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.)
I glassed over the hole for the forward vent and installed a SS solar mushroom vent in the forward hatch. Works great and no tripping , fouling or water intrusion.
Mike, you are a man of few words and your advice while short and to the point is most persuasive. 338 happens to have a foredeck hatch now, and a ss solar Nicro in the center of the lens both forward Bomar hatches will make a very tidy and airy install. Thanks!
For finishing the inside of the hatch Nicro makes what is advertised as a soft vinyl trim ring for what of the vent that projects below right over the V-berth porto potti in Ariels. Instead of bang in the middle of the hatch, is it possible to place the vent off center?
A cruiser pointed out that the optional ss shell extends the life of the ABS vent. Haven't seen any Nicro claims that their plastic has UV protection. ABS gets brittle in the sun.
At 8 3/4" X 2" tall for the 4", it certainly seems preferable to the wide open cowl. It won't work unless the nicad battery works, so it is not a passive vent, and requires a maintenance fee. Now that's what I heard: that it won't work unless there is a size C nicad in place. I did assume the photvoltaics turn the fan battery or not, maybe not. Befor I shell out $225 to $250 - TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS! - gotta find that out! ` People on the cruiser site say the battery lasts for years and had no complaints about the vent. Wonder if rechargable nicads can be used.
Oct 15 Practical Sailor has a "...where credit is due" letter from a subscriber describing her experience with Nicro. When a fan motor "seized up" Nicro reolaced it for free. One assumes that replacing vent motors while sitting on the throne is not a problem. This writer also recommends paying the extra $40 for the ss cover.
[If you type in 'multi-purpose solar vent' on google, you will probably find a canadian site called QualityKits. For $119.95US you are offered a very similar vent. I think it is larger and the top screws up and down, which may mean it has other issues like line getting caught under when open - tho if this vent is primarily for marina use then it would be screwed down when sailing.(?)] Anybody interested???
So that's one end of the fresh air circulation when the boat is buttoned up. What's at the other end? Which way is in amd which way is out?
Ebb,
$250 !! Yikes , I didn't pay that much , more like under $150 . Check with Defender Industries or Hamiltonmarine.com. I got mine at West Marine with my contractor discount
Mine runs without the battery , just not at night .
Oh buoy! Yeah, who wants to put holes in those expensive babies!
Mushroom vents don't keep water out with direct hits either. But they can be removed if so mounted and a plate snapped in. Don't sound strong - if you can 'snap' a plate in then obviously you snap the vent out. (?) So could a dexterious dollop of briney, wouldn't you say?
What bothers me about the solar vent is that it is a patented device, stuff can go wrong. A cowl vent could just as easy be UNSCREWED and a plate turned in. A non electric dorade box is probably the most versitile water resistant vent but it needs to be fairly large for efficiency and is rather awkward. They need to be designed well to get air in. There are pvc vents of many descriptions, but they mostly look hokey and vunerable.
Hatches can be left open in a "vent mode" but also can let in water. While sailing our forward opening hatches would have to be down. Ventilation below while sailing and sleeping is absolutely primary. I wonder if the Nicro solars actually let in enough air? Rather have too much and figure out how to turn it down. The original forward hatch on 338 could be left open an inch or so and remained dry.
Air movement is very important to me, and it's a puzzle how to introduce more on the Ariel because of its size and paucity of options. That's why using the hatch, itself a vent for double duty seems like a good idea. But choosing a gizmo that can stop working is not smart.
One exercise when visiting the boat is to imagine where a dorade can be worked in. You know, half cowls in the cabin side, the front part of the seahood configured into a dorade.
Ventilation is needed in the cockpit lockers, or in 338 in the quarter berth, so there will be an opening port in the starboard wall of the cockpit. That will be relatively protected in calm comditions. Another place to put a port hole or small hatch would be in the cockpit cabin side where the galley stove might be , or have an extra venting dropboard.
Endless possibilities. And endless work projects if you don't want to BUY something and pop it in place. Nothing pops into place, dude.
Jack Rabbit, has the upscale ss snap-in Nicro (not the ones with chrome bronze deck plate) for around $150.
Looked up Defender as Mike suggested.
They have the ss covered snap-in for $144. If you want what looks like is the same top but with a chromed bronze deck screw-in deck plate (and I assume the vent screws in also) that will set you back $265!
Creative Energy Technologies www.cetsolar.com
(scroll to 'Marine Supplies') has a s.s./plastic "SmartVent" - a near copy in style and size, so far as you can tell from their catalog, to the nicro - for $99.
CAN ANYONE REPORT ON HOW WELL THESE NICROS WORK?
Are they meant just for a boat sleeping in the marina? Are these posh little thingies: ..... MARINA VENTS?
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