Mosquito Nets

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wgkenney

wgkenney

.
Jun 29, 2010
84
Beneteau 473 Rock Hall, MD
Hi all,

I sail in the Chesapeake Bay. During the summer the insects, spiders, and various other bugs appear to be issued IR tracking sensors. So as soon as we light a lantern or any heat source in the cockpit we are overwhelmed by all sorts of critters.

At some point I will add some netting to my Bimini so that the netting can roll up and drop down. But for now I was wondering if anyone had used mosquito netting over the boom to help keep the bugs out. Where would I order that and then how would I secure to the boat.

We are a Beneteau 473 (2006)

Glenn
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

.
Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
We have bimini curtians with bug screen zip-ins and they work great. I'd recommend getting the curtians first then adding the bug screens at key curtian locations (12, 3, 6, and 9:00 positions) to allow cooling briezes. the curtians also extend your sailing season as they can get you out of the breeze when the weather turns cool.
We made our bimini and curtians/screens and got everything we needed from sailrite.com
 
Sailm8

Sailm8

.
Feb 21, 2008
1,750
Hunter 29.5 Punta Gorda
We have a big piece of netting we keep rolled up and just throw over the bimini and under the boom. Works just fine. Had it made at a local canvas shop.
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,164
CC 30 South Florida
We rely on A/C for keeping cool and allowing us to close the boat and help keep mosquitoes away.
 
Ken Cross

Ken Cross

.
Oct 24, 2010
2,405
Hunter 30 Everett, WA
Do we have mosquitoes here? Amazingly, here on the salt water we rarely see them. Just step on shore and they come right away. Never felt the need for screens.

Having said that the kind people sleep under in Africa are cheap, light weight, and pretty big. I think they would make excellent netting for such a project. eBay has them for around $6.
 
wgkenney

wgkenney

.
Jun 29, 2010
84
Beneteau 473 Rock Hall, MD
Ken Cross said:
Do we have mosquitoes here? Amazingly, here on the salt water we rarely see them. Just step on shore and they come right away. Never felt the need for screens.

Having said that the kind people sleep under in Africa are cheap, light weight, and pretty big. I think they would make excellent netting for such a project. eBay has them for around $6.
Click to expand
Actually here on the bay it is not so much Mosquitos as the other bugs. Not sure what kind they are but any heat source at night and they are on us. I am amazed how far out they will come to get us.

I think panels as suggested above is the long term answer. We can go below and use the AC but it is really nice to be up in the cockpit and feel a nice breeze.
 
Ross

Ross

.
Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
12 years on the Chesapeake and an "Off"coil in the companion way and a mosquito net over the forehatch is all we have needed. The spiders do a good job of filtering the air during the night. Spiders are your friends.
 
dscribner

dscribner

.
Nov 9, 2008
1,338
Pearson-O'Day 290 Portland Maine
wgkenney said:
Hi all,

I sail in the Chesapeake Bay. During the summer the insects, spiders, and various other bugs appear to be issued IR tracking sensors. So as soon as we light a lantern or any heat source in the cockpit we are overwhelmed by all sorts of critters.

At some point I will add some netting to my Bimini so that the netting can roll up and drop down. But for now I was wondering if anyone had used mosquito netting over the boom to help keep the bugs out. Where would I order that and then how would I secure to the boat.

We are a Beneteau 473 (2006)

Glenn
Click to expand
Contact Sum on this forum. He and his child-bride Ruth do some of the handiest mods on the forum, or the Western hemisphere. He's got 8X10 color glossies with circles and arrows on the back and is more than happy to share his ideas.
 
FourPoints

FourPoints

.
Apr 8, 2010
1,606
Frers 33 41426 Westport, CT
wgkenney said:
Hi all,

I sail in the Chesapeake Bay. During the summer the insects, spiders, and various other bugs appear to be issued IR tracking sensors. So as soon as we light a lantern or any heat source in the cockpit we are overwhelmed by all sorts of critters.

At some point I will add some netting to my Bimini so that the netting can roll up and drop down. But for now I was wondering if anyone had used mosquito netting over the boom to help keep the bugs out. Where would I order that and then how would I secure to the boat.

We are a Beneteau 473 (2006)

Glenn
Click to expand
Many types of insects are attracacted to IR wavelengths (and others UV), which regular incandescent bulbs give off in abundance.

On the other hand, not that many insects are attracted to the light given off by most LEDs as they output nearly zero IR or UV light.

Try switching your lighting to LEDs and you should attract a lot fewer bugs.
 
MrBill_FLL

MrBill_FLL

.
May 4, 2005
4,062
Macgregor 26d Ft Lauderdale, Fl
I have 2 of the :
Coghlan's Traveller's Mosquito Net

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___86661

I toss one over the bimini and one over the poptop.

a better solution is to take a net house tent, (backyard type, throw away the poles, and modify it for your boat. -bigger and sturdier.

but the coghlans are pretty nice, large, and come with a nice little stuff bag.
 
Robert 47

Robert 47

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Oct 28, 2005
89
Hunter 31 Portage De Sioux, MO
Hi Glenn, I know what you are talking about. One of the other responders mentioned a big net they just throw over the bimini. We do the same thing. It works great. My wife found them at Target. Close out special. They are curtains that go to an out door tent that you can put over a picnic table. Tents were gone, but the curtains were there. They have an elastic top so it fits around the bimini fine. And yes they keep out the bugs we don't have names for either. Learned a valuable lesson about Mosquito netting in Viet Nam. Don't leave home without it.............. :D
 
R

RonRelyea

.
Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
re: 8x10 color glossies with circles and arrows

dscribner said:
Contact Sum on this forum. He and his child-bride Ruth do some of the handiest mods on the forum, or the Western hemisphere. He's got 8X10 color glossies with circles and arrows on the back and is more than happy to share his ideas.
Click to expand

with thanks to Officer Obie
 
D

davenlynn

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May 22, 2011
159
MacGregor 25 San Diego
We've been out of the midwest so long I was almost tempted to ask "What are mosquitos?", but I won't.
 
Joe

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,164
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
davenlynn said:
We've been out of the midwest so long I was almost tempted to ask "What are mosquitos?", but I won't.
Click to expand
...... heh, heh... it's okay to admit that..... but if you're from the southeastern US, what you can't admit, ever, is that you've forgotten how annoying those no-see-ums can be.

We SoCals may have our earthquakes, brushfires and freeway traffic, but I give thanks regularly that we don't ever have to deal with those tiny biting gnats.
 
rgranger

rgranger

.
Jan 19, 2010
12,553
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
wgkenney said:
At some point I will add some netting to my Bimini so that the netting can roll up and drop down. But for now I was wondering if anyone had used mosquito netting over the boom to help keep the bugs out. Where would I order that and then how would I secure to the boat.

We are a Beneteau 473 (2006)

Glenn
Click to expand

Glenn:
Here is something for you to consider.... the P.O. of my boat had a mosquito net sewn that fit over the pop top. It even has little lead weights sewn into the skirt to keep it in place. It sort of works... but that occasional bug gets in and hovers right next to your ear at night. What I have started doing is to suspend the net over my bunk from a couple of hooks. I sleep fine and bug bite free. You would not need to do any sewing to do the same, just suspend a "tent" of mosquito netting over you bunk and tuck in the edges at night. I also light a citronella candle and that really seems to help A LOT!

It is not the sexiest solution but it works and it is easy.

2 cents.

r
 
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