[C38] Cubic feet of air space

[Tom T.]

Hello List,

We keep our 38 in steamy hot St. Pete, Florida where mold, mildew and dampness are a way of life for most.

Our boat is air conditioned which is a necessity for when we are on the boat while docked but when we are not there, we used to have a real problem with moisture in the boat.

We cured our moisture problem by adding ventilation.  We have 3 solar vents and a small Bomar hatch vent over the head but we still wanted more flow through ventilation so we made our anchor locker into a dorade vent.

We put a clamshell vent on the leading edge of the anchor hatch which I can swivel aft when underway so we don't scoop up any waves if the seas get rough.  Any other time, we keep the clamshell pointing forward.

On the aft bulkhead of the anchor locker, we installed a plastic wall register we bought at a local big box home improvement store.  I don't remember if it was Home Depot or Lowes but the plastic vent has a lever to close it if needed on cold nights but everything is plastic so there is no problem with rust.  The vent to the v-berth is centered above the bow peak locker and looks like it came with the boat.

I glued 1/2" closed cell foam to the underside of the anchor locker hatch so no heat is added to the air coming in through the anchor locker.  On hot sunny Florida days, this insulation is very important to keep the air supply cool.

Since we installed this "dorade" vent to our anchor locker, our boat is very much more comfortable, especially in the v-berth.  Since the anchor locker is already sell draining, the cavity makes a great dorade vent.

I was concerned that if the anchor rode was wet it would make the inside of the boat too humid but in actual use, I can't tell any difference if the rode is wet or dry.  This dorade conversion works well in any conditions.

In heavy seas a few years ago, we were fighting heavy weather and heavy rains but we always had good ventilation below decks which was something we never enjoyed before we made the anchor locker into a dorade.

Now the boat has a continual supply of cooling air moving through the boat and our moisture problems have disappeared.  For a Florida boat, that's saying something!

Tom Troncalli #95
St. Pete, Fla
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