Oceanair vs. Lewmar skyscreens

[sturmunddrang]

On the spring work list this year is upgrading/replacing the screens on three Lewmar hatches with Oceanair Skyscreens.

I understand Lewmar now offers their own version.

Has anyone compared the Lewmar product with the Oceanair unit?

[eherlihy]

I am curious to know the same thing...

Looking at pictures of the two, it appears that the Lewmar Skyscreen is the OceanAir product, with some Lewmar badging.

I am surprised that no one has posted to this over the past 12 months...

[paulk]

I went to Home Depot and bought a roll of nylon screening and some laths & stapled together my own screens. They work on the main hatch, as well as all the others. K.I.S.S.

[eherlihy]

Here is a picture of the OceanAir SkyScreen;


And, here is a picture of the Lewmar Skyscreen;


With all due respect, I feel that they look a lot better than HD Screen and lath. Also, I need to install new trim around my hatches anyway. It was not on the boat when I bought it.

[SanDiegoChip]

We love the Oceanair Skyscreens, they work well for us. We have a hatch over our bed and the Skyscreen can be closed and you would not know there is a hatch there. The closed shade keeps bed area nice and dark. It also helps keep it cool. When taking a nap (often) we close the shade part way and clip it to the screen so we do not get the sun but can still have some breeze. We put them on all our four 20x20 hatches.
Have no experiance with Lewmar Skyscreen.

[eherlihy]

Those look great! - As do the NFM ports in the background!

[SVCarolena]

For those with either the Lewmar or Oceanair shade/screens, how do they fit against the cabin top? I've thought about getting some for our two large hatches, but the area around the hatches is not straight across - it has a slight curve to it.

[eherlihy]

One of the companies that I was looking at as a supplier has addressed this issue. They sell a foam filler to fill the gap...

Here it is;


DISCLAIMER: I have no financial, or other interest in Zarcor, or OceanAir...

[eherlihy]

I ordered the Lewmar screens. I'll post more after they are delivered.

[eherlihy]

I just received the Lewmar Hatch Screens.

First a bit of background, I have 2 Lewmar hatches on my boat. One Lewmar 60 in the forward cabin, and a Lewmar 40 in the main saloon. The trim around both of these was damaged when I bought the boat, and in general it needed replacement.

I went to a couple of boat shows, and saw the OceanAir product on display. I thought that this would be a great way to add functionality to what was essentially a cosmetic part. I grew frustrated, however, as I shopped around to get information about the OceanAir product. Quite by accident, I discovered that Lewmar makes a similar product. However the information available, and the lack of knowledgeable sales help was discouraging.

I looked and studied for a couple of days looking into these products. My analysis before buying the product was that:

• The OceanAir product (part number SFSS-xx) has a four piece frame that must be assembled prior to installation (and is one more thing to fall apart from vibration). However, I liked that the OceanAir product had an optional customizable trim kit. That said, in my experience is that no one seems to carry, or be familiar with the trim kit. I eventually spoke with the US distributor of the product, who informed me that to order the product with the trim kit, add an "L" suffix to the part number. Thus; SFSSL. The trim appears to be a roll of PVC with an "H" shaped spacer that you insert to join the start and end of the roll. I figured that this might add $10 bucks to the price of the product, but I was way off in my guess. Ordering the product with the trim kit bumps the price up between $30-$70...

• The Lewmar Hatch Trim and Roller Shade for the same hatch have a one piece frame (good), include the trim piece, and cost a good deal less. The Lewmar products were between $40 and $70 LESS than the OceanAir product!

Unfortunately Lewmar does a pathetic job of marketing these, so coming by information on or about them was, in my experience, difficult. That is what prompted me to write this review.

Here is what is in the box;

and here is the box ;


The Roller Shade is, as I suspected, one piece - making installation easier, and less prone to vibrating apart, or making noise. Here are some closeup pix;

Open:

Shade closed:

Screen:

The trim piece is also one piece (unlike the OceanAir product), and does not require complex installation. Here is a close up of that;

There are ridges around the inside (hidden) portion of the trim piece that are used as a cutting guide to help make installation easier still!

Perhaps most importantly, here are the installation instructions that were included in the package;

Now that I have received the Lewmar Hatch Screens, I am very happy (so far).

I hope this helps!