All Forums  Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums  Catalina 25 Specific Forum  Ventilating the Dumpster

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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Lee Panza[/i] [br][br] Here are a few more suggestions. On my boat there are two SS clamshell vent cowls on the cockpit combing at the quarters: the one on the port quarter faces forward and one on the stbd. quarter faces aft. The latter has a flexible duct (like a dryer hose) attached to the bottom extending down through the ledge at the aft end of the quarter berth into the space that's contiguous with the space below the quarter berth. This is similar to the conventional arrangement for a power boat, especially one that houses a gasoline motor below decks. A power boat generates its own wind, so to speak, and air is scooped into the forward-facing cowl and exhausted out the aft-facing cowl. The duct from the aft-facing cowl is usually led to the bilges, so the air being exhausted will remove any heavier-than-air gasoline fumes. On a sailboat opposing vent cowls could be useful for forcing ventilation on both upwind and downwind points of sail. However, in our boats (on my '84, at least) there is very little exchange between the dumpster and that area beneath the quarter berth. This defeats the purpose of opposing vent cowls. A big improvement would be to drill a series of holes in the bulkhead between those areas. My manual bilge pump is mounted in the dumpster, and the intake hose passes loosely through a hole in that bulkhead, with a coil of hose beneath the quarter berth. Although that hole is somewhat larger than the hose OD it isn't large enough to be effective for cross-ventilation. I've thought about cutting more holes, but in the cool San Francisco climate it hasn't been an important issue for me personally. When I'm ready to try to stow anything in the dumpster (I believe Catalina refers to that area as a sail locker) I'll probably want better ventilation. I thought about the possibility that the dumpster could serve as a flotation chamber to slow a sinking from a catastrophic failure elsewhere in the boat, but I think the hole for the bilge pump hose negates that prospect. Another thing to consider, if you were to follow this suggestion, would be to drill similar holes through the bottom of the bulkhead between the dumpster and the space beneath the galley. This space is contiguous with the spaces under both of the settees in a dinette model, and I presume it would also connect with the space beneath the settee in a traditional or an L-dinette configuration. This is another job on my to-do list (down there with the holes under the quarter berth) for when I'm willing to climb into the dumpster with a drill and hole saw (and a really good full-face particle-mask). Even with no external air movement, these cowls can also help ventilate those areas by passive convective circulation: as warming air within enclosed spaces rises and exits through relatively high ventilation openings it draws cooler air in through relatively lower openings. When sun shining on the cockpit settee warms the dumpster the warming air could leave through the port quarter cowl. At other times it might be that warm air escaping the cabin could draw cool outside air in through the cowls. Convective circulation on our little boats probably wouldn't ever be a very powerful effect, but it could be enhanced by the holes I've described as well as holes leading to those spaces from the interior of the saloon. I've already installed rectangular louvered vents in the sides of the settees, and I have another louvered vent to install under the companionway (another lower-priority job). Any of these ideas could help, Ray, and implementing all of them - along with the ideas already offered by others - could make a big difference. As Spring begins to bring warmer weather it might be time to do something. I hope this is helpful. [br] [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature. Check here to subscribe to this topic.