Deck Mount MK1

A phone on a racing boat is doing a job it was not designed for: mounted in the open, hit by spray, run at full brightness for hours, and handled with wet hands. None of it is difficult, but a routine that gets skipped is how a phone ends up dying ashore.

A phone is water-resistant, not waterproof. IP ratings are tested in still fresh water, they describe the phone as it left the factory, and liquid damage is excluded from warranty almost everywhere. Sail accordingly.

Before sailing

• Check the charging port is clean and dry before plugging anything in.
• Start with a full battery rather than planning to charge on the boat.
• Put the phone in Do Not Disturb so a call cannot land on the dash during a start sequence.

While the phone is wet

• Avoid pressing hardware buttons.
• Do not plug in a charging cable.
• Do not open SIM trays, port covers or seals on the water.
• If the phone is covered in spray, keep using it mounted and do the rinse ashore.

After sailing

What the spray leaves behind is the problem, not the soaking itself. It dries into a fine film that holds moisture, works its way across contacts and packs into buttons and latches — and wiping a wet phone with a dry cloth spreads that film rather than removing it. A rinse in fresh water lifts it off.

1. Take the phone out of the mount as soon as you are ashore, before you start de-rigging.
2. Rinse it in fresh water under a gently running tap. Not a pressure hose — that drives water past seals.
3. Rinse the mount and its hardware too. Fasteners and clamps corrode faster than the phone does.
4. Shake it gently port-down, blot with a soft cloth, and let it dry port-down in moving air, in shade.

Before you charge

Look into the charging port with a light. It should be clean, dry and free of white or green crust. If it is not obviously dry, wait — a couple of hours is usually enough, overnight is safer. If you need power sooner and the phone supports it, charge wirelessly and bypass the port entirely.

Never

• Seal a wet phone in a bag or dry box for the trip home.
• Use heat — hairdryers, heaters, or a sunny dashboard soften the adhesive holding the phone together.
• Use compressed air. It pushes water further in.
• Use rice. It does nothing useful and leaves starch dust in the ports.
• Use soap, solvents or an abrasive cloth on the screen.

Warning signs a phone is losing its seal

A coloured bloom or discoloured corner on the display, or vertical lines across it. Condensation under the front glass or a camera lens. A muffled speaker that does not recover. Charging that works only at a certain cable angle. A battery that drains much faster than it used to, or any bulge — retire a swollen battery immediately, it is a fire risk.

At the first display or port symptom, stop using that phone as the boat phone.