted 09-19-2002 02:20 PM ET (US)
Coat the vinyl with a very thin coat of vasoline. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. Got this from my brother who's into his checkmate speed boat.
Bigshot posted 09-19-2002 02:41 PM ET (US)
Petroluem based products will waterproof but will also deteriorate the material. Same goes for Thompson's water sealer, etc. Great if you just want that last season out of it.
rsgwynn1 posted 09-20-2002 09:11 AM ET (US)
Why not buy a small dehumidifier and keep it running under the cover? By the way, I like the Tyvek covers sold by Overtons. They're waterproof, lightweight, and cheap, and they've outlasted canvas covers by a couple of years.
Whalerdan posted 09-20-2002 12:36 PM ET (US)
Been doing it for 4 years now and the cushions still look like new.
jstachowiak posted 09-20-2002 02:05 PM ET (US)
"rsgwynn1" you must not live in the south. A dehumidifier would fill up in about 5 minutes here. In fact the way it has been this summer, if you stand in one place for more than 5 minutes mold starts to form on you.

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Author	Topic: How do I prevent mold from growing on my RPS?
Conrad	posted 09-16-2002 08:50 AM ET (US) I installed an Reversible Pilot Seat a few months ago, I used to have a Todd cooler seat. My Whaler lives in Jacksonville, FL in my back yard under a cover. The canvas cover is not water tight is just keeps out the leaves, sticks and most of the dirt (it is pretty hot and humid under the cover). Everytime I take the cover off to use the boat, the RPS is covered in black mold (the Todd seat did not seem to have this problem). Is there anything that I can apply to the seat to prevent mold? Will sealing (making water tight) the canvas boat cover fix this problem? If so, how do I seal the canvas boat cover? Thanks, Carl
jstachowiak	posted 09-16-2002 09:04 AM ET (US) Canvas doesn't work in Florida. Walmart has a boat cover that is water proof for about $60. It is silver colored very light weight and is trailable, although I have not tried to trailer, yet. I bought additional tie down grippers from Home Depot, they are plastic grippers that add additional tie downs on the cover edge. Then bought all rubber (non marking) stretchy tie downs from Bass Pro, but available from West Marine too, that connect to the trailer. If you have the high Montauk railings just by a bigger cover. Mine I think is 16 to 18 feet size. I have a Newport 17, has lower railing. To keep the cover from collecting water I used an old sail batten (fiberglass) with railing ends (West Marine) that clip between the rails and bows up so the cover doesn't sag and collect water. I'm in Jax also. Fruit Cove, launch at St Augustine, Vilano and Trout Creek in St. Johns county. 17 Whaler Newport "The Other Woman" is the name on the side.
raygun	posted 09-16-2002 10:54 AM ET (US) Sounds like your RPS is teak. Best fix is to remove the RPS , its handles and rubber rod holder tops and teak clean it and then varnish it. You can buy expensive teak cleaning kits or mix a half cup of calcium hypochlorite (HTH or pool shock) with 3 squirts of dawn dishwashing liquid in a gallon of water. Wear rubber gloves and scrub the mixture into the wood with the grain with one of those plastic scrub brushes then some brass wool or 3M fake steel wool(cheaper yet). You need to keep it wet with the solution and let it work for 5 min or so, let the chemical do the work. This will kill the mold. Rinse very well to flush the solution. The teak should have some "fuzz" now and the water should run clear, if not, do it again. Don't worry about the fact that it's not smooth. Don't use regular steel wool, it will leave small particles that will rust later and find their way to the deck and you'll get rust spots. Don't use a wire brush either, it will rip the pulp out of the wood between the grain. Once it's really clean sprinkle some oxalic acid crystals on the wet wood and scrub them around lightly. Let it work for 5 min (keep it wet) to brighten the color of the wood, then rinse very well. When dry your wood should have a fuzzy feel, just sand it with 80 grit. Most likely, the bottom of your RPS is plywood, so you'll probably want to seal it with some Interlux Inter-Prime Wood Sealer Clear on it before varnishing. I would recommend using 7-10 coats of Interlux Schooner varnish, just follow the directions on the can. (You can use the Interlux Jet-speed varnish to do 4-5 buildup coats) Don't use hardware store spar varnish. Don't go the teak oil route unless you just want to start an endless cycle of teak cleaning, as the mold will feed off the teak oil. With varnish, you just need to give it a quick sand and another coat or two of varnish down the road.
Conrad	posted 09-16-2002 12:01 PM ET (US) Raygun, Sorry, I should have been more specific. The mold only grows on the vinyl and is very easy to clean up (soap ,water and rag). But, I was hoping to avoid it all together. jstachowiak, Do you ever launch at Sister's Creek? If so, we may have met there briefly about a year ago. I have a 17 Whaler, no bow rail, small console and 90 Johnson. I met someone with a Newport about a year ago. It had a large console, gunnels you could walk on and a 70 (I think). Thanks for the advice, Carl
Bigshot	posted 09-16-2002 01:21 PM ET (US) Have vents put in your canvas top, that should allow the air to circulate....no air, and you get mold. Cheap to have done.
tvon	posted 09-16-2002 02:07 PM ET (US) I live just south of Fruit Cove in Switzerland. I have a 21 Outrage. We ought to get together some time. .....Todd
jstachowiak	posted 09-16-2002 04:50 PM ET (US) It was not me at sister's creek last year. I just bought this boat (Newport) about four months ago. I had a 15 GLS with a canvas cover and had that same problem (mold). This new cover from Walmart is great, and cheap in comparison to others. That's the Newport though. Gunnels like the Outrage with a large side console. I like everything about it. I'm repowering with a 70HP "Evinzuki" 4-Stroke. Hope to have it installed in a couple weeks. Need to run some gas out of the 90HP Merc on it now before I swap. Tvon/Todd, I put in at Trout creek when I'm just cruising around or want to toss a line under some docks. I need to put a trolling motor on this rig so I can do that again, but a new motor was priority. I live just south of Roberts rd. I hope to get out this weekend, just don't know where I usually decide that morning.
Whalerdan	posted 09-19-2002 02:20 PM ET (US) Coat the vinyl with a very thin coat of vasoline. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. Got this from my brother who's into his checkmate speed boat.
Bigshot	posted 09-19-2002 02:41 PM ET (US) Petroluem based products will waterproof but will also deteriorate the material. Same goes for Thompson's water sealer, etc. Great if you just want that last season out of it.
rsgwynn1	posted 09-20-2002 09:11 AM ET (US) Why not buy a small dehumidifier and keep it running under the cover? By the way, I like the Tyvek covers sold by Overtons. They're waterproof, lightweight, and cheap, and they've outlasted canvas covers by a couple of years.
Whalerdan	posted 09-20-2002 12:36 PM ET (US) Been doing it for 4 years now and the cushions still look like new.
jstachowiak	posted 09-20-2002 02:05 PM ET (US) "rsgwynn1" you must not live in the south. A dehumidifier would fill up in about 5 minutes here. In fact the way it has been this summer, if you stand in one place for more than 5 minutes mold starts to form on you.