Books aboard boats in tropical areas

[joelsanda]

Anyone shed light on how well books fare in tropical areas on a boat? When I was vacationing in Tahiti I didn't see books in bookstores wrapped in shrink-wrap/plastic. But on a trip to Mexico books in a bookstore were wrapped up in shrink-wrap at the bookstores. The seller didn't speak English and I didn't speak enough Spanish to even attempt asking her ;-)

Made me wonder how consumer-market (paperback, trade paper and normal hardcover) books hold up on cruises in the tropics. Do they swell with the moisture? Get moldy and mildewy?

Thanks!

[killarney_sailor]

I would not want to bring any antiquarian books on a long cruise but general books (paperbacks, cruising resources) do fine. If you have a deck or other leak near a book shelf it would not be a good thing but such is life.

[lshick]

Mildew is likely. There are various mildew-prevention products that may help (we have used SunPack with some success).

Cockroaches love the glue in bindings, so any books you bring aboard should be fumigated: put them in a plastic bag with a healthy shot of insecticide for 24 hours or so before bringing them below.