Has anyone put a roof hatch or portlights into their Daysailer 2? The cuddy is dark and airless and I have been thinking about putting either a transparent roof hatch or a couple of opening portlights in. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Hatch For Daysailer2
- Thread starter Fozzybond
- Start date
O'DAY used to offer an optional cowl vent that was located on the foredeck, that plus the slits in the cuddy enclosure board should vent better, but won't add much light and I'd be afraid of tripping on the deck vent and either having it go overboard...... or me go overboard!
I think if you do a bit of web searching you may find pictures of skylights and ports (windows) on the cuddy sides, but I'm not sure there are any available opening ports that will fit on the sides. They do sell low-profile ("mushroom") vents that have a clear section in the center, they sit fairly close to the deck, so less tripping hazard and should not get kicked overboard as easy (plus the come with little securing bars that lock them into the deck plates. The Catalina (Capri) 16 and 18 had a small (about 4" x 6") acrylic panel set into their foredecks, would take a bit of engineering to install, but should add light with no trip hazard.
I have saved some of the pictures of what other owners have done for a hatch or ports, may try to post if you can't find on-line pics. Buying a stock, ready-to-install hatch would mean adding a frame under it to compensate for the deck camber.
Picture below are not my boat, but may give some ideas.
I think if you do a bit of web searching you may find pictures of skylights and ports (windows) on the cuddy sides, but I'm not sure there are any available opening ports that will fit on the sides. They do sell low-profile ("mushroom") vents that have a clear section in the center, they sit fairly close to the deck, so less tripping hazard and should not get kicked overboard as easy (plus the come with little securing bars that lock them into the deck plates. The Catalina (Capri) 16 and 18 had a small (about 4" x 6") acrylic panel set into their foredecks, would take a bit of engineering to install, but should add light with no trip hazard.
I have saved some of the pictures of what other owners have done for a hatch or ports, may try to post if you can't find on-line pics. Buying a stock, ready-to-install hatch would mean adding a frame under it to compensate for the deck camber.
Picture below are not my boat, but may give some ideas.
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Hi Sunbird,
Thanks so much for the response! That first picture is exactly what I was thinking. I did look at some pre-fab portlights and hatches, but I'm not sure the decking is thick enough to support such things. I'd love to see how to put this style of oval portlight in. My DS has grab rails much like the one pictured and I like the styling. I'll do some more searching, but if you come across any pictures, I'd be happy to see them. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for the response! That first picture is exactly what I was thinking. I did look at some pre-fab portlights and hatches, but I'm not sure the decking is thick enough to support such things. I'd love to see how to put this style of oval portlight in. My DS has grab rails much like the one pictured and I like the styling. I'll do some more searching, but if you come across any pictures, I'd be happy to see them. Thanks again!