mushroom vent

[ebb]

Has anyone installed a mushroom vent over the forepeak instead of the traditional cowl?

A mushroom vent can be closed in place by turning the cap down. I'm assuming this can be done instantly on deck. The cowl would have to be removed, the closing plate found and screwed in.

The mushroom seems to me to be a more likely fitting to find in the bow of a small sailboat out on the water. A pvc cowl, however, is more forgiving of chain and line and feet - and probably more efficient at getting air (and water) below.

It might be a simple matter to find or fabricate a protecting cage for the mushroom to slip line over the fitting, and help keep it from getting bent.

ABI makes the most readily available bronze mushroom vent - one sells for a hefty hundred bucks. (Sailnet online store has them for $63.67. But the couple who ran it, as I hear from online gossip, had the people who backed them come in and take it away. The people who run it now are getting rid of stock, it seems, and closing the business. Like I say, gossip, but sending money to a company that might bankrupt at any moment is a bad risk.)

Anyone want to vent on this subject?