My boat has plenty of ventilation when I'm aboard (10 opening ports and 12.5 square feet of skylight area) but the problem is when she's buttoned up on the mooring and I'm away. For economic, aesthetic, and arrangement reasons, I didn’t want to install the Nicro solar vents so this is what I did:
The 12 v. computer fan was 10 bucks and the 5 watt solar panel 30. I took an extra Nicro vent plugs and epoxied it to a piece of 1/8” acrylic I had lying around. After it cured, I turned it over and ran a 3” hole saw through it. The beveled flange on the vent plugs make this work very nicely. I then made a box to hold the vent van from teak scraps, mounted the solar panel and added two teak strips to stiffen it. The hood was made from the same acrylic and painted.
No switch. I just put it in a tote bag to turn it off. It’s only used when the boat is on the mooring. I thought I might have to plug the Dorade box vent holes but there is enough flow at the vent inside that it would probably put out a candle.
I mount it on the head Dorade vent and leave the door and lockers open. I decided not to add the complication of batteries unless the vent didn't seem to be doing the job. No sign of mildew problems this year so I think day time venting is sufficient in this climate.
The epoxy I used is made especially for plastic and has a solvent in it that smells like the same stuff that’s in PVC pipe cement. It softens the plastic and then makes an epoxy bond. Great stuff. I’ve forgotten the name but it was in the hardware store.
The 12 v. computer fan was 10 bucks and the 5 watt solar panel 30. I took an extra Nicro vent plugs and epoxied it to a piece of 1/8” acrylic I had lying around. After it cured, I turned it over and ran a 3” hole saw through it. The beveled flange on the vent plugs make this work very nicely. I then made a box to hold the vent van from teak scraps, mounted the solar panel and added two teak strips to stiffen it. The hood was made from the same acrylic and painted.
No switch. I just put it in a tote bag to turn it off. It’s only used when the boat is on the mooring. I thought I might have to plug the Dorade box vent holes but there is enough flow at the vent inside that it would probably put out a candle.
I mount it on the head Dorade vent and leave the door and lockers open. I decided not to add the complication of batteries unless the vent didn't seem to be doing the job. No sign of mildew problems this year so I think day time venting is sufficient in this climate.
The epoxy I used is made especially for plastic and has a solvent in it that smells like the same stuff that’s in PVC pipe cement. It softens the plastic and then makes an epoxy bond. Great stuff. I’ve forgotten the name but it was in the hardware store.
