Posted: 29 Jul 2007 at 3:29pm
Greetings fellow Dolphinites:
I've noticed my boat is great performer when it comes to drawing moisture from the air and pooling it in the bilge. It's easy to see how this can happen: Parakletos is in the 52 F waters of Puget Sound and surrounded by moist air that's just dying to find a dew point. When I got the boat a few months ago the sole source of ventilation was three slots in the companionway drop boards. I've since installed a solar vent to one side of the mast and yesterday sawed out a three-inch hole in the foredeck for a dome vent that can be screwed closed during heavy-weather sailing. I'm also thinking of putting some small stainless vents on each cockpit seat. Which is all by way of asking: What are the other Dolphin owners doing towards achieving the elusive ideal of a dry boat?

Fair winds,
Anker
ericsorensen


Posted: 29 Jul 2007 at 8:08pm
Hi Eric
On Long Isand Sound we don't have the temp differentials you have but we have the problem too. The primary fight is against mildew. Like your boat Marionette has a 4' dia screw type mushroom vent in the deck at the bow that ventilates the anchor locker. The anchor locker has an 8"x10" wood louver in the bulkhead that seperates the v-berth. In the forward hatch is a solar powered rechargeable battery operated fan that operates 24 hrs a day. This is the workhorse and makes the difference.

The top washboard in the companionway has a large wood louver. In the lockers (seat backs, galley) that back up directly to the hull, I lined the hull with non perforated headliner foam backed material so these lockers do not "sweat" on the hull surface. I am thinking of lining the entire hull above the waterline with this material. This material is vinyl covered so clean up is easy.

I think that continuous fan operation plus insulating the hull is the way to go. I know a guy who has a small dehumidifier who swears by it.

Ron

ps we need some pictures and some 'history' about Parakletos


Posted: 03 Aug 2007 at 11:53am
I just posted this in the 'General' area replying to a post about portlights:

As far as ventilation, I leave the forward port slightly open all the time and when I leave the boat, I put a bucket on the berth directly under it. Whenever it rains, the water drips into the bucket. For my uppermost companionway slat, I have a wood-framed bronze screen that I leave in whenever the boat's on a mooring or anchor. I only use the solid teak one when I'm at a dock not facing into the wind or when the boat's out of the water. I also have two cowl vents on either side of the lazarette hatch that are attached to ducts that lead to either side of the inboard engine under the companionway. One cowl faces forward and the other aft and they provide an unbelievable amount of ventilation. In the slightest breeze if you put your hand in front of the duct inside the cabin you'll be amazed at how it blows in. The other duct sucks it out. Even if I had an outboard, I would continue to use the cowls and ducts.

I looked into some small dorade boxes with cowl vents on the cabin top (as I've seen on some dolphins) but as my halyards are led aft to the cockpit and there is precious little deck space on our little boats, there really wasn't room and frankly, I don't think I need them.

Even with all of the ventilation, I still get some mildew here and there and for that I keep a small spray bottle of cleanser with bleach and I spray and wipe as necessary.

Jay Picotte