New member: Water Dog 2004 CPMY - First Question!

[WaterDog]

Hello!

We are Adam and Kelly (and Scout). We purchased our new to us 2004 CPMY in Jan2025 which we lve very much! We bought it to be our Great Loop boat. We started our Great Loop from Safe Harbor Jefferson Beach Marina in St Clair Shores, Michigan Sept 6th, 2025. We had a wonderful time on our adventure slowly working our way around Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and down the rivers to the Gulf arriving early Nov.. Then we made our way to Key West by late December. However, that is where I (Adam) found out that my worsening back pain then required an urgent spinal fusion operation. That was completed Jan2026 in Michigan. So our Great Loop has been put on hold until around Nov2026 with our Carver moored in a wet slip (fresh water) in an inland marina in southern central Florida, near Lake Okeechobee.

Here is the question: For the extended Florida summer while we are in Michigan do we set our house A/C's (3) at ~80deg and run a dehumidifier or 2? Or, shutdown all systems and just run 4 or so oscillating fans and let the internal temps get up to 100-110 and humidity to constantly at 80's and 90"s? The latter is the suggested approach by a couple local boat owners at our marina who also will spend the majority of the summer up north (Michigan, USA) away from the boat. But honestly this is a shocking suggestion with concerns about mold growth and potential damage to manufacturing adhesives, interior wood varnish or lacquer, electronics, etc.

We also plan to visit the boat every 4-6weeks for several days at a time throughout this timeframe. Plus we have a litany of wifi cameras and temp/ humidty monitors on board to help keep an eye on her while were away. And there are dozens of live aboard boat owner neighbors in our marina who have offered to assist if we need someone to go on-board and cleanout a water strainer, etc.

We would appreciate any and all suggestions for a wet slip summer storage in the southern Florida heat and humidity..

Thank you in advance.
Adam and Kelly (and Scout)
MV Water Dog
2004 Carver 444 CPMY
Volvo Penta 370's

[pepmyster]

Welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[waybomb]

Welcome aboard.
Id think mold would be an issue if you have water leaks. It rains almost every day down there.

[km1125]

I'd be more inclined to use a stand-alone dehumidifier that drains into a sink that goes directly overboard rather than let the house A/Cs run continuously.